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Monday, November 18, 2019
The Observer & Baker City Herald
DORY’S DIARY
A Pair Of Pie Recipes For Thanksgiving
DOROTHY SWART
FLESHMAN
’Tis the
season for
holidays
Editor’s Note: Although Dory offi cially
retired her column at the end of August,
she plans to submit an occasional column.
What a strange day it is today in
which so much bumps against the
other.
It is Veterans Day in which we honor
those who have earned and main-
tained our country’s freedom. I wear a
red, white, and blue star necklace and
an all-service bracelet in their honor.
It becomes a holiday to many like so
many other historic dates and yet the
stars and stripes fl ag still waves.
The sun shines brightly to affi rm
our harvest now gathered in with tree
leaves scattered about and branches
now bare etched against the sky.
I wear a sweatshirt for working
about the house in recognition of the
season when the larder needed fi lling
each fall for winter table fare. A row of
antlered guests parade across the front
of my shirt for the mighty hunters
seeking success for their families.
We have just seen through another
Halloween and wonder if anyone
stood in the garden to watch for a little
cartoon boy’s Great Pumpkin visit. I
limit it to watching the video and think
of how we each hope for some miracle
of our own.
See Dory/Page 2B
BETWEEN
THE ROWS
WENDY SCHMIDT
Climate
control
and cacti
This time of year, active gardening
usually only takes place inside your
house or greenhouse. Frost-tender
tropical plants can thrive in the con-
trived climate of our homes, which are
usually low humidity, which mimics
desert conditions.
Christmas cactus — Schumbergera
bridgesii
An old favorite, often sold as Zygo-
cactus truncatus. In nature these cacti
live on trees like some orchids. They
come from the jungle, so they need rich,
porous soil with plenty of leaf mold and
sand.
Keep them damp but not wet, and
feed them with liquid fertilizer as often
as every seven to 10 days.
Since they need to be grown in the
house (or lathhouse or covered terrace
in the summer), they’re mostly grown
in pots. As a container-grown plant,
fertilizer given should be half as strong,
but can be given twice as often. Other-
wise, fertilizer will tend to build up in
the container.
Christmas cactus’ arching, drooping
branches are made up of fl attened,
scallop-edged, smooth, bright green
and spineless 1fi-inch joints. Grown
right, plants may be 3 feet in diameter
and have hundreds of 3-inch, many
petaled, long tubed rosy purplish or red
fl owers at Christmas time.
To ensure bud set for late December
bloom, keep the plant where it will
receive cool night temperatures (50 to
55 degrees) and 11 to 14 hours of dark-
ness per day in November.
See Cacti/Page 2B
Abel Uribe//Chicago Tribune-TNS
This version of pumpkin pie is topped with a nut-free ginger praline, made from ginger snap cookies and crystallized ginger.
H APPY P IE D AYS
By JeanMarie
Brownson
Chicago Tribune
Homemade pie fi llings
prove easy. Crust not so
much. Practice makes
perfect. With every pie,
our skills improve. It’s
an acquired art to turn
out fl aky, beautiful crust.
My mother regularly
reminds us of her early
crust adventures —
many of which ended in
the garbage can. No wor-
ries, she says, the crust
ingredients cost far less
than the fi lling.
So, when time allows,
we practice making pie
crust hearing her voice
remind us to use a gentle
hand when gathering
Abel Uribe//Chicago Tribune-TNS
the moist dough into a
Pears and cranberries partner for a fall-forward pie of fl avor and textural contrasts, with fresh and dried
ball and later when roll-
versions of the berries playing off each other.
ing it out. Mom always
uses a fl oured rolling
cloth on the board and
Chill: 1 hour
tablespoon instant tapioca for every two
on the rolling pin. These
cups cut-up raw fruit.
days, I prefer to roll between two sheets of
Pretty, lattice-topped pies have the added Cook: 1 hour
fl oured wax paper. We factor in plenty of
benefi t of allowing more fruit juice evapora- Makes: 8 to 10 servings
time to refrigerate the dough so it’s at the
perfect stage for easy rolling. The chilly rest tion while the pie bakes. Precooking the fruit
1 recipe double-crust pie dough, see recipe
for any pie helps ensure that the thickener
also helps prevent shrinkage in the oven.
2½ pounds ripe, but still a bit fi rm,
I’ve been using the same pie dough recipe is cooked through; I especially employ this
Bartlett pears, about 6
for years now. I like the fl akiness I get from technique when working with cornstarch or
vegetable shortening and the fl avor of butter, fl our-thickened pie fi llings. This also allows 1½ pounds Honeycrisp or Golden
Delicious apples, about 4
so I use some of each fat. A bit of salt in the the cook to work in advance — a bonus
2 cups fresh cranberries, about 8 ounces
crust helps balance sweet fi llings. The dough around the busy holiday season.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
We are loving the combination of juicy,
can be made a few days in advance. Soften it
¾ cup sugar
at room temperature until pliable enough to sweet Bartlett pears with tart cranberries
3 tablespoons cornstarch
roll, but not so soft that it sticks to your work for a gorgeous pie with hues of pink; a few
1 cup (4 ounces) dried cranberries
crisp apples and chewy dried cranberries
surface.
Of course, when pressed for time, I substi- contribute contrasting textures. Feel free to ½ teaspoon grated fresh orange zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
tute store-bought frozen crusts. Any freshly skip the lattice work and simply add a top
Cream or milk, coarse sugar
crust; pierce the top crust in several places
baked pie — with or without a homemade
(or turbinado sugar)
with a fork to allow steam to escape. For
crust, is better than most store-bought ver-
added fl avor and texture, I brush the top
sions.
1. Make pie dough and refrigerate it as di-
crust with cream and sprinkle it generously
I read labels to avoid ingredients I don’t
rected. Working between two sheets of fl oured
with coarse sugar before baking.
want to eat or serve my family. I’m a fan of
The nut-free ginger praline recipe is a riff wax paper, roll out one disk into a 12-inch
Trader Joe’s ready-to-roll pie crusts sold in
circle. Remove the top sheet of wax paper and
freezer cases — both for their clean ingredi- on a longtime favorite pumpkin pie from
use the bottom sheet to fl ip the crust into a 10-
ent line and the baked fl avor. The 22-ounce Jane Salzfass Freiman, a former Chicago
inch pie pan. Gently smooth the crust into the
Tribune recipe columnist. She taught us to
box contains two generous crusts (or one
gussy up the edge of pumpkin pie with nuts, pan, without stretching it. Roll the edge of the
bottom crust and one top or lattice). Other
dough under so it sits neatly on the edge of the
brown sugar and butter. We are employing
brands, such as Simple Truth Organics,
pie dish. Refrigerate.
store-bought ginger snap cookies and crys-
taste fi ne, but at 15 ounces for two crusts,
2. Roll the second disk of pie dough between
tallized ginger in place of pecans for a spicy,
are best suited for smaller pies. Wewalka
the sheets of fl oured wax paper into an 11-inch
brand sells one 9-ounce crust that’s relative- candied edge to contrast the creamy pie
ly easy to work with. Always thaw according interior. Think of this pie as all your favorite circle. Slide onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate
while you make the fi lling.
to package directions and use a rolling pin or coffee shop fl avors in one — pumpkin pie
3. Peel and core the pears. Slice into ¼-inch
your hands to repair any rips that may occur spice and gingerbread, topped with whipped
wide wedges; put into a bowl. You should have
cream.
when unwrapping.
6 generous cups. Peel and core the apples. Cut
Happy pie days, indeed.
Double-crust fruit pies challenge us to
into ¾-inch chunks; you should have about 3½
get the thickener amount just right so the
cups. Add to the pears. Stir in fresh cranber-
pie is not soupy when cut. I’m a huge fan of PEAR, DOUBLE CRANBERRY
ries.
instant tapioca in most fruit pies because it
thickens the juices without adding fl avor or AND APPLE LATTICE PIE
Prep: 1 hour
See Pie/Page 3B
a cloudy appearance. In general, I use one