This year I contributed a fresh strawberry pie. I searched recipe after recipe and found that the best liked pies had jello in them, an ingredient I wasn't willing to use. I opted to make a glaze out of pureed strawberries, water and corn starch. It turned out ok, but because of the pieces of fruit/seeds it wasn't super smooth and glossy and the lack of red food coloring left it rather pink in color. The flavor was good though and the layer of cream cheese whipped with lemon juice and powdered sugar balanced the sweetness of the fruit. I wouldn't say I've mastered the fresh strawberry pie just yet, but it was a pretty good attempt!
The recipes for the pie filling I used can be found here. The modifications being I kept the strawberries whole to prevent the pie from becoming too wet, and half the water called for in the recipe was replaced with pureed strawberries.
I used this pie crust recipe, which happened to be my first time using lard (which I found a little intimidating!) and it resulted in the best crust I have made to date. I partially credit Amy Thielen for this because after watching an episode of Heartland Table (which I love, love, love!) I realized I have been adding too much water, touching it too much, and not allowing it to chill before rolling it out.
To take the edge off the sweetness of the pie and add a little richness I decided to whip up the block of cream cheese I had in the fridge with the juice of half a lemon and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. I spread it into the bottom of the crust before piling the strawberries in and I think it made the pie extra tasty. I opted to forgo the whipped cream and instead drizzled dark chocolate over the top and pipe the remaining bit of cream cheese filling on top to hold my whole strawberry in place.
I wish I would have gotten a picture of this sliced because the view of the red berry atop the creamy layer of cheese nestled into a flaky crust was beautiful! I couldn't get said picture because my plate my have been piled high with a bit of each treat that was brought...
I told you it was excessive and delicious!
A peak at Birthdays & BBQ 2015:
