An Homage to Milwaukee's Honey Pie Cafe: Salted Honey Pie

Ever since we made that Cherries & Cream Slab Pie this summer for the Go Bold with Butter blog, I've been a little obsessed with pie making.

One of the things I've been obsessed about is the crust. I've never been good at crust... in fact, one failed attempt where the dough got so tough it was useless made me think I'd never tackle it again.

But, then I heard Julia Child's words ringing in my ear. 

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”
  
And I thought about the Julie/Julia Challenge we did back in 2009 where we learned to debone a duck.

And I decided to try again. Boy am I glad I did.

These days, when I can find the time, I'm a regular pie-making fiend.  Which brings me to the next recipe.

There’s a little restaurant here in Milwaukee called Honeypie Café that serves up some of the best pie in the city. I actually wrote an article about them a while back, tracing some of the adventures that co-owner Val Lucks has had while seeking out some of the best pies in the nation for inspiration.

Thanks to all of Val's travels and research, Honeypie has at least 50 flavors of pie in their repertoire, with probably six to eight showing up daily on the menu.

One of our favorites, among their offerings, is their namesake Honeypie which blows us away every time we eat it. It’s sweet and salty and rich, with a smooth custard base and a delicious flaky crust.

Of course, as good as it is, it doesn't show up on the Honeypie menu nearly often enough for my taste. So, I decided to take a whirl at making my own.

This version, an homage to their pie, is really a variation on chess pie, a southern style custard pie which makes use of cornmeal as a thickening and textural agent, as well as vinegar to round out the flavor and prevent the sweetness from becoming cloying. 

The flaky crust owes its flavor and texture to the magic of real butter (Val prefers shortening, but I'm not sure if I agree). And a bit of sea salt added to the finished pie offers up a pleasant crunch, as well as giving the pie an irresistible sweet-salty flavor.

Get the recipe: Salted Honey Pie

©BURP!

End of Summer Tomato Pie

 Gosh, I love September.

Wanna know why?
Because my garden is literally bursting with produce, and whatever I don't have already at home, I can easily procure from the farmer's market.  It's a cook's dream!

Of course, if you know me, you'll also know that I'm a big fan of the cooler weather that comes in September and October. So, that's just an added bonus.

The fact is, when the dog days of summer give way to a bountiful harvest that includes succulent, garden-fresh tomatoes, it’s time for BLT’s, caprese salads and panzanella. And we've eaten our fill of all of those things this year.

But, it’s also the perfect time to make delicious savory pie!

This delicious summer pie contains layers of colorful tomatoes along with flavorful herbs, smoky bacon and plenty of cheese.

While you can make this pie with any type of tomato, using a variety (from cherry tomatoes, to yellow, orange and green) increases the complexity of the flavor in the dish.  It also makes the pie even more beautiful to behold.

Just check out all those awesome colors in this pie, which we made with a combination of heirloom tomatoes including Black Krim, Brandywine and German Stripes.

But, that's not the only thing that sets this pie apart.  Another thing is the crust.

Rather than using regular old pie crust, we use a buttery cornmeal biscuit crust that gives the dish an almost deep-dish pizza-like quality.

This pie is delicious for dinner, but it almost makes a perfect light summer lunch or brunch.

Get the recipe: Savory Summer Pie

©BURP!

Feeding a Crowd: Cherries and Cream Slab Pie

Got a crowd to feed?
Or maybe you just LOVE pie?

Either way, slab pie is where it's at.

I read somewhere that Martha Stewart invented the concept of slab pie. I'm not sure that's true -- but she definitely made the concept popular. And for that, I'm grateful.

Baked on a half-sheet/jelly-roll pan, slab pies can serve 20 or more people and require a little more effort than making one single pie. In fact, for the effort, I'd say slab pie is the way to go every single time... though having that much pie around would definitely be bad for my waistline.

Better yet, if you're a fan of pie crust -- really good flaky pie crust -- slab pies will make you extremely happy, since the filling to crust ratio is perfectly balanced.

This particular version incorporates a traditional sour cherry filling with thin layer of creamy cheesecake. 

The buttery crust is flaky and well behaved. The filling isn't too terribly sweet -- and it's creamy enough that it doesn’t even need the addition of whipped cream or ice cream (a bonus if you're transporting it to an outdoor picnic) – though either would be a welcome addition.  

Got plans for Labor Day weekend?  Get a head start by making this pie!

Get the recipe: Cherries and Cream Slab Pie

©BURP!

No Pie on Pi Day... Again

So, it's officially Pi Day. Again.
And, as usual, we've forgotten to make a pie.

Seems it happens every year that March 14th sneaks up on us, and we're caught standing, rolling pin in hand, with not even a pie crust to show for it.

The fact that we've been super busy with the launch of our new local food gift business, From Milwaukee with Love (if you check it out, let us know what you think), hasn't helped to free up any time for pie making.

Fortunately, Milwaukee has its share of excellent pie makers. So in all likelihood, before the day is through, we'll probably end up heading over to Honeypie Cafe. And, if we're lucky, they'll be serving their delicious salted honey pie.

It's one of my favorite things in the world -- sweet, salty, crisp, chewy. Gosh, I'm drooling just thinking about it.

But, I still feel bad for not giving you guys a pie to gaze upon.

Fortunately, we noticed that the folks at Inkling (also the geniuses behind some of the coolest apps & reference platforms around) have gone above and beyond in their celebration of Pi Day.

As geeks, they're probably more about the "pi" side of pie day. But, this year, they've embraced the delicious side too by featuring two recipes from the (really fantastic) Modernist Cuisine at Home - flaky pie crust and sous vide vanilla pastry cream.

You should check out their post -- if only to gawk at the scrumptiousness.

I don't know if we've ever mentioned our fascination with sous vide -- the modernist technique by which foods are sealed tightly in plastic bags and cooked at very low temperatures for a VERY long time. But, it's been on our minds as we watched our chef friends use immersion circulators to produce the most succulent shortribs, perfect eggs, and dreamy pork belly.

We haven't taken the plunge to buy our own equipment for sous vide yet. But, the look of that vanilla pastry cream is giving us the itch.  And we might just have to invest in one of those copies of Modernist Cuisine while we're at it...

In the meantime, feel free to enjoy one of our favorite (and easiest) pie recipes - Fluffy Key Lime Pie in a Jar.

It's light. And fluffy. Citrusy. And bright. And it requires no special techniques or equipment. Plus, it gets rave reviews from all of our friends and family. So, you're sure to enjoy!

Happy Pi Day Everyone!

©BURP!