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

Pie Almanac Release Party!

Our Pie Almanac Release Party last night at Ginger Root was SO. MUCH. FUN!  Except for one film shot of Diego (pictured in the Speculoos PEZ previously) eating the last crumbs of the Nutella Pie with a big smirk on his face, I only took pictures of pie, but the above Instagrams by Grant Dickie, Morgan of Panda Head and Carla of TPWP can help set the scene. It was really wonderful to see so many friends, and meet lots of new ones, all of whom were so encouraging and supportive and pumped on pie and pie art. Elizabeth and I want to extend a very big thank you to the Ginger Root gals for hosting us in their lovely space, DJ Dianamatic for playing awesome jams, and everyone who came, bought a book, sampled pie, or said hello. I even had two pals, Annie & Diego who drove all the way from Charlottesville! That little surprise made me feel really good.

I know some people were asking for recipes for the pies that were offered last night. Our selections were:
Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan
Nutella Pie
Shaker Lemon Pie (Shaker Orange Tart version here)
Speculoos Pie
Spiced Pumpkin Sorghum Pie (adapted from this recipe)
Sweet Potato Speculoos Pie (coming soon!)

If you missed the party, you can still order the almanac on Etsy here, where you can also find more of Elizabeth Graeber's work, like the framed pie prints pictured here! The almanac is now also for sale at local shops including Ginger Root and Meeps-- We'll keep you posted as they appear other places. Thanks again to everyone for their support and happy pie making!

Shaker Orange Tarts

Though it's not officially winter yet, there are sure signs that it's here. The darkness sets in by the late afternoon, I've pulled my mittens out from the bottom of my sock drawer, and the skating rinks have opened up in the city (!). Another sign of the impending season is citrus! One of my co-workers is selling boxes of Florida oranges and grapefruits as a fundraiser for a local school, and I've seen oranges on-the-"vine" with leaves still attached for sale at the grocery store.

I tried out a Shaker Clementine Pie for Christmas last year, but it needed some work--it wasn't as juicy and deliciously tart as the Shaker Lemon Pie I'd made previously (the recipe is also included in our Pie Almanac!). This summer I made little Shaker Lemon Tarts for the Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. debut at the DC Meet Market, and liked the open-face one-crust style that shows off the brilliant citrus color. This time I combined the two, for Shaker Orange (with a bit of lemon) Tarts.

The Shakers, a religious sect known for their frugality, simplicity, and quality craftsmanship are credited with the creation of what we now call Shaker Lemon Pie. In the early 1800s, lemons were quite expensive, so out of thrift, they developed this recipe that uses the whole lemon--rind, pith, and juice (okay, but no the seeds)-- to create a delicious tart-sweet, marmalade like pie filling.

The orange version is a little less tart, a little more marmalade-like, and very pretty. Make sure you plan ahead because the citrus rinds need to macerate overnight. And be careful while cutting them!

Shaker Orange Tarts
Crust adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Filling adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 6, 4-inch tarts or 1, 9-inch tart

Ingredients
For the crust:  
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. salt  
9 Tblsp. unsalted butter, cold & cubed  
2 large egg yolks (I usually only use one, but for some reason I needed an extra this time)

For the filling:
2 thin-skinned oranges, washed
1 lemon (Meyer or regular), washed
2 c. sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated (optional)
4 large eggs

Directions
1. Wash and dry the oranges and lemon. Using a sharp chef's knife or a mandoline, slice the fruit as paper thin as you can; removing seeds. Transfer slices and juices to a large non-reactive bowl and gently stir in the sugar. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight and up to 24 hours.

2. For the crust, combine flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the cubed butter and pulse to incorporate until the mixture resembles cornmeal and peas. Add the egg yolks and pulse until the dough begins to form together. 

3. Using a pastry cutter or knife, Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll out the dough and pat it into your greased and floured tart pans. Freeze the tart shells for about 30 minutes while you assemble the filling. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

4. Remove the filling from the fridge and add the eggs to the mixture, whisking until well incorporated. Drain the filling through a sieve into a medium bowl, keeping both citrus slices and liquid. Divid the liquid evenly into the tart shells and top with citrus slices, arranging decoratively.

5. Place tarts on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 15 minutes more until crust is golden and filling is set. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove tarts from their pans. Let cool completely and serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy with a dollop of whipped cream, if you wish!

Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. Debut at the DC Meet Market!

After about a week of late-night baking marathons, grocery store runs and just one minor exhausted breakdown, Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. finally made its debut this past Saturday at the DC Meet Market! My lovely assistant and housemate Bobbie and I set up the stand with picnic baskets and wooden library boxes, ticking from America's milltown Lowell, MA, stamped tags and tin pie pans. Then Bobbie and our friend Diana engineered the Nothing-in-the-House banner with clothes pins, stencil letters and twine, and a borrowed stapler from the handy man neighbor at Picnic Gourmet Spreads.


But what do you care about the decor--let's get to the baked goods! Though I didn't make quite everything I had hoped (a savory tomato galette, clementine curd stuffed doughnuts, and more fried pies were also on the list), we offered a good selection of tarts and doughnuts, whoopie pies and even a vegan & gluten free cookie! Here's the menu:

Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. at the DC Meet Market, August 18th
-Berry tartlets 
-Chocolate peanut butter pretzel tartlets 
-Plum frangipane tartlets 
-Shaker lemon tartlets
-Carrot cake doughnuts with a cream cheese glaze -Glazed 'n' raised doughnuts (with blackberry, caramel & plain glazes)
-Stone fruit & bourbon fried pies
-Chocolate stout & espresso whoopie pies with salty caramel buttercream
-Vegan & gluten-free iced oatmeal cookie

It was a beautiful, mild August day with just a hint of fall in the air. The stream of customers started right off the bat with a fan who had visited the Tarts by Tarts stand at Crafty Bastards and has been looking for our baked goods since! That was a very encouraging way to kick-off the market and over the course of the day it was so wonderful to see a lot of old friends (some I had not seen in years, like Lisa & Sarah!) and meet new folks jazzed about baked goods.

Though I still have to tweak that carrot cake doughnut recipe, and forgot to sprinkle sugar on the fried pies, I was really pleased with everything else and received some great feedback and excitement about future appearances and the pie CSA.


Around lunchtime, my friend Kate arrived, daisies in tow, to help sell, and she did an amazing job, hawking whoopie pies to all the other vendors who were stuck in their stalls! She also bought us delicious Bones BBQ sammiches. Throughout the day we jammed to DJ Dianamatic's French pop tunes, and in the afternoon our friends Clear Blue Sky arrived to play a short honky-tonk set, which went just perfectly with those fried pies.

By 4:00 we were sold out--with that, some money in the pocket, and all the great folks we met, I'd call it a success! Then Bobbie, Kate and I loaded up the car and drove promptly home for a much-needed nap.

I'd like to send a special thanks to all who made this debut possible: Bobbie & Kate for their really generous time and support, Mary for the late-night butter run, Luigia for the tent, Morgan & Kenan for the tables, Marion & John and housemates for the food processor, Kari for helping to get this whole thing 'tarted with Tarts by Tarts, The DC Meet Market, the other helpful & friendly vendors, and everyone who stopped by the stand, bought something, or just took a card, put their name on the mailing list, and said hello. I'm looking forward to doing it again soon (the next DC Meet Market is September 15th!). In the meantime, stay posted on upcoming Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. events and the upcoming pie CSA here. Thank you!

Shaker Lemon Pie by Mom and Dad

pie by my parents

My dad was so inspired by the Shaker lemon pie I made for Christmas dinner, that he bought a mandoline, so he that when he made his own, his lemon slices could be delicately thin. My parents sent along this photo of their first attempt with the mandoline and lemon pie. I wasn't there to enjoy it, but it sure looks delicious. My mom made the crust and my dad made the filling-- such parental teamwork! Good thing I called when they were assembling it-- they had almost forgotten to add the eggs...

Christmas Shaker Lemon Pie

Lemon slices macerating

As I previously mentioned, I had an absolutely amazing slice of Shaker lemon pie at Scratch in Durham, North Carolina, so I wanted to try to make it for my family's Christmas dinner at my parent's house in Indiana. I found this recipe from smitten kitchen, and stuck to it fairly closely. Here it is:

Shaker Lemon Pie
adapted from smitten kitchen

Ingredients
Nothing-in-the-House double-crust pie dough (recipe at right)
2 large lemons, preferably Meyers
2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs
4 Tblsp. melted butter
3 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
1 egg white
Turbinado sugar

Directions

1. Wash and dry lemons. Finely grate lemon zest into a bowl. Slice lemons as paper thin as you can get them; removing seeds. Add slices to zest and toss with sugar and salt. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 24 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Roll out half the dough and fit it into a 9-inch greased and floured pie plate. Mix the macerated lemon-sugar mixture with eggs, melted butter and flour until combined. Pour in to prepared pie shell.

3. Roll out the remaining dough, drape it over the filling, and flute the edge decoratively. Beat one egg white until frothy and brush over pie crust, then sprinkle with sugar. Cut vents in the crust and bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F. and bake the pie for 20-25 minutes more, or until the crust is golden. Let the pie cool on a rack and serve at room temperature with a dollop of honey-whipped cream.

Pie pre-baking. My grandma added the lemon crust design!

I ended up forgetting to macerate the lemons overnight, so they only sat for a few hours. This ended up being fine, but I think the rind would be softer if they had sat for the prescribed 24 hours. I also didn't have a mandoline, so my lemon slices were a little thick. This was also okay, but I think the thinner you can get them, the better.

Gracing the Christmas table

My family really loved this pie (as did I!) and called it a new favorite! It also was a great unexpected companion to the chocolate cake made by my aunt.

A wee slice with a dollop of honey whipped cream!

I hope you had lovely holidays, with plenty of delicious pies baked and shared with loved ones!

Shaker Lemon Pie at Scratch

At Scratch Bakery In Durham

On Tuesday my friend Lora took me out to lunch at Durham's new favorite bakery, Scratch. The place, run by "pie queen" Phoebe Lawless, has been getting a lot of props lately, from the New York Times, Travel and Leisure, and Bon Appetit. Plus our friends Emily and Whitney work there, and we've been fans of Scratch's stand at the Durham Farmers' Market for a while now.

The cafe is bright and clean, with mustard yellow and aquamarine walls, and cute chalkboard signs penned by Emily. The pie case is extensive, and the lunch menu, which features numerous savory pies, as well as soup, salad and sandwiches, is just as tempting. Lora and I both ordered the pepper and hominy soup-- she had hers with a fried baloney sandwich, and I went for the hot pimento cheese sandwich.

Shaker Lemon Pie

By the time we were finished, we were both really full, so we decided to split a piece of the Shaker Lemon pie. It was a double crust number, with real lemon rinds inside. And WOW, it might just be my new favorite. The lemon rinds give the filling a bitter, almost marmalade taste, along with the tartness of lemon and sweetness of sugar, all encased in a butter crust. I haven't tried my hand at baking one yet, but I think I might have to make it for my family's Christmas dinner this year. This recipe from smitten kitchen seems close to the one we tried.

I can't wait for my next trip to Scratch to try the turnip crostada, chocolate sea salt tart, or chess pie. This is not the last you will hear about the place here, I'm sure!