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11/04/2021 12:01 AMIs it too soon to talk about pie?
I, myself, do not think so.
Thanksgiving is just weeks away. For many years I made the crust from scratch. The best recipe was given to me by Deb Jensen, who lived in Stonington and had a couple of restaurants in the borough. But before that, she had a restaurant in New York City that, if I remember correctly, was called Pie in the Sky. After she left the city and opened her first restaurant in Connecticut, she continued to take her pies to New York. That’s how good her pies were.
Over the years, I have made others, but hers are the best. Were mine as good as Deb’s? Not really, but it was still really good. I have tried boxed and refrigerated ones. None were terribly good, but if the fillings were rich and decadent (think chocolate or pecan) or loaded with fresh fruit (apple pie served with vanilla ice cream or lemon meringue), the crust might be an afterthought. I do have Oronoque pie crusts (in the freezer aisle of most supermarkets). In a pinch, they are tasty.
I have to admit, too, that Rich Swanson has taught me to make a pie crust with homemade buttermilk biscuits, a version that is a bit easier than Deb’s. It is yummy. But below is Deb’s pie crust. I use butter and Crisco. (c’mon, don’t be like that. It was good enough for our mothers. It is okay for us once in a while.) Next week we can talk about fruit pies, and blind baking, and my Aunt Anne’s creamy lemon pie that you serve with a little whipped cream.
Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.
Deb Jensen’s Perfect Pie Crust
Makes enough for two, two-crust, and nine-inch pies (what is not used can be frozen)
Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¾ cups solid shortening
(1 cup very cold Crisco,
¾ cup very cold butter)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
½ cup ice water
1 egg
Directions
Combine dry ingredients. Cut shortening into dry ingredients. Add egg to ice water, beat, then add vinegar. Stir into dry ingredients with a fork. Form into four balls, place individually in plastic wrap or small plastic bags and chill. Bring back to room temperature before rolling out.*
Dough keeps one month in refrigerator and longer in freezer.
*My biggest problem with pie crust is the rolling out. I use a well-floured pastry cloth and a well-floured mitten on my rolling pin. When it’s the right size, I roll the crust up on my rolling pin and gently “roll it out” over the pie plate. Add filling, and repeat the same for the top crust.
If you do this in a food processor (which I do): whirl dry ingredients. Add very, very cold butter and shortening in small chunks and pulse about 10 times. With machine running, add the wet mixture and process only until it just little pieces hold together. Dump it onto a floured surface, knead a little (very little), then follow directions in first paragraph.