Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Persimmon Pie for Marcie
I haven't posted for a while. It's not that I haven't been baking pies...there was a Kentucky peach in August and a North Carolina apple in October (not to mention all those pies I made in Maine last spring!) of which I am still awaiting photos. And I can't wait to show you the beautiful pictures my friend Maria took of the apple galette I made when I visited Portland, ME last month (in the meantime, check out her lovely blog here).
But today I ran into my ever-inspiring professor and thesis advisor, Dr. Marcie Ferris. She mentioned that she checks Nothing-In-The-House every day and noticed I was overdue for a post. Yikes!
She's right. On top of that, the New York Times was boasting the *NEW* hipness of pies (new?!) just yesterday. Those two little nudges prompted me to take action.
So I got home today to find that one, just one, of the persimmons I picked from a not-so-secret tree in Durham was very ripe. Almost too ripe. And the others are not quite there yet. So a personal persimmon pie it was.
The 1 persimmon gave me about a 1/4 c. of pulp, just enough for 3 tiny tarts. Here's the recipe I used. I reduced it by 1/4, but I'll give the proportions for a full pie here.
Persimmon Pie
Ingredients:
Nothing-in-the-House pie crust
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups half-and-half or milk (I used soy milk)
1 cup persimmon pulp
2 Tblsp. melted butter
dash lemon zest
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine all filling ingredients. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30-40 minutes more. Cool and serve with a dollop of whipped cream or perhaps some coconut bliss ice cream?
It doesn't look like much-- I wish it retained the bright orange color of the flesh, once cooked-- but it sure tasted delicious. Next time I might up the ratio of persimmon pulp and add a dash of fresh ginger.
Also, while you ruminate what pie(s) you be making this Thanksgiving, jam my favorite pie song of the moment, "Mighty Fine Pie" by Endless Boogie. It's a rocker.
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2 comments:
I've never heard of a persimmon pie.
I grew up on a farm in southern Indiana. We raised Angus cattle and it was mostly pasture with crop land for corn and soybeans. We had a persimmon tree and every fall we would go to it and pick up all the persimmons that had falle on the ground. My mom would run them through a sieve and she would sell the pulp in gallon glass jars to the neighbors.
We always had persimmon pudding for Thanksgiving and persimmon cookies. No pie though.
The professor lies the persimmon pie! perfect for Thanksgiving--and one of my favorite colors! Great to see Ms. Emily H back in the blog-o-pie-sphere, and I'm proud of your activism in the great American pie revolution! MCF
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