Pie Day 2017

Every year I host the Pi Day (3/14) Pie Party for Houston Chowhounds. This year I ambitiously took on the task of baking two pies for the party, Atlantic Beach Pie from Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill NC and a Cranberry Sage Pie from acclaimed NYC Four and Twenty Blackbirds and their cookbook of the same name. I was combining our popular Cook the Book series in which we recipe test the recipes from James Beard Award winning cookbooks with this party.

Atlantic Beach Pie (Bill Smith of Crook's Corner)

The Atlantic Beach Pie was created by Bill Smith of Crook's Corner from his memories of his youth growing up on Atlantic Beach. It's a lemon version of key lime pie with some salty Saltine crackers in the crust.

Makes 1 pie

For the crust:

1 1/2sleeves of saltine crackers (about 6 ounces or 60 crackers)
1/2cup softened unsalted butter
3tablespoons sugar

saltine crackers

coarse crushed crackers for the crust

the finished crust

For the filling:

One14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
4egg yolks
1/2cup lemon or lime juice or a mix of the two
Fresh whipped cream, for garnish
Coarse sea salt, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Crush the crackers finely, but not to dust. You can use a food processor or your hands. Add the sugar, then knead in the butter until the crumbs hold together like dough. Press into an 8-inch pie pan. Chill for 15 minutes, then bake for 18 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
While the crust is cooling (it doesn't need to be cold), beat the egg yolks into the milk, then beat in the citrus juice. It is important to completely combine these ingredients. Pour into the shell and bake for 16 minutes until the filling has set. The pie needs to be completely cold to be sliced. Serve with fresh whipped cream and a sprinkling of sea salt.

filled Atlantic Beach pie

Four & Twenty Blackbirds' Cranberry Sage Pie

Four & Twenty Blackbirds pie shop has taken New York City by storm with its farm-to-table ethos and unique flavors like chocolate julep and birch beer float.

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

1/2 cup cold water

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/2 cup ice

For the pie:

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh sage

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons ground arrowroot

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

4 cups whole cranberries, fresh or frozen (two 10-ounce bags)

1 small baking apple, such as Northern Spy or Golden Delicious

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Egg wash (1 large egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water and a pinch of salt)

Demerara sugar, for finishing

Cooking Directions

For the crust:

Stir the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the butter pieces and coat with the flour mixture using a bench scraper or spatula. With a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture, working quickly until mostly pea-size pieces of butter remain (a few larger pieces are okay; be careful not to overblend). Combine the water, cider vinegar, and ice in a large measuring cup or bowl. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture, and mix and cut it in with a bench scraper or spatula until it is fully incorporated. Add more of the ice water mixture, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, using the bench scraper or your hands (or both) to mix until the dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining. Squeeze and pinch with your fingertips to bring all the dough together, sprinkling dry bits with more small drops of the ice water mixture, if necessary, to combine.

Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight, to give the crust time to mellow. Wrapped tightly, the dough can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for 1 month.

For the pie:

Have ready and refrigerated one pastry-lined 9-inch pie pan and pastry round or lattice to top. In a heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over the dried cranberries to cover by about an inch. Allow them to plump while making the remaining filling.

In a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine the chopped sage, granulated and brown sugars, salt, arrowroot, cinnamon, and allspice. Process until the sage is fully blended. Pour the sugar mixture into a large bowl. Use the same food processor bowl to briefly process 2 cups of the whole cranberries to a rough chop; add them, along with the remaining 2 cups whole cranberries, to the sugar mixture. Peel the apple and shred on the large holes of a box grater. In a colander, drain the plumped dried cranberries of excess water, but do not press or squeeze them out. Add the shredded apple and the drained dried cranberries to the bowl with the rest of the filling and mix well. Stir in the vanilla extract and egg, and mix well.

Pour the filling into the refrigerated pie shell, arrange the lattice or pastry round on top, and crimp as desired. Chill the pie in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to set the pastry. Meanwhile, position the oven racks in the bottom and center positions, place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack, and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Brush the pastry with the egg wash to coat; if your pie has a lattice top, be careful not to drag the filling onto the pastry (it will burn). Sprinkle with the desired amount of demerara sugar. Place the pie on the rimmed baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry is set and beginning to brown. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F, move the pie to the center oven rack, and continue to bake until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling throughout, 35 to 45 minutes longer. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack, 2 to 3 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. The pie will keep for 3 days refrigerated or for up to 2 days at room temperature.

Recipes from THE FOUR AND TWENTY BLACKBIRDS PIE BOOK by Emily Elsen and Melissa Elsen. Copyright 2013 by Melissa Elsen and Emily Elsen. Used with permission by Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved.