I don't know that I have too much outside information that would be of particular interest to you, so rather than rambling, I'll cut straight to the chase. This week's pie was Blackberry Apple. It's an unusual sounding combination, for sure, so if you raised your eyebrows a bit and did that lip-curve downward thing that people do when they go, "hmm, interesting," I can understand completely. Blackberries and apples are definitely not the first two fruits that I would put together, but I've gotta say, it's a match made in fruit filling heaven.
This recipe is one my dad tried out a few years ago and has been baking ever since. I found out it originally came from a restaurant in Grafton, Illinois, a city only about an hour and a half from me, so I think a road trip is in order! Anyway, the first time we made this pie came after a summer afternoon spent hunched over among thickets and brambles, fighting the thorny bushes for blackberries (actually, I think they were dewberries, but basically the same thing). My grandparents have a fair amount of property, and a good chunk of it is full of blackberry bushes. My dad makes wine, and we were out that day to pick enough blackberries for his next batch of wine (roughly 30 pounds). By the end of the day (or when I gave up, which was likely before the end of the day), my hands were scratched and bloody... it was actually hard to tell what was blood and what was blackberry juice.
Well, when everyone had called it quits, we wound up with more than our 30 necessary pounds (I'm being liberal on the "we"... I probably picked only about a pound. I've got a great work ethic, if you can't tell). That night my dad decided to try out this recipe, and the rest is pretty much history. It became a fast favorite, and I'm actually planning on baking it for Thanksgiving this year! I don't know if I mentioned that or not, but I'm in charge of baking our Thanksgiving pies... I'm rather honored.
Okay, so the recipe is quite similar to apple pie, only half of the apples are replaced by blackberries. I had to use frozen berries as fresh are no longer in season, but it didn't do much to alter the flavor, so while I prefer to use the freshest ingredients possible, this worked out just fine... well, almost. I didn't think to thaw the berries before mixing them into the pie, and, well, it wasn't the neatest pie in the world (definitely not restaurant-worthy). The ice around the berries melted while baking, and when I cut out the first slice, a nice pool of liquid was left behind. Since there was too much juice to allow the pie to set, the pieces were the messiest things I've ever plated.
Pool O' Liquid
Messy? Yes. Delicious? YES.
Surplus liquid problem solved by Alison
However, I like to think that the messier looking plates are often the tastier, and that was never truer than with this pie. Holy scrum-diddly-umptious, Batman! First, let it be known that the crust was damn near perfect... the right amount of flaky and sweet and just plain melt-in-your-mouth awesome. The combination of blackberries with apples, while unusual, is also incredible. The softer berries with the slightly more firm apples, plus a perfect combination of sweetness and tartness make this a ridiculously phenomenal pie. Or, as Lydia described it, "divine."
If I do say so myself :)
Since the blackberry apple was so popular, I'm looking forward to other berry pies... blackberry pear, blackberry/blueberry/rasberry, etc. I'll start inventing soon!
I also feel I must note that Jonathan and Cortland apples are the easiest to hand peel... Granny Smith are the worst (the peel breaks off into tiny chunks and I slip with the peeler and almost gouge my hands open), but the peels practically fall off of those two apples. I love making silly discoveries like that.
For better and more comprehensive ideas of the future pies I bake, I'm working on creating a scorecard to rate each one. Overall scores will be based on the crust, the filling, the cohesiveness of the two, presentation (will this be a good choice for my pie shop?), and overall flavor. I'm still tweaking it to get the best answers, but I think this will help me decide what needs to be altered and perfected on future pies. Right now my score system is to try and remember what people say to me regarding the pie... the two flaws in this are that A. I have a terrible short term memory (honestly, the moment a conversation switches topics, I immediately forget the previous subject altogether. Don't even bother asking what we were just talking about), and B. People are less honest and too general when telling me how it turned out. I really want to get good at this, and so while this is a goofy way to do it, I think it can produce some awesome/interesting results.
The next pie is actually another one from my family... Blueberry! I hate to do one of mine two weeks in a row, but blueberries are just about out of season, and I want to use fresh ones my first time out. Blueberry is in my top 5 favorite pies, and I really don't want to wait until next summer to bake it. So blueberry it is! My quest, my rules. Deal.
That's just about all I have for you (short this week!), but before I go, I have to make a totally un-pie-related note... I just recently started watching The West Wing, and I'm OBSESSED. Seriously, it's my new favorite show. And anyone who knows me at all knows that when I become obsessed with something, it pretty much consumes my life. It's what I read about, what I dream about, what I youtube about, what I bring up in any conversation I can ("Speaking of painful dental procedures... in this episode of The West Wing..."). I only wish I had been able to appreciate it when it was on. I just finished season 2, and am trying to hunt down season 3 to watch. The season 2 finale was hands down one of the best I've ever seen for any show EVER, and I was an emotional wreck afterwards. It also brought me my new favorite song (which plays during the final few and most emotional/dramatic moments): "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits. It's a 25-year-old song, but it's awesome. So anyway, if anyone has season 3 (or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7) and would like to let me borrow them, let me know!
K, random, but that's where I'm leaving you. Peace out!
P.S. Vote in the poll!
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