Tahoe weather is warming up, Memorial Day is on our doorstep and barbecue and picnic season has arrived. Vegetable and fruit boxes are available from regional farms and local farmers’ markets are opening for the season offering a bevy of beautiful fruits and vegetables. Whether on a dock or on the beach on Lake Tahoe, it’s time to slough off a long winter and consider eating healthy and al fresco. No picnic or barbecue is complete without dessert — especially pie.
READ MORE: Molly Knickerbocker shares her recipe for Rhubarb Pie
Fruit pies of all types take center stage now. And while rhubarb season is here, it’s a perfect time for the classic rhubarb pie. Add strawberries for a sweet and tart combo that tempts the taste buds. Tahoe local Molly Knickerbocker has set up a raised bed in her yard and plans to grow rhubarb in her garden. She loves to make homemade piecrusts and offers her aunt’s down-and-dirty recipe for a fabulous rhubarb pie.
Whether it’s a double, lattice or crumble-filled crust with your favorite fruit topping, pie is one dessert that dazzles.
Berries are one of life’s simple pleasures, whether you eat them out of the pint containers at the farmers’ market, enjoy them with yogurt for breakfast or add them to a pie. Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are traditional pies to prepare for a Memorial Day picnic or summer barbecue. Combine all three for a triple-berry pie. If time is a constraint, pre-made piecrusts can cut down on prep time.
Stone fruit season is here. Peaches with their fuzzy skins and orange or white flesh are a seasonal favorite fruit. Peach pie with vanilla ice cream is generally a hit and leftovers are great for breakfast. Plums are another delightful stone fruit that grows in a rainbow of colors: purple, red and yellow, to mention a few. I have fond memories as a kid of biting into a ripe plum on a hot sunny day, the juices dripping down my arms. There are a number of hybrid fruits such as pluots, a cross between a plum and an apricot that are more plum forward. Plumcots are a half-plum-and-half-apricot mix and apriums are more apricot than plum. These fruits are excellent for pie and any combination yields a unique array of flavors.
Let us not forget the cherry. Who doesn’t love cherry pie? Try the red Bing or Washington cherry blindfold test to see which is sweeter. At a recent dinner, I decided to prepare a cherry pie but had only an hour to prepare it. I went to the freezer for a piecrust and realized I had used my last crust. All I had on hand were the cherries and egg-roll wrappers. If you prepare a cherry-pie filling and wrap it in egg-roll wrappers, is it still considered pie? The cherry-pie egg rolls were amazing. Normally, I would have baked them, but my friend’s oven wasn’t working so I cooked them on the stove in a pan to a crisp perfection.
There are many twists to create a signature pie. Try maple syrup or agave instead of sugar or try a no-pie crust — just the filling — with a granola topping or crumble. Think bite-sized mini pies in muffin tins. They offer a great presentation and serve more people. Whether it’s a double, lattice or crumble-filled crust with your favorite fruit topping, pie is one dessert that dazzles.
Pies aren’t always sweet either. A savory pie satisfies, too: tomato pies, cheese pies, quiches and, of course, let us not forget pizza pies.
Stay tuned for the next installment on savory pies and recipes.
Rhubarb Pie
Courtesy of Molly Knickerbocker
For the crust, Molly uses her Aunt Peggy’s recipe from the James Beard award-winning cookbook, “Simple Soirees” by Peggy Knickerbocker.
Crust
2 C all-purpose flour
1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 large egg yolks, save the white
1 T sugar
¾ t salt
¼ C sparkling water, very cold
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, rub the flour, butter, egg yolk, sugar and salt together with your fingers until it looks like course meal. The butter should not be completely mixed in, tiny pieces should be visible. Add cold water in small amounts until dough starts to hold together. Do not overwork the crust or it will make a tough crust.
Pat dough into two balls and flatten into disks with smooth edges. Pat away any cracks or it will have cracks and holes when rolled out. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out.
Molly’s Rhubarb Filling
4½ C rhubarb, cut into pieces
3/4 C sugar
5 T flour
Juice of ½ lemon
Lemon zest ½ lemon
1½ t vanilla
Roll out dough and press into pie pan. Mix ingredients in a bowl and put a little of mixture into unbaked crust and add a few dabs butter. Continue to layer until pie is full. Cover with top layer of dough. Cut small dents in top. Bake pie for 45 to 55 minutes until golden brown.
