A Cookin' Sunday

Sunday found me in the kitchen, cooking up desserts filled with all the berries I picked last Friday and Saturday. Before I turned out the light Saturday night, I sat in bed with Baking Illustrated: The Practical Kitchen Companion for the Home Baker, written by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine. I knew I wanted to make a seedless Blackberry Pie, but my dilemma was what do I do once I've pureed the berries and extracted the seeds? After all, the result is a thick liquid--not exactly pie material. The answer was to be found in Baking Illustrated's Summer Berry Pie, which calls for a mix of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. They recommend cornstarch as the best thickener for berries. So the filling was planned.

But what about the crust? Summer Berry Pie calls for a graham cracker crust, but that seemed all wrong for blackberries. I also didn't want a traditional flaky pie crust, primarily because I'm not wild about the way they taste. So I settled on Baking Illustrated's Sweet Tart Pastry to be pre-baked. (I love B.I.'s lengthy discussion of methods and the results of their experimenting.)

Well, the entire project took me about three hours, including clean-up. It was exhausting and a bit nerve-wracking, because I am so not a piecrust baker, but the result was a delicious pie, though the crust's overall appearance left a lot to be desired. Practice, practice.

In the evening, the peaches from Sunny Crest Orchard in Sterling, Massachusetts, were ripe, so Ken and I made peach ice cream (don't forget to add lemon and vanilla!). About nineteen years ago, we bought a Donvier Ice Cream Maker, the super-easy, no sweat, by hand method, and we're still using it. Are Donviers even made anymore? We used a half cup of heavy cream and a half cup of whole milk, which, with the peach mix, made a pint of ice cream. Because of the milk, the end result is a bit icy. Another time, I might increase the amount of cream, especially when there is so much fruity liquid.