Curtains for NPR Kitchen Window

Bang Bang Pie's Shaker Lemon Pie from Outside the Pizza Box: Chicago's New Pie Scene

I came back from the woods to the sad news that NPR's Kitchen Window had folded. The blog, which was edited by Bonny Wolf and featured weekly stories and related recipes, was not only a great writing outlet for me, but it was something I looked forward to every week. With its illuminating pieces by respected food writers on a single theme, highlighting a specific ingredient, or exploring traditional foodways, it was a trusted source of great food writing and great recipes. I'm going to miss it (though I'm glad to still be able to work with Bonny via her excellent site, American Food Roots). 

Fig-Pistachio Tarte Tatin from The Pies of Late Summer

In celebration and a bit of mourning over the end of Kitchen Window, here's a little round-up of some of the stories and photos I did for them. Don't stop there though--the Kitchen Window archive remains alive, and there you can find an examination on sorghum's move into the mainstream, a collection of recipes from Tasmania, a meditation on a meal celebrating early African-American cookbook authors, and much more. I hope it remains up in perpetuity.


Beignets from Fat Tuesday: The Many Different Doughnuts of Mardi Gras

Speculoos Icebox Pie from Belgian Sweets Not Just for 'Sinterklaas'

Peppermint Pattie Tart from Get Freshly Minted This Holiday Season

Blueberry Buckle from Cobbled Together: American Fruit Desserts

The Pies of Late Summer on NPR

A few months ago I called my ever-inspiring and resourceful thesis advisor and mentor Marcie Ferris for a catch-up and some career advice. In loading me up with contacts, ideas, and encouragement, she said she'd put me in touch with her good friend in DC, Bonny Wolf, a food writer editor of NPR's Kitchen Window, and as I would find, role model and kindred spirit.

We met for lunch, where we shared our backgrounds, foodways interests, and projects, and I was delighted when she asked me to contribute a story to Kitchen Window. I decided to write it on the seasonal pies of the late summer season. The piece came out last Wednesday, with some really great feedback from readers! (It was the third most e-mailed piece of the day before the naked Prince Harry story came out).  If you're a follower of the blog, the recipes and photos for Nothing-in-the-House pie crust, a fig-pistachio tarte tatin, plum & orange flower custard galette, and peach-pecan pie may be familiar to you. If not, now there are two places to find them!

Thanks very much to Bonny for being a wonderful editor and to Marcie for putting us in touch and for generous support, as always. And do follow Kitchen Window--it's a superb site with excellent recipes and corresponding personal food narratives. I'll probably be contributing another piece in late fall/early winter, though this one may not be about pies--branchin' out!

Also, hello to all the new readers and followers who found Nothing-in-the-House via the NPR piece! Thanks for checking out the pie blog and feel free to get in touch if you have any comments, pie stories, or questions. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and check out our Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. (featuring a new fall pie CSA for those in DC!).

Fig-Pistachio Tarte Tatin

The summer between my junior and senior years of high school, I lived with a wonderful family in Brittany, France as part of an Indiana University immersion program. During my stay, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my lovely host mom Anny, learning how to make crêpes and galettes and mousse au chocolat (as well as the metric measuring cup system). Though this was before my pie obsession, one of the things we made together was a tarte tatin--the classic French tart where the fruit, generally apples, is caramelized in sugar and butter on the stove, then baked upside-down and flipped after baking. I remember Anny telling me the story of its invention: apparently the two Tatin sisters, owners of the Hotel Tatin accidentally baked a tart upside-down, then out of desperation served it to the guests who much to the sisters' surprise, gave it rave reviews.

I, much like the guests at the Hotel Tatin that night, love a tarte tatin. It's so simple to make, and shows off the beauty and flavor of the fruit paired with rich caramel. Plus you get to use your cast iron skillet! Though the classic tarte tatin is apple, you can really make a tarte tatin with any fresh fruit. One of my favorite pies to make in general is Ruth Reichl's pear tarte tatin, found in Gourmet. I was pleased to find this recipe for a fig-pistachio tarte tatin in the Pieminister cookbook, just as figs are coming into season down here. Since Pieminister is a British pie shop, all their recipes, like those I made with Anny are in metric. Here's my version of their fig-pistachio tartin, with ounce and cup conversions.


 Fig-Pistachio Tarte Tatin
Adapted from The Pieminister Cookbook

Ingredients
Nothing-in-the-House pie crust, halved
16-20 small figs or 10-14 large figs
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. water
3 Tblsp. unsalted butter
4 oz. pistachios nuts, shelled
1-2 Tblsp. honey

Directions
1. Prepare half of the Nothing-in-the-House pie crust as per the directions. Once chilled, roll out into an 11-inch circle, stab it with a fork in several places, and place on a cookie sheet or cutting board between two sheets of parchment paper.  Store in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Trim the stalks of the figs and halve them lengthwise. Set aside.

3. In a large oven-safe frying pan or cast iron skillet, place water and sugar and heat on low until sugar dissolves. Once sugar has dissolved, raise the heat to medium-high and bring sugar water to a boil and cook without stirring until the syrup is thick and has become golden-caramel in color.

4. Reduce the heat and add the figs--making space so they all fit. Be careful not to burn yourself on the hot caramel. Cook until the figs are tender and release juices but still hold their shape. Remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside in a small bowl.

5. Boil the caramelized juices until they are thick and syrupy, 3-5 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter until it melts. Scatter the pistachios over the pan and return the figs to it, cut side down, in concentric circles.

6. Put the frying pan back on the heat until the juices bubble. Put the circle of pie crust on top of the filling and tuck it firmly into the edges of the frying pan to form a crust. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Once the tart has settled for a minute, put on your oven mits and flip the tart onto a plate (prend courage!). Drizzle the tart with honey and a few extra pistachios, if you desire and serve with goat's milk ice cream or Greek yogurt.

The rich flavor of the fig and pistachio, coupled with the sweet, dark caramel makes for a rich and earthy dessert that hints at the almost-impending fall. Though the Pieminister guys suggest pairing it with Greek yogurt, I think it would be just perfect with goat's milk ice cream, if you can find it (or make it!). Tangy frozen yogurt would also do.

Oh, and don't be afraid of the skillet-to-plate tart flip. Just make sure that your plate is slightly bigger than your skillet, protect your hands with oven mitts, and trust yourself--you'll have no trouble. Consider it one of the rites of a baker.