Pie Number Nine - Barbara Frietchie Pie

The Year of Pie

Pie #9 - Barbara Frietchie Pie

    Who is Barbara Frietchie? What I learned about Barbara Frietchie (Frietchie), December 3, 1776 - December 18, 1862, is that she lived in Frederick, Maryland in 1862. Frietchie, also known as Barbara Fritchie and Barbara Frietschie, is the subject of a poem "Barbara Frietchie" by John Greenleaf Whittier. Frietchie is alleged to have shaken a Union flag and hurled insults at Confederate troops who were marching through Frederick. There are conflicting stories, but it is said that she did at least wave a Union flag at and cheered for Union General Ambrose Burnside's troops as they marched through. 

    I've seen other blog posts/articles on versions of this pie and it seems that mine did not turn out like some of those. For example, while the flavor sounds like it was the same, mine did not turn out to have two layers. Mine turned out thin and with a chewy consistency. It was a bit hard to cut with it destroying some of the pie crust edge, but that didn't matter, because overall, I really liked it. Served very, cold like the recipe suggested, it was delicious and surprisingly not oversweet. I would definitely make this again.

    The recipe I used comes from 250 Superb Pies And Pastries, published in 1950 by the Culinary Arts Institute and in fact, the black & white photo of the pie, does show what looks like two layers. 

Ingredients:

1 - 9 inch pie crust

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk (I used what I had, which was heavy whipping cream)

2 egg yolks (beaten)

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 eggs whites (beaten) 

Sprinkle of nutmeg

Whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

Prepare pie crust and line a 9-inch pan with crust. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Cook the sugar, brown sugar, cream/milk, egg yolks and butter in the top of a double boiler if you have one (I used a regular pan and heated on medium-low heat) until thickened. I forgot the "until thickened" part and cooked until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, salt and egg whites. Pour into pie shell and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake at 425 degrees for  ten minutes, then reduce temperature to 300 degrees and bake for forty-five more minutes. Generally if you insert a knife in the center and it comes out clean, you're done. Cool on a rack. Once cool, place in the refrigerator and serve very, cold with a dollop of whipped cream. Serves between six and eight slices.  

Barbara Frietchie Pie

Slice of Barbara Frietchie Pie

Banana Bread

 Banana Bread

    I made banana bread for a work team meeting recently and was so happy that my coworkers really enjoyed it.  This recipe comes from my favorite cookbook The Pillsbury Family Cook Book, published in 1963 and my copy is a 1970 sixth printing.  This bread came out so nice and moist. I made two recipes and got two beautiful loaves. 

  Ingredients:

2 cups sifted all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup softened butter or shortening (Ooops. I'm writing this a couple weeks after baking this and can't remember if I used butter or shortening)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup (2 medium sized mashed bananas)

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar (I used vinegar)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Sift flour with the soda and salt into a medium bowl. In a separate bowl cream butter/shortening and gradually add the sugar, creaming well. Blend in eggs and banana. Combine thoroughly and add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture, alternating with the milk. Begin and end the dry ingredients, blending well after each addition. Stir in nuts and chips if desired. Grease the bottom of a 9x5x3 loaf pan. Pour in batter and bake for 60 to 70 minutes. You'll want the bread to spring back when lightly touched in the center. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan loosen the bread. Sit the pan on a baking rack to cool and remove from pan after the bread has cooled. 

Beautiful Banana Bread

Beautiful Banana Bread

Pie Number Eight - Chocolate Crested Coconut Pie

 The Year of Pie

Pie #8 - Chocolate Crested Coconut Pie

    I'm back! It's been another few weeks which have been bonkers and I haven't been baking pies. I've made cookies, banana bread and I've made a simple hamburger gravy, but I haven't made pie. I did try a Cream Pie, but it was such a failure, that I'm not even going to write about it.  This custard pie however turned out pretty good. I made it a about three weeks ago and it was yummy. The recipe comes from Parade - 50 Favorite Desserts.  I can't find an exact publication for this small recipe booklet, but from experience, my best guess is that it was published in the early/mid 1960s.  It was pretty simple to make, so try it out. Especially if you like coconut. 

Ingredients:

4 eggs slightly beaten

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flaked coconut

2 tablespoons sugar

1 square, melted unsweetened chocolate 

2 tablespoons hot water

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare your pie crust and set aside. Combine the first six ingredients (eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, milk, vanilla and coconut). Set your pie pan on your oven rack and slowly pour your coconut mixture into the pan. Gently slide the shelf into the oven. I stupidly filled the pie shell at my counter and proceeded to make the biggest, fattest mess. I had to cool and clean the oven and start over a few days later. The second try turned out good. Bake for 30 minutes or until the custard is set; while the pie is baking, combine the 2 tablespoons sugar and melted chocolate. Gradually stir in the hot water. At the end of the 30 minute baking time, remove the pan and pour the chocolate evenly over top (this was difficult for me to spread out, so I chose to do a drizzle design instead and I liked how it turned out).  Turn your oven to 300 degrees and bake  an additional 7 to 10 minutes. If you like, garnish with additional flaked coconut. 

Chocolate Crested Coconut Pie

Chocolate Crested Coconut Pie

Pie Number Seven - To Die For Chocolate Chip Pie

 The Year of Pie

Pie #7 - To Die For Chocolate Chip Pie

    What did I think of this pie? In one word? "Delicious". This recipe comes from Texas Sampler: Handmade, Homemade....Recipes You're Bound To Love. Published by the Junior League of Richardson (Texas) in 1995, it was submitted by Connie Baird (Thank you, Connie!). This pie was really good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but you could certainly use a good dollop of whipped cream.  I gave out samples to a few friends and they all liked it. In fact one of my male co-workers I gave a sample to, said as he was wiping crumbs from his face, that I could make that again. Try this pie. It was really good.  

Ingredients:

1 prepared 10-inch pie crust

2 eggs

1/2 cup margarine, melted and cooled

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips)

1 cup chopped pecan pieces

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the eggs, margarine (make sure the margarine is cooled when you mix with the eggs, or you'll cook the eggs and you don't want that), sugar, flour and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in your chocolate chips and pecan pieces. Pour into your pie crust and bake for 55 minutes to an hour.  Yield: 6 to 8 servings.  

To Die For Chocolate Chip Pie w/a larger scoop of ice cream than I'd planned. 

To Die For Chocolate Chip Pie (Just in to bake)

To Die For Chocolate Chip Pie (Fresh from the oven)

Pie Number Six: Jack's Apple Pie

 The Year of Pie 

Pie #6 - Jack's Apple Pie

    Jack's Apple Pie is a recipe by Jack Jadkowski. Jack's recipe is in the Kalamazoo County Fair section of The County Fair Coobook, published in 1994. Jack has won numerous blue ribbons and won a Best In Show ribbon in 1992.  So, my crust didn't turn out great. Rolling dough is not my forte and while the top crust ended up with a nice texture, I did not like how the bottom crust was kind of soft.  I think if it had been thicker, it might have been better.  I also wasn't sure about the 4 tablespoons of butter in the filling. Overall though, and even with the crust problem(s), with the finished product tasted good. Modifications/What I did, in Italics.

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

 2/3 cup solid vegetable shortening

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 to 6 tablespoons very, cold water

Filling:

6 to 8 McIntosh or Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced (I used 7 Granny Smith apples)

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 generous teaspoon ground nutmeg

4 tablespoons butter, softened

Optional Serving Toppings:

whipped cream

vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Make your crust - Combine flour and salt, cut in shortening until the mix resembles course meal. Stir in water a tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together. Wrap in plastic wrap (I had wax paper) and refrigerate while you make the filling. Make your filling - Mix together in a large bowl, the sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss the apples in this mixture, making sure to coat all of the apple. Finish your crust and assemble - Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out bottom crust and place it in a 9-inch pie pan. Spread two tablespoons of the softened butter, evenly over the crust. Pour in apples and dot the remaining butter over top. Roll out your top crust. Cover the filling, crimp edges and cut vents for steam. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.  

Jack's Apple Pie

Side View

The piece I had for dinner. It didn't come out of the pan nicely, but it tasted good.
Topped with whipped cream. 

Pizza Sandwich

 Pizza Sandwich

    I mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters and this past Sunday, I had my Little Sister (she's eight years old) over to my house.  She has enjoyed baking with me, so I had planned for us to be in the kitchen. I chose a recipe called "Pizza Sandwich" from my Laurel Centennial Cook Book (1881-1981).  This is a community cookbook in which members of the community, mostly women, submitted recipes. This recipe was submitted by Judy Atcher. Modifications in italics. My Little Sister and I didn't layer the ingredients correctly in our dish, but it sure ended up pretty tasty. 

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef/turkey/pork (I used turkey)

sliced pepperoni (optional)

2 (8oz) cans tomato sauce. 

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp Italian seasoning (I may have actually used 2 tsps) and a little extra to sprinkle on top

2 cups Bisquick (or other brand) baking mix

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

8 slices American cheese (we used sharp cheddar)

1 small can mushrooms (I didn't use this)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

red chili pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook your ground beef/turkey/pork in a large skillet and drain. Stir in one can of tomato sauce and desired seasonings. Simmer for ten minutes. In a separate bowl, combine Bisquick, egg and milk. Grease a 9x9 inch pan (I used a round dish) and spread half of the batter into the pan. Poor the second can of tomato sauce over the first layer of batter, then add four slices of cheese, followed by the meat mixture, pepperoni if desired, mushrooms and the rest of the cheese. Spread the rest of the batter over top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. 

    I somehow got mixed up and layered the meat, second can of sauce and cheeses, followed by all of the batter. I still baked for about 23 minutes. We were a little rushed, or I would have given it a few more minutes. The batter wasn't cooked all the way through (the part closest to the meat, sauce and cheese wasn't a bit raw), but it tasted really good. I don't believe the problem was with the bake time; it was with my not layering the batter.  My Little Sister did great and she liked the way it tasted, so it was an all around success. I definitely recommend this dish and if you forget to layer the batter, just cook it longer.  

My Little Sister!

Pizza Sandwich

Pizza Sandwich (would have looked more sandwich-y if I'd layed the dough like I was supposed to)

Pie Number Five: Coconut Cream Pie (FAILED)

The Year of Pie

Pie #5 - Coconut Cream Pie

    I am writing about this pie, even though it was a "Failure". I thought I followed the directions and while the filling tasted good in the end, it didn't set up.  I also tried to be fancy and make a specialty crust (Chocolate-Coconut), which also did not turn out.  *I can't remember which cookbook that recipe was in, but when I find it, I'll update this post.* I mean it looked pretty, but I quickly realized when I took it out of the refrigerator to fill, that it was not going to work.  It had melted, unsweetened chocolate, sugar and coconut as the main ingredients, so was just solid chocolate and coconut. In the long run, I scraped the hardened coconut mixture out of the pan and sprinkled on top of a large bowl of the filling and served it as "Deconstructed Coconut Cream Pie" over pound cake.  While it did not look real appetizing, at least it tasted really good. Think "German Chocolate" or Mounds candy bars.  I do believe I will try again later.  You are welcome to try this recipe. which is from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. My copy is a thirteenth edition of this book which was originally published in 1896.  I hope it turns out for you and if you have any suggestions on why my filling may not have "set up", I'd love to hear them. 

Ingredients:

Baked 9-inch pie shell

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups milk

3 egg yolks, slightly beaton

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Combine sugar, flour and salt in a saucepan, stirring the in the milk slowly. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add egg yolks and cook for about three minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Cool for about fifteen minutes, then pour into pie shell. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

*Since my filling didn't thicken and the fancy crust didn't turn out, I mixed some of the hardened chocolate and coconut into the cream filling and spooned it over sliced poundcake, making "Deconstructed Coconut Cream Pie". 

Deconstructed Coconut Cream Pie