I Gave Away My First Peach Pie…and Back to Mayo

Ever since last week when I showed Tony a peach pie that I saw on Pinterest, and he declared it one of his favorite pies, I’ve seen peach pies everywhere!   I was drawn to Natasha’s Perfect Peach Pie for a number of reasons.  First off, she used butter and cream cheese in her pastry crust.  Huh.  And I was also drawn to the lattice top of her pie.  I’ve never done that before.

So on Sunday morning while Tony was resting, I got bizzy on making him a peach pie.  First of all, I do have a couple tips when making a pie crust that’s worked for me in the past.  About 30 minutes before I was ready to start, I put my butter in the freezer, along with the mixing blade of my food processor.  When it got time to incorporate the butter, I simply shred the frozen butter with my cheese grater, and without touching the butter with my hands (well, other than to grate it!) I put it straight into my food processor with the cold blade and mix it all together.  The more you keep the butter cold, the flakier the crust turns out to be.  And I just mix the dough until it starts to pull away from the sides.  And, I didn’t have any heavy whipping cream, so my 3 tablespoons of liquid was vanilla flax milk.

Peaches were on sale for .79 cents a pound.  I had to really pick through them to find really ripe ones.  Um, either I grabbed from the wrong pile or they were stocked wrong.  Somehow I got all Georgia peaches and two white California peaches!  I just blanche the peaches for about a minute and the skin can easily be pulled apart with your fingers.  I cut away any brown parts.

Then I tossed the peaches with the remaining ingredients – lemon juice, flour, sugar, nutmeg and salt.

The directions said to make 15 long strips for the lattice, saving the longer ones for the middle of the pie pan. I really had to jam all the peaches into the pie pan!

Not gonna lie – the lattice topping took me a few minutes to grasp.  I had Natasha’s step by step photos to help me though!  And at this point I may or may not have had a shit ton of flour on my pants.  I need to wear an apron more often.

Then I brushed it with an egg wash.  The only thing I did differently was to add some course sugar to the top of my pie before baking.  It baked at 425 for 20 minutes, then reduced the temp to 375 where it cooked for 35 minutes more.

The one thing that Natasha said was to let the pie rest at least two hours to let the juices settle so the pie would set up before slicing.  Not going to lie, that took a lot to keep passing by that pie and not cut into it!  And I continued on with my other cooking, etc., and every time I came into the kitchen and saw the pie I thought to myself “I can’t believe I made that!”

Sadly, Tony didn’t have much of an appetite on Sunday.  So we didn’t cut into it.  Yesterday we made the call to the cardiologist at Mayo to determine what the next step was.  We had a consult with him scheduled for late this afternoon, but we didn’t want to make the trip if it was just going to tell us he might need heart surgery, but they couldn’t schedule it for a week or more.  Well, turns out he has to have more tests to pinpoint the exact problem with his heart.  We have a test this afternoon and then have the consult and will go from there.

Only one tiny problem.  Our lawn needed to be mowed.  I didn’t want Tony trying to help me get the riding mower out of the shed.  I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve literally only cut my grass five times in 14 years – and the last time was at least 6 or 7 years ago.  I had the idea of asking my neighbor if I could borrow his push mower and Tony suggested that I give the pie away.  No sense leaving it at home if we weren’t going to be here.  And Tony doesn’t like to eat different things if we are going to be in a car for 5 hours.

So I gave my very first peach pie away.  But I know it won’t be my last.  And once you do the lattice topping, it’s quite easy.  I am just anxious to hear how the pie tasted!

So after mowing the lawn, I went and got gas in the car, got cash, picked up a hot dog and fries for dinner, then after watching MasterChef (love that show!) I packed us both up and loaded up the car with everything that I could that we didn’t need this morning.  Shouldn’t take me more than 5 minutes to put the rest of the stuff in the car.  My cooler is packed – you’ll be happy to know that I didn’t bring a shit ton of condiments and canned goods with me this time!

And exciting news!!  Remember that recipe contest that I entered for Extended Stay America?   When I was waiting for our hot dogs, I was reading my email and scrolled down to read this:

We are the judging organization handling the Away From Home Cooking Recipe Contest and we’re pleased to inform you that your entry of Pan seared Pork Chops with Spinach Apple Honey Mustard Sauce and Rosemary New Potatoes was one of the top-scoring recipes and you have been declared a Finalist. Congratulations!

Eek!  Starting the week of July 22 oops July 28 through August 15, there will be a place to vote.  The top two recipes that get the most votes will be considered “fan favorites” and automatically get to the finale cook off.  Two other recipes will be hand picked by the judges.  The email also asked that I have to confirm that I will be available the weekend of September 15 in New York to participate in the final cook-off.  How cool is that??!!

Alright, time to get the rest of our stuff together and shower.  We leave in 30 minutes!   You can follow me along in Instagram “mybizzykitchen.”

Thanks for your continued good thoughts and prayers too – hugs!