Today is Pi

So, since it is the 14th of March, you know, 3.14...Pi, well then Pie! Clever, right? I thought what the heck. The sun has been hiding all day, I have been working since 7a.m., and my kitchen needs a delicious smell to make me think spring. I haven't made a pie in awhile and I bought the hugest basket of strawberries from Costco. I know that they are going to get rotten before I can eat them all, and I was a little disappointed in the taste, they weren't all that sweet. So pie is perfect, as well as my morning smoothie to use them up. I came across a rather expensive package of rhubarb at another market and decided to add a taste of Iowa. I am using a recipe from Epicurious that I of course tweaked to fit my needs. If I followed their recipe, the rhubarb alone would have been $15. Gulp. So needless to say I used far more strawberries than it asked for. Here's how I did it.
Crust
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
10 tablespoons (about) ice water

In food processor, pulse flour, sugar and salt. Then add bitter and shortening and pulse until it looks crumbly. Add the ice water a few Tablespoons at a time, pulsing until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill about an hour.


Pie Filling

½ pound or 2 cups rhubarb in ½" thick slices
5 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Gently mix this all together. I let it sit for about 15 minutes to get good and juicy. I also added a few more Tablespoons of corn starch because my berries were a little soft to start. Roll half the dough to fit a 9" pie pan. Fill with berries and rhubarb and roll out the remaining dough. Cut dough into strips and lattice the top. Make a wash of an egg yolk and water and brush the crust and dust with sugar. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and continue to bake for about 15 minutes more. The filling should be bubble and the crust golden. Cool to let the filling thicken a bit before serving.

You may notice that I use this super cool board to roll out my dough. It has a lip so you can push that rolling pin and the board doesn't move. One side is plain and the side you see here is marked with pie sizes, a crust recipe and some other measurement details. It is heavy, but I love mine and use it for anything I am rolling out. Yes, I bought it at that store...Also, I didn't get my pie baked until late in the day, and it was a sunless day at that. So my not so great photos are of the pie before it was baked. If I remember I will take a picture of a slice tomorrow. But trust me, it is totally edible!

So, what are ya waiting for? Get in there and bake!