BLUEBERRY PIE

 Blueberry Pie 

This is a favorite at the holidays . Hope you enjoy this pie!!

Pastry for a Two Crust Pie recipe follows*

4 cups fresh blueberries (preferably organic) or a 15 oz. can blueberries (preferably organic) drained

1 recipe for pastry for a Twi Crust Pie (recipe follows)

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

1 Tbsp. butter

whole milk or cream for brushing on top of pie

sugar for sprinkling on top of pie crust

Prepare Pastry for a Two Crust Pie Instructions follow*

Mix the sugar and flour together. If you are using fresh blueberries rinse them and pick over the berries to remove any stem pieces. Place the berries into the sugar and flour mixture and mix together until all the berries are coated well with theit cool  sugar and flour mixture. Pour the coated blueberries into a pastry lined  pie plate or tart pan. Cut the butter into several pieces and dot the blueberries with it. Cover the filling with the top pastry and seal the edges of the pie. Use a pastry brush to coat the top of the pie with whole milk or cream. Sprinkle s400ome sugar over the top of the pie, and with a knife make a few slits in the top crust  to let steam escape. Place the pie in a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven, and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. heck on the pie after the first 15 minutes of baking to make sure it is not browning too fast, and if it is, the heat can be turned down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for the remainder of the baking time. The pie should turn a beautiful golden color on both the top and bottom crusts. Carefully remove the pie from the oven, and let it cool until the pie is just warm. 

Pastry For A Two Crust Pie

Pasta Per Torta 

This pie pastry is delicious with its all butter fat content, and very tender because 1/3 of the flour is cake flour.

Tip:   A glass pie plate is best to use, so that you can see color of the bottom crust and judge when the pie is done.

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour

½ tsp. salt

1 cup butter

8 to 10 Tbsp. ice water

Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with 2 knives until the pieces are small enough to be cut in with a pastry blender. Blend until half the butter is the size of small peas and the rest resembles coarse meal.  Add about 1/3 of the water and mix with a fork. Continue adding a little water at a time and mix with your hands until the dough holds together and can be formed into a ball. Do not over mix as this will give you tough dough. For the final blending, place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Take ½ of the dough and with the heal of your hand rapidly press the dough down and away from you  in a firm quick smear of about 6 inches, set aside and smear the other half of the dough. Form the dough into 2 flat round discs and wrap with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for at least 1 hour, 2 hours is preferable. The dough can be left in the refrigerator overnight. 

Flour your work surface and your rolling pin lightly and flour the disc of pastry lightly also. Flatten a disc by hitting a rolling pin onto the surface 3 times in one direction and then 3 times in the opposite direction.  Roll the dough out from the center until the dough is about 1/8 inch thick and large enough to fit into a pie plate or tart pan with overlap. Fold the dough in half and fit into a pie plate or tart pan. Repeat the rolling procedure with the second disc and fold it in half and lift over the pie that you have filled with your desired filling  and follow directions for baking as recommended.  

Serve with Sweetened Whipped cream recipe follows** 

Sweetened Chantilly Whipped Cream**

Panna Montata

1 pint (2 cups) heavy whipping cream

¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. to 1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. vanilla extract (to taste)

The cream should be well chilled just from the refrigerator (under 40 degrees F.)  Beat with an electric hand mixer if you have one, otherwise a stand mixer or a whisk.  Start beating slowly so that the cream does not spray out of the bowl.  Beat until the cream is thickened, then add the powdered sugar and mix until combined. Add the Tbsp. of vanilla extract and stir until it is mixed in thoroughly. Taste and add more if needed.  The cream should form soft peaks when the beater is slowly lifted up.  Place in the refrigerator and let it sit for at least an hour before serving to let the flavors meld. 

                                         

Tip:  Beating the cream before adding the flavorings lets maximum air to be incorporated into the cream.