What a yummy combination! I was so
looking forward to this pie, I set three alarm clocks to get up at 7 a.m. to
make it. I am not a morning person, and usually only get up at that hour under imminent
threat. Also, I only “meditated” for ten minutes. When I was a kid, I saw that
my dad sat up in bed for awhile before actually getting out of it. I asked him
why he did that each morning, and he jokingly replied that he was “meditating.”
I thought it was funny, until I started doing it. Or rather, needing to,
sometimes for hours. Perhaps he too was fighting the devil for his day.
Anyway, I was glad that I got up early
because everything took longer than expected. It took forever to slice the nectarines
because I usually eat fruit with pits whole and I couldn’t cut them up nicely. So
much flesh was left on the rinds that I ran out of fruit before I had enough.
As a result, my pie only had about 2/3 ~ 3/4 of the filling required…
The nectarine slices busily macerating in
sugar, and the chunky cores I had for lunch. And yes, this is my entire kitchen
(another aspect of my “challenge”). I boxed
up my books and converted my desk into extra counter space.
I boiled down the nectarine juices in my
frying pan because it’s the only non-stick pan I have. And the Kirsch! I don’t
know what it is really, but the price for this tiny bottle suggests it’s
fermented unicorn tears. But I was so happy to find it at all that I gladly
forked over the money. I may have to start pawning off my possessions soon.
Just
before being covered up – the prettiest moment in a pie’s life!
The pie: baked, cooling, and awaiting
consumption. I saw Ms.
Beranbaum’s apple pie clip on youtube and tried out her “pinch and twist”
technique around the outer edge, but it didn’t come out quite so well (it just
looked like a normal crimp). And as I was putting the foil on to protect the outer
crust, a part of it fell off (at the top), and then that bit began burning on
the oven floor. I was alarmed when my room began filling up with smoke… Oh, the
unforeseen challenges!
The verdict: delicious, particularly the combination
of fruit and the top crust, but the filling was too runny and the bottom crust quite
soggy. I think the raspberries gave a nice, tart punch to the nectarines, and
imbued it with a lovely pinkish hue. But the filling didn’t quite gel up, and I
had to drain the pie a few times. Perhaps I needed to bake it a little longer (I
went with the minimum because of the smoke). Or maybe I needed to cool the pie
longer (again, I only waited the minimum amount of 3 hours). And something
tells me the bottom crust didn’t get soggy, but was never crisp in the first
place. Perhaps I really should try baking directly on the oven floor. But the
top crust was near-perfect. It was my first time making the cream cheese crust
(what Ms. Beranbaum proclaims to be the heart and soul of her Pie Bible), and
it was simultaneously soft and
crispy. A revelation! My friend, after inhaling it, said it smelled like pizza.
Haha! I guess cooked cheese and oil reminds everyone of pizza.
Midnight
snack with a cup of milk :)
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