special guest post from sam & sharon, old ladies in training!

Old Ladies in Training: 

Black Rebel Motorcycle Pie

While the beautiful, brave Jillian recovers, she asked a few of us to do guest posts. So, while I'm not a real deal food blogger, here's an attempt.  Get well soon Jillian!


It was Sons of Anarchy night at my house, which happened to coincide with Sharon's weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture for those of you who aren't in the know) pick-up.  There seemed like no better excuse to make a pie than the combination of fresh fruit and shirtless Charlie Hunnam, et al.  We had hoped for some peaches in the CSA bundle to go along with some frozen blueberries and blackberries from earlier summer harvests.  Instead, we got apples and plums to go in the mix.  We decided to go with what we had.  Sans motorcycles and gang, we could at least be vigilantes in the kitchen.  And while some call mixed berry pies Blackbird pies, we decided that, in keeping with the theme of the evening, our unorthodox pie would be dubbed Black Rebel Motorcycle Pie.


I started a couple hours ahead of time by prepping the crust.  A procrastinator by nature, I have leaned the hard way (think Thanksgiving eves spent drinking Bourbon intended for my Pecan Pie filling spent sitting on the floor trying to figure out how to properly thaw a turkey while threatening to send my uncooperative crust out the window) that crust prep is the most important part of pie making.  A few hours before baking, I put two sticks of butter and some water in the freezer.  Fifteen minutes later, I took them out to make the dough.


crust
ingredients
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 c chilled unsalted butter, cut into 16 tbsp sized cubes
6 tbsp ice water


In a bowl, I mixed flour, sugar, and salt and then added in the butter cube by cube, strring vigorously until it resembles cornmeal.  Then, I added the water two tablespoons at a time until clumps started to form.  I formed two balls, pressed them down, wrapped in parchment, and put in the fridge for a couple of hours, no less than an hour, and for up to a couple of days.


filling
ingredients
Like the rebels we are, we kind of winged this, so it isn't exact, but can also be adapted for any fruit filling.
We used about 1/2 c blackberries
1/2 c blueberries
a couple small apples, peeled and sliced
three plums, peeled and sliced
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon


Roll out one crust ball and line pie dish.


Peel, slice, prep fruit as desired.  Sprinkle with lemon juice to taste.  Mix the flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl.  Line the bottom of the crust generously with flour/sugar/cinnamon mixture.  Add remaining sugar mixture to fruit to taste.  This depends largely on the sweetness of fruit and amount of lemon juice used, but you'll likely have leftovers.


Spoon fruit mixture into prepped crust.


Assemble lattice top by rolling out second crust ball to same size as first and, then, follow this tutorial, which is a godsend for lattice tops: simply recipes' lattice top tutorial

Coat with egg wash (1 egg and 1/4 c cold water, stirred) and pop in the oven for around 45 minutes at 350, or until golden, checking every ten minutes or so after twenty to make sure the edges are not burning.  If the edges of the crust begin to grow too dark, wrap them in tinfoil.


The result was delicious and, by the time the show was over, we had a perfect pie, the ideal mix of sweet and tart.  One we wouldn't be afraid to bring to the table of gun toting SAMCRO members.

Now that you've gotten to know them, keep up with the gals -

check out Sam's non-foodie writing at Skin & Ink magazine and be amazed by Sharon's hauntingly beautiful photography and stunning natural jewelry!  Also, if you're unsure of how CSA works, check out Just Food's page regarding Community Supported Agriculture in NYC and get involved in local and sustainable resources!  Thanks ladies xoxo