3000 miles 'til dinner.

Need I say more! There’s nothing quite as nurturing as a “homemade” pie with it’s buttery flakey crust and delicious filling ….feel the love in every bite.

Prep time:  30 minutes

Baking time:  1 hour 15 minutes 

Baking temp: 400 degrees/10 minutes; 350 degrees for approx. 1 hour, middle rack

9” Pie pan: glass, stainless, ceramic or aluminum

Servings:   1 - 9” pie 

♥PANTRY, FRIDGE, MARKET♥♥

2 or 3 cans/jars (1#, 9oz) sour cherries (sometimes called Morello or pie cherries)  equaling 4 C. drained cherries, reserve the juice 

1 1/2 C. granulated sugar

1/8 t. sea salt

3 T.  + 1 t. cornstarch

2 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice

3 T. cold unsalted butter

♥PREP - Prepare Basic Pie Pastry  Roll out two 10-11” rounds. Fold one round in half and lay gently over half the pie pan, folding flap back over so pastry lays across the pan and hangs over the side.  Do not trim the overlapping pastry as you will want at least 1” to make a plump fluted edge.

Filling: Drain the berries, reserving the juice. In a bowl, mix the sugar, salt and cornstarch. Stir in 1 C. cherry juice and the lemon juice. Mix in the cherries and pour into the pie pan. Place dots of the butter on top. Fold second pastry round in half and lay over the top.

Crimp the crust, making a plump fluted edge: tuck the overlapping dough under until there is a ridge around the pan rim; pinch the ridge between your fingers, using one or both hands, to create a “crimp” or scalloped edge, rotating the pan as you go. Go back around the gently push the crimped crust in from the outside lip of so it won’t adhere and “catch” on the edge, making it hard to remove a slice of baked pie from the pan without the crust crumbling.

♥ Baking 

Place the pie on a cookie sheet, lined with parchment or foil to catch the juices that usually spill over. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the juices bubble up from the CENTER of the pie and are clear and thick. (the juices may bubble up around the sides first, but wait for the center to bubble)

♥♥ WAYS TO “just wing it” ♥♥               consider or substitute

*substitute: frozen sour cherries and bottled cherry juice for the liquid

*consider: a berry or peach pie, using bottled juice (pear, apple or pear) for the liquid

♥ Helpful Hints♥

*check this “how to” on the net: How to Crimp and Flute a Pie Crust 

*if the fluted edge crust begins to get too dark before the pie is done, wrap with strips of foil

*freeze left-over juice from canned cherries and use another time in a pie or beverage

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In honor of National Pie Day on Jan 23, I made pies for friends: Cherry, Pecan, Mixed Berry and little Mixed Berry Tartlets.

 PECAN TARTS

 (MIL post)