Nanny's Fresh Blueberry Pie

Aaaahhh, the end of the summer. Tomorrow marks the first day of fall here in Georgia. Last night, the hubs and I enjoyed such a lovely evening at my parents' house in Atlanta. And Nanny herself was there with one of her famous pies.

I admit it, dear readers: I've been holding out on you.

I've been saving some of the best of the best recipes in my family . . . saving them for a rainy day. Well, I'm not sure whether you've heard, but it's raining buckets here in drought-ridden North Georgia, so it's about time for me to share one of these precious gems with you all!

My sweet grandmother "Nanny" is famous for her pies. In the summertime, it's all about the blueberries . . . Nanny's fresh blueberry pie is delicious enough to bring tears to your eyes . . . and yet so wonderful in its simplicity. I think that most of Nanny's recipes shine through in their beautiful simplicity - truly highlighting the fresh ingredients without need for masking them with a myriad of distracting flavors.

So here is my gem for you today, dear readers, as the rain pours down over Georgia. Happy autumnal equinox - have a slice of pie!

Nanny's Fresh Blueberry Pie

Pastry:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces of shortening
2 ounces of ice cold water

Filling:
4 cups fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoons butter

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

For the pastry, sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add shortening and blend with pastry blender until the mixture reaches the consistency of small peas. Add ice water and chop mixture with a knife. Mix with your hand until a soft ball forms. Separate into halves. Take the first piece and roll in extra flour. Line a 9" pie pan with the first half, leaving a small overlap around the edges of the pie dish. Repeat with the second half of the dough, and set aside.

For the filling, mix flour, sugar, and salt. Sprinkle 1/4 of this mixture on the uncooked bottom crust. Add blueberries. Sprinkle the remainder of the sugar mixture on top. Sprinkle with lemon juice, and dot with the butter. Flute the top crust, pinching it to the bottom crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees, and bake for about 25-30 more minutes, until the berries are tender. Cool before slicing and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Easy Key Lime Pie

Okay, so I know that I've already given you the pretty much perfect, authentically tart and delicious key lime pie recipe, but let's be honest. Don't you get a hankering for this stuff even at times when key limes might not be in season? I know I do. Not to mention the fact that I can only really talk the husband into juicing 30 key limes about once a year or else I start to push my wonderful prep chef to his limits . . . So I decided to celebrate this time of year when summer is coming to an end with a super easy "real simple" key lime pie recipe.

Easy Key Lime Pie
adapted from Real Simple

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
1 6-ounce can frozen limeade concentrate
1 cup heavy cream
Zest of one lime
Graham cracker crust
Whipped cream, for garnish.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until soft and smooth. Gradually add the condensed milk, combining until completely integrated. Finally, add the limeade, the heavy cream, and half of the lime zest. Beat until the mixture is fluffy and soft peaks form.

Next, pour the filling into the graham cracker crust, smoothing with a spatula. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. If you have any trouble getting the key lime pie to set, then I recommend throwing it in the freezer for about 2-3 hours before you serve it for a delightfully refreshing (and firm) pie!

Finally, sprinkle the lime zest on top before serving and garnish with a bit of freshly whipped cream!

Easy Zucchini Pie

Don't know what to do with all of the zucchinis that you've harvested from your garden this summer? Here is a great (and easy!) recipe that even the kids will love.

Easy Zucchini Pie

2 cups of diced or shredded zucchini
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
1 cup Bisquick
3 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup more grated Mozzarella cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a deep pie dish.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, except for the second 1/2 cup of Mozzarella. Dump into the prepared pie dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the filling is set and the cheese is melted and golden brown.

Key Lime Pie

As many of you may remember, the hubby and I took a trip to Jekyll Island a few weeks ago. While we were there, we enjoyed some delicious key lime pie - which got me thinking - why don't I make my own key lime pie? Can I even get key limes in the grocery store here in North Georgia?

Well, the answer is yes, I can! My dear father in law picked me up a bag of key limes from the grocery store last week and delivered them into my care on the condition that I make him a pie. I was glad to accept his offer!

The pie turned out beautifully - tart and creamy, complimented by a perfect graham crust and a generous dollop of freshly whipped cream. Perfection!

Key Lime Pie
adapted from epicurious.com

1 1/s cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup Key lime juice
1 teaspoon key lime zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream, whipped until soft peaks form

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until the mixture comes together in a rough ball. Press the mixture evenly into a 9" pie dish so that it lines the bottom and sides of the dish.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and the egg yolks until thoroughly combined. Add the lime juice, zest, and vanilla, and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens slightly. Pour the filling into your prepared pie shell.

Bake in the middle of your oven for 15 minutes. Cool the pie completely on a rack before covering it and putting it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 8 hours.

Serve chilled, and top each piece with the freshly whipped cream.

Granny's Blackberry Pie

For years now, I've heard stories of my husband's grandmother, who passed away shortly before he and I met. Granny is a legendary cook - I wish I could find her secret recipe book. Although most of them were probably never written down.

One of her dishes that I've been wanting to re-create is her Blackberry Pie. My husband, who raves about this concoction every time a blackberry pops into our lives, was actually not very helpful in describing the dish to me. So I went to his parents. Granny taught my mother-in-law how to make many of her signature recipes (including her biscuits, which is another story altogether). So I played 20 questions with my extremely patient and helpful mother-in-law before attempting to make Granny's Blackberry Pie.

So here it is: my humble attempt to recreate a dish that my husband ate at his Granny's house when he was a little boy. I think my version doesn't have quite as much sugar as Granny's did. She would also strain the blackberries so that just the juice remained, but I kept the berries whole to add some more bulk to the filling. The crust is actually my Nanny's recipe, and I think I took some creative liberties in making the crust a bit thicker around the edges - Granny apparently just made a square and let the juices bubble up around the edges. The one thing they all remembered quite clearly, though, was the generous coating of cinnamon sugar on top - an extra little sumthin'-sumthin' that, in my humble opinion, make this dish a truly memorable one!

Granny's Blackberry Pie
from hubby's Granny

4 cups fresh blackberries
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
A pinch of salt

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons shortening
1 ounce (1/8 cup) ice cold water

1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x9-inch baking dish and set aside.

In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the blackberries, sugar, water, and salt. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer, and smash up the berries using the back of a spoon or other utensil. Continue to simmer for about 30 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken into a thin syrup. Pour the berry mixture into the prepared dish.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly and flaky.

Make a well in the center and pour in the ice water. Stir lightly with a fork until a loose dough forms. Then get in there with your hands to make the dough into a ball. If the dough won't come together, then add a few more drops of cold water.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a 10x10-inch square. It doesn't have to be perfect, just big enough to drape over the dish with the berries. Trim the edges, and pinch them to the edge of the dish.

Next, brush the egg over the crust. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the berries are nice and bubbly. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Cream of the Crop

The only thing better than a fresh banana cream pie? A banana cream pie whose crust is a giant chocolate chip cookie!! This is a fun recipe, great for parties, always a hit at a summer cookout or picnic.

Creamy vanilla custard studded fresh sliced bananas, cupped inside a chocolate chip cookie shell, and slathered with luscious whipped cream. You are gonna love it!

Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust
Based on a recipe from an issue of Bon Appétit, many moons ago

1 pound semisweet chocolate chip cookie dough
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 large egg yolks
2 1/3 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon dark rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 medium bananas, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1 cup chilled whipping cream

Spray a 9" pie dish with nonstick spray. Arrange about 3/4 of the cookie dough in the pie dish and press it evenly onto the bottom and up the sides, building a ridge over the lip of the dish. Sprinkle the walnuts, pressing them into the dough. Prick the dough all over with a fork, and freeze the dough for 1 hour.

Position the rack in the bottom third of your oven. and preheat to 350 degrees. Remove the cookie crust from the freezer. Spray a large piece of tin foil with nonstick spray, and cover the pie crust with it, sprayed-side-down. Fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake the crust for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the pie weights or beans, and the tin foil. Allow to cool completely.

In a large, heavy saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in the egg yolks, and gradually add the milk, continuing to mix until smooth. Whisk over medium-high heat until the custard thickens and boils (about 6 minutes). Remove from the heat and add the butter, rum, and vanilla. Cool to lukewarm.

Spread 1 cup of the custard into the crust. Top with the bananas. Cover the bananas with the rest of the custard. Chill the pie for 2 hours.

Next, beat the whipped cream. Spread over the pie, and chill again for 1-8 hours.

My Husband's Birthday Pie

It was my husband's birthday on Friday, and every year I make him a special Birthday Pie. He loooooves his chocolate meringue pie, and this is the best, most decadent recipe I've been able to find. It's a little bit of a production to make the whole thing, but the result is sooooo worth it. Just remember to plan ahead because you can and should make most of it a day in advance so that the filling has time to set. The results are unbelievably chocolaty, light, creamy, and delicate. I hope you enjoy it as much as he does!!!

Chocolate Meringue Pie
From Emeril Lagasse

Pie Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons cold shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ice water, or more as needed

Chocolate Filling:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups milk, separated
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Meringue Topping:
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

The Pie Crust:
In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Add shortening and butter and blend using a pastry blender or a fork, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs or cornmeal. Add the 2 tablespoons of ice water and mix with a fork until the dough is just coming together, adding additional tablespoons of water if needed to make a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Next, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll it into a large circle, about 12 inches wide. Transfer the dough to a deep dish 9-inch pie plate. Trim the dough and decorate the edge if desired. Prick with a fork, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line the shell with parchment paper or tinfoil and fill your pie shell with pie weights - dry beans work great for this. Bake for 10 minutes. Then, remove the paper or foil and the weights or beans and return the empty shell to the oven to bake for another 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

The Chocolate Filling:
In the top of a double-boiler, melt the chocolates and the butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Next, in an electric mixer bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and pale yellow. Set aside.

Pour 1/2 cup of the milk into a small bowl. Add the cornstarch and salt to the milk, mixing with a fork until everything is dissolved. Set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, heat the remaining three cups of milk over medium-low heat until milk is hot and steamy. Then, pour about one cup of the hot milk gradually into the egg yolk mixture, whisking it in. Then slowly pour the egg mixture into the saucepan, whisking it into the rest of the milk. Next, pour the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan, whisking constantly. Simmer over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens - it should take about 3 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour in the melted chocolate and the vanilla, stirring until incorporated.

Pour the chocolate mixture into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic across the surface of the chocolate so that a skin does not form. Allow the mixture to cool completely.

Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (overnight is best) so that the filling can set.

The Meringue:
In a large electric mixer bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and the salt until the mixture begins to form soft peaks. Continue to beat, adding sugar very slowly, until the mixture looks glossy and stiff peaks form.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, being sure to spread it all the way out so that it touches the pie crust. This will prevent the meringue shrinking as it bakes.

With a flat knife, pull decorative peaks out from the meringue.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until the meringue is browned and golden. Remove the pie from the oven, and allow it to cool. Refrigerate for about 2 hours before serving!

Pumpkin Heaven!

One of my favorite tips is to use fresh, pure ingredients when you can. After Halloween, we slice open the pumpkins that we don't carve, clean out all the stringy junky stuff and the seeds, cut the flesh into chunks, and put it in a pot! Add a little bit of water to the bottom and cook on low for about 45 minutes, or until the pumpkin is fork-tender. Drain well and smash with a potato-smasher (or a food processor, depending on what texture you like). Voila! You have a great, fresh ingredient to put in your pies, breads, and soups! Also, cooked pumpkin freezes well. I put mine in ziplock freezer bags so that I can thaw-and-snip.

Here is one of my very favorite things to make with fresh cooked pumpkin: pie! We usually leave some lumps in the pumpkin to give the pie more texture and body, but you can puree it, too.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

2 cups fresh pumpkin (see above for tips)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
2 uncooked pie crusts (use your favorite recipe or - gasp - a store-bought crust)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Gently roll each pie crust onto two pie dishes. In a large bowl, mix well pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, brown sugar, spices, and salt. Pour half of the mixture into one of the prepared crusts, and pour the other half into the second prepared crust. Cover the exposed edges of the crust with strips of aluminum foil, and bake for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the filling comes out clean. Yield 2 pies.