That being said, I used this recipe: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_pie_crust/ and I didn't fuck it up! I just kept in mind that a) keep it cold b) don't touch it much and it was pretty damn good. A lot better than a frozen grocery store crust, that's for sure.
So with that crust made, I set out to make a poached pear and cranberry pie for Christmas this year. The inspiration was from a place in Los Angeles called "The Pie Hole" that is, so I'm told, the hip place to be in downtown LA. When I ate it, I was a little more than underwhelmed. The name just sounded so good... and yet it just tasted like sugar syrup. So I got to work! First I googled a bunch of pear pie recipes. Nothing inspiring. Then googled "poached pear pie" and found a few good ideas- mainly trying to figure out what to poach my pears in. At first I wanted to try rum, but after several recipes used a sweet white wine, I made my battle plan:
-Pears: a lot of them. I got both red and bosc. Make sure to peel them whole, then slice.
-Sweet white wine: I used a prosecco, nearly a whole bottle. Lots of recipes called for a riesling.
-Pear cider: Did I cheat here? I just wanted something to help balance out the poaching liquid.
-Sugar
-Cinnamon stick
-Ball of mulling spices (Trader Joes brand in a tea ball)
- Vanilla (I brew my own with a dark rum and vanilla beans- shway better than store bought!)
-Large zest peeling of buddha hand fruit : You can totally use lemon. I have an affinity for Buddha's hand fruit due to its fragrance (like lemon blossoms) and I had one lying around to use specifically for my holiday baking needs... and to sniff every time I was in the kitchen. It smells so good! The next time you're in the grocery store and see this magical citrus, give it a wiff for me! ...Anyway, big pieces of zest here because you'll want to fish them out later. You could also stuff these into the mulling spice ball too, but I cut large enough pieces that it wasn't a big deal.
(also in ingredient list, but not used in this step)
- dried cranberries (optional)
- cornstarch
I let these all boil then simmer in a large covered pot for about an hour. The pears will cook and absorb all those wonderful flavors.... Not to mention your house will smell AMAZING. After it's all poachy, remove everything from the pot and save all that liquid. Strain a few times to remove any pieces of vest or spice pieces. At this point there should be bowl A of poached pear bits and pot B with poaching liquid, strained of everything not liquidy goodness. Put the pot back on the heat and reduce the liquid until it is about a cup to two cups of liquid. As for the bowl of poached pears, sprinkle in a few dried cranberries. It doesn't add too much tartness to the pie, it just adds a surprise bite every once in a while. Preheat your oven to 350!
Once the liquid is reduced, if it's not syrupy enough for you (mine wasn't) add about a teaspoon of cornstarch to a little bit of tap water and dissolve it so there are no clumps. Then add that to the liquid. Allow to cook and thicken. You can repeat if needed to get to the thickness you'd like.... but I wouldn't go too thick... Remove your perfect crust from the fridge and if it's not rolled out and prepped in a pie pan now, please do that. Now add the pears and the poached sauce, then either cover with the rest of your pie crust or add a oatmeal crumb topping. I went with a oatmeal crumb topping and it was fabulous. (oatmeal, brown sugar, flour, butter)
I baked it for about 45 minutes to an hour and it was perfectly browned and beautiful. If yours browns too fast, tent with foil.
In my head this all makes perfect sense, but if anything is too vague or sounds wrong... please ask!
