Pie Anyone?

OK, OK, so maybe I'm not the kind of girl who can stick to a series. I promise, Part 4 will come soon, but I just had to post these recipes. It all started with Rob's Mom giving us an ice cream pail full of Saskatoon Berries (Serviceberries for you American readers). Then a lovely lady here in our neighborhood has been hooking me up with rhubarb all summer long. So what does that mean? Pie, pie and more pie.

I had it in my head that we should cook 5 pies last night. The No-Fail Pastry recipe from my cousin Ruth, which is originally from my Aunt Jean, makes enough pastry for 5 pies. I mean, who can't whip off 5 pies in one evening? Seriously people...its a piece of cake (er, pie)...right ;)

Earlier in the day, Rob shared the fact that I was baking 5 pies at the lunch table. He also happened to mention they would be Saskatoonberry pies. Well, I guess one of the guys he works with is addicted to the stuff, and promptly put $20 down on the table for two of the pies. OK, um, no pressure...

Now I'd say Rob and I are apt pie bakers, but for some reason, last night our combined culinary skills last night accounted to zero. It was about 7:00pm when we decided it was high time to start (actually that was Rob, I was not at all in the pie-baking mindset yet so I was slightly annoyed by his pie baking gung-ho-ness). Rob wanted to be done by 9pm. Hah. So I started cutting rhubarb. Then I started working on the Saskatoons, which are a huge pain the butt to clean, might I tell you! Rob was working on the dough (the children were entertained by a movie at this point).

Then I decided I really wanted to try out a peach pie recipe that I had clipped a few weeks ago. So off to Safeway Rob went. He somehow forgot the part of the earlier discussion where I specifically didn't buy my peaches at Safeway earlier in the day because their selection was awful, and way too expensive. So 30 minutes later Rob proudly returns with the peaches I specifically didn't want. Oy. I had to leave the room I was far too annoyed by this point.

Rob gets back to his dough, only to discover that we are out of corn starch. So that was it. Off I went to Sobey's. I was buying my damn peaches (pardon the French), and getting the corn starch. It was already such a gong show I think I was nearly in tears when I couldn't find the corn starch. Finally I went up to some poor unsuspecting stock boy and begged him to find the corn starch for me. "Well, it should be down aisle 4." "NO, you don't understand...I NEED you to show me where it is, because after 15 trips up and down that aisle I cannot find it." The stock boy obliged the crazy, frazzled, peach pie making, stay at home Mom. He did find it. Thank you, thank you so much. Really only if he understood. I also was able to find a way better deal on much nice peaches. 10lbs for $10. Nice.

I returned home. Rob had put Abbi down, and had his filling finished, and just needed the corn starch for the pastry. It was nearing 9:30pm by this point. Oh, and did I mention what Gabe was doing for most of this? screaming. Oh yes, was he ever screaming. He is teething right now, so he could only do so long in his exersaucer. So for most of this he was on my hip.

Finally, the pies are in the oven, ready to go. They start smelling delicious. Then it occurs to me, we are using the only two pie plates we own to bake these pies for Rob's co-worker, so I actually have nothing to cook my pies in. Um, how did no one think of that? Then Rob suggests I make tart sized ones in my over-sized muffin tins. Hmm, good idea. OK, I'll do that.

Then I peek in the oven...only to discover Rob's "filling" has "fallen" all over my oven. I mean all over. So we get them out. They are looking quite good (minus the filling explosion). Then it occurs to us, we will have the fire department here if we attempt to cook anything in that oven. So it needs to be cleaned before anything can be cooked, and at now 10:00pm, no one is cleaning an oven, especially not when its sitting at 350 degrees (although I will say Rob was quite determined to try, because I think he knew I was bordering on a meltdown, all for a peach pie!)

So in the end...I didn't get my peach pie craving filled. Last night anyway. This morning I was up first thing, doing what I could (without using oven cleaner or the self-clean option) to get that bloody oven clean. I was eating my "Damn Peach Pie" come hell or highwater. And I did. I had my little tartlet, and it was so delicious. Perhaps a little more drama than necessary for a piece of pie, but boy was it good.

So with no further ado, here are the two pie recipes, and here are my suggestions before you attempt baking either of these pies:

Check your ingredients are all stocked
Communicate clearly with your partner about all relevant pie info
Make sure all screaming children are otherwise happily occupied
Put a tray lined with tin foil under your pie plates
Use tin pie plates, or at least make sure you have enough pie plates
And prepare yourself for the most delicious tasting pies ever!

Saskatoon Rhubarb Pie
www.allrecipes.com
Submitted by STACYSUBSCR

Prep Time: 20 minutes (Ha, ha, oh my, I'm rolling on the floor over that one!)
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 12
Oven: Preheat to 400 degrees F

Ingredients:
2 (15 ounces ) packages refrigerated pie crusts (What a novel idea!)
2 C. Chopped rhubarb
1/2 White Sugar
1/4 C. Cornstarch
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 C. White Sugar
4 C. Fresh Saskatoons

Directions:

1. In a microwave-safe dish, combine the rhubarb and 1/2 cup of sugar. Heat at full power in the microwave until rhubarb is soft and juice is pooling in the bottom of the dish, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain off the juice into a measuring cup and add enough water to make 2 cups. Dissolve the cornstarch in the liquid.
2. In a saucepan, stir together the 2 cups of liquid, lemon juice and remaining 1 cup of sugar. Add the saskatoon berries and rhubarb; cook over medium-high heat until thick and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Pour into the two pie crusts. Top with the remaining crusts and cut holes in the top to vent steam. Pinch the edges together to seal.
3. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 30 more minutes.

Nutrition Info: (per serving)
Calories: 468
Total Fat: 21.8g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 339mg
Total Carbs: 65.2g
Dietary Fibre: 3.9g
Protein: 4.5g

Damn Peach Pie (formerly known as Streusel Topped Peach Pie)
(I actually re-named this one! It was only fitting!)
Exmonton Examiner: July 29, 2009. Simply Delicious Column.
Diana Norminton

Ingredients:
1, 9" unbaked pie crust
5 C. sliced ripe peaches
1/2 C. Sugar
1 Tbsp. White Flour
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
2/3 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 C. White Flour
6 Tbsp. Butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 Degrees F
2. Place sliced peaches in large bowl. In another bowl, mix 1/2 C. sugar with 1 Tbsp. white flour, and 1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon. Sprinkle over peaches and gently stir.
3. Spoon peach mixture into the prepared pie crust.
4. In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar and 1/2 c. white flour together thoroughly. Cut in butter into the brown sugar mixture with a pastry cutter. Sprinkle mixture over peaches.
5. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until topping is nicely browned. Remove from oven and cool.

Anyway, after all that drama, I'm sure you are hesitant to go bake these pies, but I promise, or at least, I hope, they will be much less dramatic in your home. And even if it is a bit of an ordeal to cook them, at least they will be delicious!