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 When I was too young to know better,
the only pie that I would eat was my mom’s lemon meringue – it was to
die for and she made it, and everything else from scratch, something
that I took for granted until the time of her passing… I don’t remember
when I had my first piece of rhubarb pie; as a clue, I do remember that
my first taste of blueberry pie was not until the age of twenty-five. I
realize that I really missed out on a lot of great flavors due to my
finicky taste buds.
My
food likes and dislike have changed significantly since 1960; the “like”
list is far longer now and, at least in terms of pies, rhubarb is right
up at the very top of that list. Heidi inherited a rhubarb plant that
actually dates back several generations and every spring it has been a
prolific producer of some of the finest stems I have ever tasted; the
pies and crisps we make are simply the very best. And in the
 tradition
of the way my mom did things, the pies are made from scratch; even the
crust is a tried and true recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens
cookbook that I inherited from my mom, and the rhubarb stems are
harvested from our garden. Nothing frozen and nothing pre-made or
pre-packaged.
The recipe below has produced the
best rhubarb pie I have ever had – certainly as good as the ones my mom
used to make for my dad, way back when I didn’t know any better. Rhubarb
seems to be something that you either really like… or really don’t care
for at all. But for those who like it (and I’ll steal a phrase here),
“you’re gonna like this pie, I guarantee it!”
Ingredients for pie crust:
Ingredients for pie filling:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450
degrees.
Begin making the crust by sifting 2 cups of flour and
1 tsp salt together; cut in shortening with pastry blender or fork till
pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp water over part
of the mixture. Gently toss with fork; push to side of bowl.
Repeat with the remaining water and orange juice until all is moistened.
Form into two equal balls. Flatten on lightly floured surface by
pressing with edge of hand. Roll the first ball from center to
edge until 1/8 inch thick.
Gently move the rolled pastry into a pie plate.
Add the triple sec or Grand Marnier to the chopped
rhubarb in a bowl and distribute evenly. Set aside.
 Combine
1 cup sugar and 6 Tbsp of flour in another bowl. Mix well and sprinkle 1/4 of it over pastry in pie plate.
Heap rhubarb over this mixture. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour.
Dot with small pieces of butter.
Roll out the second pastry ball. Cut strips of
pastry 1/2 - 3/4 inch wide with pastry wheel or knife. Lay strips
on pie at 1 inch intervals. Fold back alternate strips as you
weave cross strips. Trim lattice even with outer rim of pie plate;
fold lower crust over strips. Seal and flute edge.
Place pie on lowest rack in oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven
temperature to 350 degrees, and continue baking for 40
to 45 minutes. This pie can be served warm or cold.
As always, I hope to
see you On
the Lake!
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