I haven't made a pie since last March, so I knew I'd be a little rusty. I wasted some of the crust when I rolled it out. And the "decorative slits" on the top crust weren't planned out very well. It looked like a serial killer was taking some slashes at the pie. I should have done a lattice crust, which I've never done before. I'll start practicing latticing so I can do it well next Pi Day.
I also read a tip on the Interwebs that I was excited to try. Take your trusted pie crust recipe, and substitute vodka for water. I assumed this would ever be a bad idea. The science behind this idea is that gluten doesn't form in alcohol. Less gluten in the crust means more of the liquid will burn off. End result: flakier crust. (Bonus: I'm making a pie and feel like I deserve to have a glass of vodka on the rocks whilst covered in flour.)
Okay, so I'm not sure if it was the placebo effect, or what... But the crust was amazing. I think it was levels beyond the quality of crust that I've made before. My plan is to make two of the same flavor pies but with a water crust for one and a vodka crust for the other next week or for Thanksgiving, and to do a taste test with the two crusts.
The filling itself was also lovely. I just used a Triple Berry recipe from allrecipes.com. Basically just the berries, flour, cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. It was my first time making a berry pie. It will not be my last.
In Pi(e) we trust -
Madcap J
