Concord Grape Pie

Eaten out of hand, concord grapes have a very strong flavor. They taste like the grapiest grape you've ever eaten with hit of muskiness, like Welch's grape juice x 100. The bunches of fruit are deep purple (no, not the band) with a thin layer of white bloom that makes them glow in an otherworldly way when the sun shines on them, and they are almost always covered with bees at the farmer's market. I trust that those bees know what's good so I always pick up a basket or two this time of year.



Sometimes I make jam or jelly with them, but due to the ridiculous number of jars stacked up in my closet I decided that a baked good would be a better use of my grapes this time around. A quick search led me to a ton of pie recipes and as soon as I found out that the "Queen of Grape Pies" was a resident of upstate New York I knew that my grapes were destined to be the filling of a buttery crust.



I'll admit that I did not have faith in this pie. I thought the grape flavor would be too concentrated and too strong to enjoy by the slice. I brought it to a dinner party and warned everyone with very concerned face, "I'm not sure about this one guys. It might be totally weird. No really, it might taste funky and not a good way like this cheese we are eating right now."



Ruining a great party with a so-so dessert is one of my biggest dinner party fears so when we sliced it up after the meal I very gingerly took the first bite. I know it's totally dorky, but I was so relieved to declare it delicious! Thank goodness.

Concord Grape Pie

For the pie pictured in these photos I used a crust recipe from Cooks Illustrated, just to test my loyalty to my favorite pie crust. The Cooks Illustrated recipe is tender and delicious (it uses a bit of shortening), but since I like my other recipe just a bit more I've included it below. As always, feel free to sub in your favorite pie crust here. You'll need a double crust recipe.

For the Crust
This crust comes to you from Brandi Henderson of I made that! and The Pantry at Delancey where she teaches a class called "How to be a Pie Ninja" and she is not messing around. Brandi uses a technique called fraisage which creates long sheets of buttery flakes throughout the dough instead of little pockets of butter. 

12 oz pastry flour 
8 oz cold butter 
4 oz ice water 
1t apple cider vinegar 
1/2t salt 

1. Mix the flour and salt together, then pour the whole lot on a large cutting board or countertop.
2. With a bench scraper, cut in half of the butter until it is the size of lima beans, then cut in the other half of the butter until it is the size of quarters. Add the apple cider vinegar to the water.
3. Using your fingers, flick the water on to the butter flour mixture and gently fold it in with your bench scraper. You have added enough water when you can pick up a handful of the dough and squeeze it together without it falling apart.
4. Then, you smear the butter into the dough. With the heel of your hand push a section of the dough down and away from you. Congratulations, you have just created a sheet of butter which is going to turn into delicious flaky crust. Scrape your sheet off of the board and place it in a bowl to the side. Repeat until you have worked through all of the dough, pushing it down and away from you in sections. Once you've gone through all of the dough gently remove it from the bowl, press it together, then split it in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and form into a disk. Chill the dough for at least one hour before using. I like to chill mine overnight. 

If this sounds confusing, check out the link above for a really helpful photo tutorial.

For the Filling
adapted from Martha Stewart and Saveur
The filling for this pie requires a bit of work, but it's the kind of work that takes more time than effort and don't worry, you won't have to individually seed the grapes. The tiniest hint of cinnamon in this recipe mellows and softens the strong grape flavor nicely.

2 lbs concord grapes (about 2 quarts)
3.5 ounces sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1.25 ounces cornstarch
pinch salt

1. Wash the grapes and using your fingers, pinch the grapes to slip off their skins. Reserve the skins in a large bowl. Place the pulp in a medium saucepan and cook for 8-10 minutes over medium heat or until the seeds start to separate from the pulp.
2. Strain the pulp mixture into the bowl with the skins, pressing the solids with the back of a spoon. Discard the seeds and set the mixture aside to cool completely.
3. In a small bowl whisk the sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and salt together then add it to the grape mixture. Use the larger amount of cornstarch if your grapes seem very liquid.

For the Topping

1 egg, beaten
A few teaspoons of coarse sugar like turbinado or light demerara

To Assemble and Bake

Preheat oven to 450º

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of the dough into a 12'' circle about 1/8'' thick and place it into a 9 or 10 inch pie pan. Place in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the pie.
2. Roll out the other piece of dough into a 12'' circle about 1/8'' thick and place it in the fridge to chill while you prepare the filling.
3. Fill the prepared pie shell with the grape mixture and top with the second crust, crimp the edges and cut a few vents. If you've got some extra time (and dough) on your hands you can also top the pie with a few small circles of dough arranged to resemble a bunch of grapes. 
4. If the crust seems soft or warm, slide the whole pie into the fridge or freezer for about 15min before you bake it. When you are ready to bake brush the top of the pie with a beaten egg and sprinkle with a healthy dose of coarse sugar.
5. Put the pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake for 15 minutes on the lowest rack of your oven, then lower the oven temp to 350º and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the crust is deep golden brown and the grape juices bubble. Cool the pie completely before serving. 

One For the Road

Well, it's been drizzly all week and I roasted my first pumpkin of the year so I think it's safe to say that fall is here. I'm just the tiniest bit sad to see summer go, but I am far more excited to see what this season of change has in store. So, here's the last of my summery photos and one last (ok two) recipe(s) for the road. Yes, I know, it's probably too late to make blackberry jam this year, but maybe bookmark these recipes for next summer? I'll be back soon with something a bit more autumnal.

Classic Blackberry Jam
yield about 6, half pints
This jam is simple and unadorned, just blackberries, sugar and lemon and it tastes like a Northwest summer. I will cherish every bite of every jar.

3 1/2 pounds fresh blackberries, rinsed
1 3/4 pounds sugar
3 ounces lemon juice

1. Add the blackberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a large, wide, non-reactive pot. Use a potato masher to gently mash the fruit.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. As the jam comes to a boil, skim the foam that rises to the top of the pot and discard.
3. Raise the heat to high and boil for 10-20 minutes or until set, being careful not to let the bottom scorch. Begin checking for doneness at 10 minutes. I generally use the wrinkle test to check for doneness with this type of jam. If you prefer seedless jam, quickly transfer the cooked mixture to a mesh strainer and force as much as the jam through as possible, discard the seeds and proceed with canning.
4. Pour the jam into sterilized jars, then process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Blackberry Fig Jam with Lime
yield 6-8 half pints
Green figs can be very sweet and tart blackberries temper their flavor nicely in this jam.

2 1/2 pounds fresh blackberries, rinsed
1 1/2 pounds green figs, stem ends removed and chopped coarsely
1 1/2 pounds sugar
4 ounces lime juice
1t lime zest

1. Add the blackberries, chopped figs, sugar, and lime juice to a large, wide, non-reactive pot. Use a potato masher to gently mash the fruit.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. As the jam comes to a boil, skim the foam that rises to the top of the pot and discard.
3. Raise the heat to high and boil for 15-25 minutes or until set, being careful not to let the bottom scorch. Begin checking for doneness at 15 minutes. I generally use the wrinkle test to check for doneness with this type of jam.
4. Stir in the lime zest, pour the jam into sterilized jars, then process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Yeasted Vegan Biscuits and Some Rambling

I have lived in New York for a pretty solid chunk of time now and I am grateful that I get to live in such an amazing place, but most days there is a part of me that misses the Pacific Northwest. A big part. It’s tough to feel so deeply connected to more than one city and the constant pull between coasts has been at the front of my mind all summer. So when I was home in Seattle a few weeks ago I made a promise to myself to just absorb and to try my darndest to bring as much of that Pacific Northwest energy back with me as I could.



When I was packing up and getting ready to leave Seattle, I found myself squirreling away little bits of home to bring back to New York with me: a tea towel, a few mugs and bowls I made when I lived in Portland, some jars of jam made from the fruit I picked with my parents, a set of beautiful gold rimmed tea glasses, and some tablecloths that I've always loved. The faded cotton tablecloths I grabbed are remnants of the life my parents and brother lived in Iran years and years ago. They have been witness to countless meals and conversations. They have spent time with members of my family that I will never get to meet. One of them even made the trip to college with me where I hung it on my dorm room wall alongside a print of Starry Night (I know, I know) and a concert poster or two.



There is something to be said for the comfort and safety of familiar objects because just having these tablecloths in our east coast home makes me feel a bit more connected to the life I left when I moved to New York and it makes being here just a bit better.

Biscuits for breakfast are mighty comforting too.

Oh, and one last thing, check out the side bar for an updated about me page.

Yeasted Vegan Biscuits
adapted from Steve's Honey Angel Biscuits
yield 8-10 biscuits
Steve was my jam swap partner this year and he hooked me up with four delicious jars of jam (I don't want to brag but the flavors were peach melba, white fig with grapefruit, olliaberry, and white peach) and a recipe for his favorite jam vehicles (a category of baking that I have a high appreciation for): corn muffins and angel biscuits. I tweaked his biscuit recipe a bit to accomodate what I had on hand and realized when all was said and done that they were vegan, and the most tender biscuits I'd ever had to boot. For a more traditional version, swap the almond milk and lemon juice for an equal amount of buttermilk and 2 ounces of butter and 2 ounces of shortening.

1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water
10.75 ounces all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3.5 ounces non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening (I like Spectrum)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400º

1. Combine the yeast and warm water in a small bowl and stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes to give the yeast time to bloom.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Then cut the shortening in with a pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly but there are still small chunks of shortening visible.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in. Stir gently until combined. Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead a few times. Pat the dough into a rectangle about 3/4'' tall and and fold it in thirds.
4. Pat or roll the folded dough to a 1'' thickness and cut it into 8 rounds with a 2'' biscuit cutter. Alternately, you can use a pastry (or pizza) wheel to cut the dough into squares. Place the cut biscuits into an ungreased cast iron skillet or on a baking sheet, just barely touching. Gently gather any scraps into biscuit shapes and bake those too, don't waste a bit of this delicious dough. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until light golden and cooked through.