Saturday, January 23, 2010

Snow Pie and Crimson Pie


January is a beautiful silver-white, crisply cold month which happens to feature National Pie Day! Today is the actual day, so naturally the pie for such an event posed a challenge; should I choose a pie that was warm and colorful or try to find one that mimicked the frozen white landscape? I couldn’t decide until I came across a recipe for a frozen concoction aptly named Snow Pie.

The pie was featured in a Bon Appetit magazine RSVP column (1981) and was requested by Lily A. Burnham who wrote:

The Kennebunk Inn 1799 is quaint and charming and a delight for visitors to this old New England town. Chef Gerald Goodwin prepares his fabulous Sno-Pie, but the recipe is a secret. Could Bon Appetit pry this recipe from him for the benefit of all pie lovers?

The “pie” is really a cross between a cake and a pie, but the combination of a frozen, white dessert with the tropical flavors of a Pina Colada intrigued me. So I set out to make it. Several problems cropped up in my trial run, so I had a little juggling to do to the original recipe. Here is my version with some of the changes noted.

Candlelight Inn Snow Pie

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs*
4 Tbsp. butter, melted*

3 cups sour cream*
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple, well drained*
½ cup cream of coconut
1/3 cup white rum*

1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted (garnish)
¾ cup shredded coconut (garnish)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine crumbs and butter in medium bowl or process graham crackers in food processor to make crumbs and pour melted butter through feed tube. Pat mixture evenly onto bottom and sides of well-greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake until set, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Combine sour cream, sugar, pineapple, cream of coconut and rum in large bowl of electric mixer and beat on low speed until blended. Be sure to use flat beater rather than wire whip beater. Cover mixer with a towel to prevent spattering (warning: do not omit this step—I spent 30 minutes cleaning up my machine and counters); then increase speed to high and continue beating 3-4 minutes. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Sprinkle with nuts, then coconut to cover for an all-white appearance. Freeze until firm, about 6 hours or overnight. Let stand at room temperature about 20 minutes before serving. Run sharp knife around crust and remove springform. Cut pie into wedges.

I cut the amount down from 2 cups; the crust was too thick
I cut butter to correspond with above change
The original recipe called for imitation sour cream—I’m not sure that it is even available anymore.
The original recipe did not specify draining the pineapple—but the mixture was on the soupy side, so I made the change.
Original called for ½ cup—raw taste of alcohol too strong for us. You could use rum extract as well, which would also make the mixture freeze to a firmer consistency.

Just to complement the all-white frozen Snow Pie, I found a recipe that spoke to me with both its name and its ingredients—plus it’s a traditional pie. This is wonderful and was well received by our guests at breakfast. Why not surprise your friends or family on National Pie Day (today) and bake both of these wonderful pies?

Crimson Pie

½ small seedless orange (unpeeled),
4 cups frozen blueberries
12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
1 ½ cups sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
Pie crust dough for double-crust pie
2 Tbsp. butter
1Tbsp. half and half
Sugar for sprinkling

Coarsely grind orange in processor. Transfer to medium saucepan. Add blueberries, cranberries, 1 ½ cups sugar and cornstarch. Boil mixture over medium-high heat until thick, stirring constantly about 3 minutes. Cool completely. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Roll ½ pie dough out on lightly floured surface to 12” diameter. Roll dough up on rolling pin and transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass or stoneware pie pan. Gently press into place. Trim edges with ¼” overhang; reserve trimmings. Spoon berry filling into crust, mounding slightly in center. Do not over-fill; see below for extra filling. Dot filling with butter. Roll second half of pie dough out on lightly floured surface to 12-inch-diameter round. Roll up on rolling pin and unroll over pie. Trim edges. Pinch edges together to seal; flute edges to make decorative border. Make several slashes in top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush crust with milk. You can take reserved trimmings and make decorative dough designs to place on top of pie, or roll out and make 2 small tarts with extra filling. Brush decorations and pie top with half and half. Sprinkle top of pie with sugar. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet covered with aluminum foil for spill-overs. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil to keep from over-browning. Bake for 35 minutes; remove foil from edges and bake for 15 minutes more.

No comments:

Post a Comment