The pleasure of pie - Recipe

Sunset, July, 2000 by Elaine Johnson

A perfect crust and the allure of summer fruit--readers offer their favorite creations

* For a few afternoons every summer, I give myself over to a happy mess of flour, sugar, and juice-dripping fruit. We may be celebrating a birthday or having a little dinner party. Whatever the occasion, the clock stops: I'm making pie.

Out come the rolling pin, the canisters, the oversize mixing bowl (a wedding present from my colleagues) I hear my high school cooking teacher intoning tips on pastry making. And the frizzy globes on the counter--bound for that pastry--remind me how few foods compare to a perfectly ripe peach. When I push the pie into the oven, it's not long until I wonder, Is there a better smell anywhere on earth?

Our readers often otter concrete proof, in me form of their favorite creations, of the fact that they too love to make pie. These seven recipes from Sunset readers, chock-full of peaches, pears, and berries, all reminded us of why we especially love to fill a crust in the summer. Some are classic baked pies; some are simply fresh fruit settled into a pastry.

And about that crust--while a homemade pastry is quite grand (see Perfect Pie Pastry, below; it includes tips distilled from my high school teacher's advice), a purchased pastry serves well, and saves a big step. Either frames one of summer's sweetest pleasures.

Perfect Pie Pastry

PREP TIME: About 20 minutes

MAKES: 8 servings

For a 9-inch single-crust pie

About 1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cold butter or margarine, cut into chunks

3 tablespoons cold solid shortening, cut into chunks

For a 9-inch double-crust pie

About 2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold butter or margarine, cut into chunks

6 tablespoons cold solid shortening, cut into chunks

1. In a bowl, mix 1 cup flour and the salt (for single crust) or 2 cups flour and the salt (for double crust). Add butter and shortening. With a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in the fats or rub in with your fingers until the largest pieces are pea-size.

2. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons water (for single crust) or 4 tablespoons water (for double crust) over flour mixture. Stir with a fork just until evenly moistened. Gently squeeze about 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball; if it won't hold together, crumble lump back into bowl and sprinkle with more water, 1 tablespoon at a time; stir with a fork until evenly moistened.

3. With lightly floured hands, gently squeeze dough into a ball. For double crust, divide in half and shape each half into a ball. Pat dough into a 4-inch-wide round (2 rounds for double crust), pressing to make edges smooth.

4. Lay dough (1 round for double crust) on a lightly floured surface. Coat a rolling pin with flour. Roll firmly but gently in short strokes from center of dough outward to form an 11-inch-wide round. If edges split while rolling, push them back toward center to make round relatively smooth. Occasionally lift dough or turn over, dusting flour beneath to prevent sticking.

5. Fold the dough round in half, lift it gently without stretching, and lay the folded edge across the middle of a 9-inch pie pan. Unfold and ease dough into pan without stretching. Trim dough edge evenly 3/4 inch beyond pan rim.

6. For a single-crust pie: Fold dough edge under itself, flush with pan rim. To flute, press down on dough rim with your thumb and first finger to make an indentation; at the same time, press against dough edge with 1 finger of your other hand, pushing it between your fingers on the rim. Repeat indentations side by side. Bake or fill crust as recipe directs.

For a double-crust pie: Fill bottom crust as recipe directs. Roll second ball of dough as directed in step 4 into a 10-inch-wide round. Fold as directed in step 5, center on filling, and unfold. Trim edge flush with dough in pan. Fold dough edges under, flush with pan rim. Flute as directed for single-crust pie.

Per serving for a single crust: 148 cal., 57% (84 cal.) from fat; 2 g protein; 9.3 g fat (3.9 g sat.); 14 g carbo (0.5 g fiber); 116 mg sodium; 12 mg chol.

Pineapple-Peach Pie

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 3/4 hours, plus at least 3 hours to cool

NOTES: Andrea Kirsch of Palo Alto shares this delicious fruit pairing. You'll need a 2-pound pineapple or 1 1/4-pound peeled, cored pineapple. If using a refrigerated pastry, follow steps 5 and 6 of the Perfect Pie Pastry recipe (below left) to line pan, position top crust, and flute.

MAKES: 8 servings

1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup apricot-pineapple jam

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg About 2 pounds firm-ripe peaches

2 cups 1/2-inch chunks pineapple (see notes)

1 perfect pie pastry for 9-inch double-crust pie (at left) or

1 package (15 oz.) refrigerated pastry for 9-inch double-crust pie (see notes)

1. In a bowl, mix tapioca with sugar. Add jam, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg; mix. Peel peaches, pit, and slice 1/2 inch thick (you need 1 qt.); add peaches and their juice to tapioca mixture. Add pineapple and stir gently until evenly mixed. Let stand until tapioca is softened, 15 to 20 minutes.