Balsamic Cherry Pie With A Black Pepper Crust Food

BALSAMIC CHERRY PIE WITH A BLACK PEPPER CRUST

Steps:

• First, prepare the filling. Bring the ingredients to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium high heat, stirring every few minutes. Lower the heat and allow the mixture to simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Take care not to crush the cherries when you stir, as you want them to remain whole in the pie. At the end of the 30 minutes, the cherry filling should have thickened significantly. Remove from heat and set aside.
• To prepare the crust, mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. You have two options when adding the butter. 1) You could cut the butter into pea-sized pieces over the bowl. But this method usually means holding the butter in your hand which will warm it up, thus making less cold-induced flakiness. Or 2) You could cut the stick into general 2-inch cubes on a cutting board, add the butter cubes to the bowl and toss them to coat in the dry ingredients (this helps protect them from the warm air) and use this dough scraper to chop the butter cubes into smaller bits that are roughly pea-sized. This method is better because it keeps the butter colder longer. Begin adding the tablespoons of ice water while stirring gently. Grab a handful of the mixture and squeeze. If it generally sticks together when you let go, it is fine. If it completely crumbles apart, it needs a bit more water.
• Separate the dough into two pieces, one that is 2/3rds of the total dough and one that is 1/3 of the total dough. The bigger ball of dough will be the bottom crust and the smaller ball of dough will be the lattice top. Roll out the big ball of dough onto a well-floured surface, keeping it in a nice circular shape. Once it is about 1 cm thick, transfer it a lightly greased and floured springform pan that is 8 inches in diameter and 2.5 inches tall and mold into it into the sides of the pan, letting the extra crust hang off the sides. Trim excess crust, and roll out the smaller ball. Cut it into 1-inch strips for the lattice pattern, but leave the lattice pieces on a large plate lined with parchment paper. Place the plate and the crust shell, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. For the glaze, whisk the egg and water in a small bowl until combined. Remove the pie shell and lattice from the refrigerator. Brush the tops of the lattice strips with the egg mixture. Pour the filling into the pie shell and then arrange the lattice strips on top. Use your thumbs to press the edges of the crust and lattice strips together and cut off any excess crust. After the edges of the crusts are secured, lift them up a bit so that they don't hang down over the edge too much, otherwise when the pie is done and you unhinge the cake pan, the crusts will break off when the sides of the pan expand. Brush the edges of the crust with the egg mixture as well.
• Place the pie in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 20 to 1 hour and 30 minutes, on the second lowest oven rack, lightly brushing the surface with more egg again at the 45 minute mark. If you notice the edges of the crust browning too quickly, cover them with tin foil.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 45 minutes to 1 hour before serving.

FRESH CHERRY BALSAMIC PIE

Steps:

• Wash and pit cherries (I used a cherry pitter gadget, but you can also use a paper clip to gouge them out).
• Place in large saucepan and mix with sugar, lemon juice, balsamic venegar, and 2 tbsp water. Cover and heat on medium high, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil.
• Mix 3 tbsp hot water with 3 tbsp flour to form a paste. Slowly pour into cherry mix, stirring constantly, making sure there are no lumps. Let simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let cool in fridge.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare pie crust and line 2 pie plates. Pour cherry filling into both pie shells. Place top crust layer over filling, and remove excess around edges. Flute the crust and cut vents into the top (be creative and make fun patterns and shapes like cherries or hearts).
• Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 45 minutes.
• Let cool before serving.