Carlas Pie Crust Food

CARLA'S CLASSIC PIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Dissolve the sugar and salt in 1/3 cup water and chill until cold.
• Pulse the flour and butter in a stand mixer until the mixture looks like coarse meal with some pea-size pieces. Add the water all at once and mix until the dough almost forms a ball. Divide the dough in half and flatten into two disks.
• Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days. You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.

CARLA'S PIE CRUST

Steps:

• 1. PREPARE THE PIE CRUST. Combine the water, salt and sugar in a liquid measuring cup. Chill in fridge for at least 15 minutes or until salt and sugar are dissolved and water is "ice" cold. 2. In the meantime, place the flour in the bowl of a standing mixer. Toss the cold butter pieces in the flour to coat each piece. Place the bowl in the fridge, with the paddle attachment, until chilled - about 30 minutes. Chilling all the components insures that the butter will stay cold while being mixed, therefore making the crust flaky. 3. With the mixer on low, mix the flour and butter until the butter is broken down into the size of chickpeas. With the mixer still running, pour the water mixture in at once. Increase the speed to medium and continue to mix until the dough comes together. (The mixture should have visible chunks of butter.) 4. Divide the dough into 10 even parts, form into discs and wrap each separately. Let the crust rest in the fridge while preparing the filling.

CARLA'S TORTA DI RICOTTA

Steps:

• Refrigerate the ricotta cheese in a strainer overnight so that the excess moisture is removed. In a mixing bowl, blend the ricotta cheese and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar with a hand mixer until it becomes a velvety consistency. In a separate bowl, whip the cream with 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. Gently fold in the whipped cream into the ricotta mixture along with the bittersweet chocolate. Spread the filling into the piecrust and refrigerate.
• In a saucepan, heat the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and 2 cups of water. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the pears and gently simmer until soft when pierced with a knife. Remove the pears from the pan and let cool. Cut the pears into slices and fan the slices on top of the pie filling, until the surface of the pie is covered. Fill in the gaps with extra pieces of pear, if necessary.
• In another saucepan, heat the remaining 1 cup water and apricot jam. Stir and cook until the jelly is liquefied, so that it can be used as a glaze. Spread the apricot glaze over the pears and let the pie rest in the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.

CARLA HALL'S PERFECT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar and salt in the water. Refrigerate until very cold, about 30 minutes. During that time, refrigerate your butter, flour, mixer bowl, and paddle, too. Make sure your butter is cut into 1/2-inch dice. Bigger pieces will make your dough puffy. In the chilled bowl, combine the cold butter and flour. With your hands, toss the butter in the flour until each cube is lightly coated. With the chilled paddle, beat the flour-butter mixture on low speed to just break up the butter, about 30 seconds. Add the water mixture all at once and raise the speed to medium-low. Beat just until the dough comes together in big chunks, then immediately turn off the mixer. .Divide the chunks of dough in half and very gently pat each group into a round 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour, before rolling. You can refrigerate the disks for up to 1 day or freeze for up to 3 months. Helpful Tips: 1. Make sure that all the ingredients are cold. 2. Mix with your fingertips, not your palms. Fingertips are cool, while your palms are hot. 3. When mixing the flour and butter, pick up some of the flour and butter, squeeze it, and drop it. 4. Make discs with the dough -- rather than a ball -- so that it is easier to flatten.

CARLA HALL'S CRANBERRY APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For flaky pie crust(if using storebought crust, skip this):.
• Combine water, salt, and sugar in measuring cup. Stir and place cup in fridge for at least 15 min (to chill water and to dissolve sugar and salt). If possible, chill mixing bowl and paddle attachment if possible.
• Combine flour and butter pieces in mixing bowl. On medium speed with mixer, cut butter into flour until butter pieces are the size of small pebbles. With the mixer running, pour the water from previous step into the butter mixture. Mix until the dough comes together.
• Separate the dough into 2 disks. Wrap each with film and chill.
• Roll chilled pastry dish out to fit a 9-inch pie dish. Prick all over dough with a fork. Bake on 375 for 10-15 minutes, or until it is lightly golden. Set aside to cool.
• For Cranberry Apple Filling:.
• In a large bowl, combine apples and cranberries (frozen and dried) Stir in salt, sugars (brown and granulated), nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir in the zest and juice of 1 lemon. If you don't like cranberries try dried cherries or raisins instead.
• In a small bowl, combine water, cornstarch, and vanilla. Quickly stir mixture into apples. Adjust seasoning if desired.
• Fill pie dish with apple filling.
• For Crumble Topping:
• Place all the topping ingredients into food processor and process until butter has been cut into the mixture. Carla tip: if you overmix your crumble just add extra nuts or oatmeal.
• Sprinkle topping over top of pie filling. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes.
• Enjoy!