Patriotic Pie and June's Give Away Apron Winner

July 4th was always a special holiday growing up.  My mother spent a few days cooking and planning a picnic, not just for family, but as years went by, friends too were part of the celebration.  My dad would buy Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs and mom would add fried chicken, an assortment of salads, corn on the cob, rolls, and many desserts--pies, cakes, brownies.  I miss those picnics.

It was a rainy day yesterday, but that didn't stop me from preparing a very patriotic dessert I had seen on the King Arthur Flour recipe website.  The only difference is that my "Red" section was strawberries and raspberries (instead of Strawberries and Rhubarb).  I made a Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and this dessert was spectacular.  My mother would have been impressed.

Patriotic Pie
Pie Dough:
2 3/4 cups King Arthur All-purpose Flour
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup cold butter-flavored shortening, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
6-8 T ice cold water

In a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients together.  Then, add half of the butter and shortening pieces and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand.  Add the remaining butter and shortening and pulse again.  Pour mixture into a large bowl and add 4-6 T ice cold water and using your hands start to bring the mixture together, adding more water as needed.  Turn dough out onto a board and divide in half.  Wrap each half in plastic wrap and chill about an hour.

When dough is thoroughly chilled, roll out and place in a 9-inch pie plate.  Return to the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the fruit.

Fruit:
Strawberries 4 cups
Raspberries 1 cup
Blueberries 2 cups

Wash, dry and slice the strawberries.  Wash and dry the raspberries and blueberries.  Place the Strawberries and Raspberries in one bowl and add:

2/3 cup granulated sugar
2-3 T Cornstarch (or Instant Clear Jel)
juice of 1/2 lemon

Blueberries in another bowl and add:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 T Cornstarch (or Instant Clear Jel)
juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 425F-degrees.  Use a piece of aluminum foil to create a barrier for the red and blue.

Add the blueberries in the upper left corner and the strawberries/raspberries in the larger section.

Take out the second half of dough and roll out.  Create stripes and stars to decorate the top of the pie.

Yes, I made sure I had "13" stripes of dough and berries!  Brush the top dough with water and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake pie on a baking sheet, to prevent spillage. Place pie in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Lower temperature to 375F-degrees and continue baking 45-60 minutes or until the berries have released their juices and the pie is browned and bubbly.  If the edges start to brown to quickly, make an aluminum foil "collar" to protect it.

Now, all this pie needed was a good vanilla ice cream.  My recipe has only 5 ingredients and is easy to do.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 vanilla beans

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk, and sugar. Scrape the 3 vanilla beans and add to this mixture.  Bring to a boil.  In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs.  Add hot milk mixture to the eggs, a small amount at a time to temper the eggs, whisking well after each addition.  Add the egg mixture to remaining milk and cream mixture and heat until the temperature is 170F-degrees.  Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl, using a strainer to catch any pieces of cooked egg.  Chill mixture about 3 hours, then pour into an ice cream freezer for about 20 minutes or until thickened.  Place mixture into a container to chill thoroughly in the freezer until ready to use. Enjoy!

Now, for Winner of June's Apron...Optimistic Existentialist!  Please email me your address and I will send this apron off to you ASAP.    July's apron will be up by tomorrow and you will have a chance to win it by posting a comment on any of the posts.  Good Luck~