Where's yours?
When Jerry asked for a "pie" instead of the traditional birthday cake this year I had a hard time deciding what to bake. Over the years I have had so much fun collecting recipes from friends. Each recipe is a special treasure. Each time I use it I can't help thinking about the cook who shared it with me.
After spending several days going through my recipes I finally decided to bake 3 different types: Milk Chocolate Cream, Coconut Meringue and Fresh Strawberry. The chocolate & coconut pie recipes came from a dear widow we met while attending a church close to Carswell Air Force Base as newlyweds. Although we haven't seen them in years I will always treasure the friends Jerry & I made at this church. These two recipes I have baked numerous times since receiving them. They truly have become part of our "Family Favorites" for special occasions. The strawberry pie recipe is a new recipe for our family. I found it on a friend's blog. Kipi is a fabulous photographer and a fellow "foodie" and I couldn't resist trying it after seeing the photo she had attached to the recipe on her blog. I have tried a number of her recipes and have found all of them to be delicious. She has even inspired me to photograph more of the dishes I cook. Cooking & Baking is such an important part of who I am that I love having the photos to include in my scrapbooks to hand down to my grandchildren.
I am including all three recipes for you to try. Although I usually make my pie pastry from scratch this time I actually used the prepackaged refrigerated Pillsbury Pie Pastry. It turned out light and flaky and almost as good as homemade.
From the kitchen of: Ruth Edwards
Pie filling: Meringue:
1 cup sugar 4 fresh large egg whites
4 tablespoons flour 4 tablespoons sugar
4 fresh large egg yolks 4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups whole milk 1/2 cup coconut for top of pie
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup coconut
1 - 9" deep dish pie pastry, cooked
Mix flour and sugar in a heavy saucepan. Add a little of the milk, enough to moisten the flour and sugar. Beat well. Then add the rest of the milk and the butter. Then add the slightly beaten egg yolk. Put mixture on the stove and cook slowly at low/medium temperature until mixture thickens, stirring with whisk constantly. This usually take 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and add coconut and vanilla. Pour into cooked pie pastry.
In clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites with sugar and cream of tarter. Beat until peaks form. Gently scoop whites onto pie. Sprinkle with coconut over top of meringue and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool at room temperature until cool, then place in the refrigerator and chill thoroughly. Flavor improves as pie chills. Serve Cold!
Meringue tip: Make sure there is no oil or grease of any kind on your mixing bowl and beaters. Always use fresh eggs when baking cream pies. I try to buy the eggs the day I plan to make the pie. Eggs whites will be runny if old.
Milk Chocolate Pie
From the kitchen of: Ruth Edwards
Pie Filling:
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 tablespoon Cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 fresh large egg yolks
1 - 9" deep dish pie pastry, cooked
Mix sugar, flour and cocoa together in a heavy saucepan. Add a little of the milk, enough to moisten the flour and sugar. Beat well. Then add the rest of the milk. Then add the slightly beaten egg yolks and vanilla. Put mixture on the stove and cook slowly at low/medium temperature until mixture thickens, stirring with whisk constantly. This usually take 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a 9" cooked pie pastry crust.
Note: If you choose to make this a chocolate meringue pie use the meringue ingredients and directions from above. Because Dave doesn't like meringue I usually just mound cool whip on top of the cooled pie. Then place in the refrigerator until chilled thoroughly.
Fresh Strawberry Pie
From the kitchen of: Kipi Ward
1 quart fresh or frozen strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 - 9" deep dish pie pastry, cooked
Slice strawberries. Add sugar, stir and set aside. Combine milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Stir until mixture becomes very thick. Mash strawberries with potato masher and drain thoroughly. Add to milk mixture and pour into baked pie pastry. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Add strawberry fans for garnish and enjoy!
Note: The pie was delicious but never truly set. Maybe I didn't drain the strawberries enough. Next time I think I'll try using just one can of milk. I also piled Cool Whip on top. Delicious! Since the pie was so runny we ate it with a spoon the first day then put it in the freezer over night and turned it into an ice cream pie. Yummy!
Walk with God!
Terri
