Traci Anello

The Power in Food

Tag Archives: pies


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A favorite pie and a slice of cheesecake are all part of the power in food

This Thanksgiving plans were all set. I was going to New Jersey to have dinner with my sister Kim, her family and some dear friends. We talk about the menu months prior and everything started to line up. I love cooking in her kitchen. It’s beautiful. The set up is perfect and the balcony filled with fresh herbs is right outside the door. I always head out there with my coffee and a pair of scissors. There’s fresh thyme, chives, sage, basil, rosemary and mint. It’s how I picture Alice Waters everyday gathering her fresh herbs for her salad or for her roasted vegetables.

Well, sometimes plans change and it can happen very quickly. For us, it happened in the blink of an eye. I got a phone call four days before Thanksgiving that my dad had fallen and was in the hospital. He cracked 9 ribs and was in a lot of pain. Thankfully he was stabilized and was resting. On the way to the hospital, my step mother got in a car accident. The second phone call I got about her accident was hard to hear. Thankfully she was unhurt, as was the other driver but her car was totaled. Immediately it was clear that the game plan for Thanksgiving was about to change. After talking with my sister, it was decided that I would stay back and drive to Massachusetts instead for the holiday meal. It was a no brainer actually. My dad needed to stay rested once he got home. So I made the call to my step mother and told her I would be down on Thursday to cook the meal. I was more than happy to do this. It meant they didn’t have to leave the house and they were going to get one hell of a dinner. This is where a quick change of plans can be a good thing. You never know in a given day how things are going to change. If you go with it and adapt to the current situation, it can become less stressful for everyone. Love is a wonderful driving force and it can create some beautiful moments out of an unfortunate set of circumstances.

I came up with a menu and the very next day went to our local butcher and asked about an eight pound turkey breast. They were sold out which was to be expected so it was off to the supermarket in town which I always try to avoid because I prefer to support local businesses. Fate had a different path for me. I went into the store and couldn’t find what I needed. An associate from the meat department approached me and asked if I needed help. I was a bit surprised because customer service in a corporate setting is a thing of the past. But this man was very happy to help and I was very happy to let him. I told him I was looking for a turkey breast about 8 pounds.   He said he was almost certain they were about to put an order in for some that would arrive the following morning and he checked. Sure enough, I was in the right place at the right time. I was able to order one with the understanding that I needed to be at the store early to assure it would be there. The associate was looking every where for a pen while I was thanking him several times. I wanted this meal to be the best for my family and it meant everything had to line up two days prior to Thanksgiving. He played a big part in making this happen. Where there’s a will there’s a way. So I took my favorite pen out of my checkbook and handed it to him. He wrote down my information and went to hand the pen back when I told him to put it in his pocket and hang on to it. I don’t know who was more appreciative. Was it me for getting this order in or him for getting a nice pen? It was a wonderful quick moment that ended in us both wishing each other a nice holiday. These are the important little victories in life and this was just the beginning.

The next morning, I was supposed to be at a local bakery to help the owner make her yearly mega pie order. By now it’s a tradition to do this with her and her amazing staff every year. But first I had to pick up my turkey breast and sure enough, it was ready. I was thrilled. I brought it home and placed it in my refrigerator and then off to Kennebunk to make what would be 145 pies that days. I was thinking of dessert for our meal on my way to the bakery. I decided I would make my dad’s favorite pumpkin cheesecake and his wife’s favorite mincemeat pie. That would make them both very happy and given the circumstances we were in, it was the exact thing to do. I love food and I especially love he power in food. So while I was in the middle of this pie marathon, I was trying to figure out when am I going to have the time to pull these desserts off the day before the big meal. Out of the kindness of this bakery owners heart, she said for me to just make the pie while I was there. Thank you!! So I did which meant it was a real time saver for me and I also got to roll out a beautiful homemade pie crust. Out of the 145 pies I made that day (146 including this one), the mincemeat was my favorite. The meaning behind this pie was of pure love. When you know what someone’s favorite dessert is and you make it, there’s a lot more than ingredients going into that pie. Love in Love out. The cheesecake I put together that night. I thought of my grandmother, Marietta Straguzzi, and the love she used to put into my dad’s meals. Maybe I was channeling her love and techniques. I like to think so because I never measured the ingredients. It was a little of this and a little of that just like she used to do.

Thursday morning I packed up my car and headed to Massachusetts. It was a perfect trip down and I stopped and grabbed a couple of coffees from my dad  and Ginna’s favorite coffee shop. I got to the house and hauled all of the good things I brought down with me. I took the pies out of the bag and showed Ginna her mincemeat pie. She was really happy. When my dad saw his cheesecake he was willing to dine on that first and eat turkey later. He’s  funny guy my dad. He loves to eat and loves his desserts.  It was nice to see him getting around. He was very sore but he stayed in the kitchen and we talked while I prepared the meal. I knew once he started to smell everything cooking, it would stimulate the healing process. That’s what food does. When it smells good, it looks good. When it looks good, you associate it tasting great before you even stick your fork in it. The healing starts. You’re happy and excited in anticipation of a great meal shared with family. We had turkey breast, two types of stuffing (I’m plantbased so no animal products on mine), roasted squash and carrots (all produce was organic too), mashed potatoes, roasted head of cauliflower, green beans, gravy, fresh rolls and the cranberry sauce. My dad, his wife, my brother Tony and I all sat around the table and laughed and ate a lot of food. It was the best time. It was very special to me and them.

This was a meal that wasn’t planned and would not have taken place at this holiday if not for the unfortunate events that took place with my dad. This was a total reset moment for me. This meal was so special and meant so much to each of us. There were a lot of hugs and love in that room. How can that not be healing?? It’s an important lesson that when an event happens that’s devastating and hard to embrace, you have to go with what’s important for everyone. You have to create a new set of circumstances that will bring a good feeling for each person including yourself. We did it in less than a day. It was the right thing to do. It created some very good memories. It brought back some important traditions. These would have all been lost that day if my dad hadn’t fallen. I’m not saying they wouldn’t have had a nice day otherwise because they most certainly could have. What I’m saying is, this situation created an opportunity for four people to reconnect and enjoy a nice meal together. The conversation was fun. The food was good. Love was abundant. It was a beautiful day that came to a close with a favorite pie and a slice of cheesecake.

I’m very thankful for my family. I’m also very thankful for the power in food.


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Back to pie crust…Crimping

To crimp or not to crimp…Not a famous quote but probably should be.

Crimping a pie crust is as individual as you are. It’s a necessary step to a successful pie and the one you create becomes your signature.

In Webster’s Dictionary, crimping is defined as “To cause to become wavy, bent or pinched as in to pinch or press together in order to seal”. Well said. Now if Webster’s had a sense of humor they would finish the definition with : “Because if you do not seal properly, you’re going to have a blow out and a heck of a mess to clean up”. That’s the truth. Even though it’s a necessary step, it’s a decorative step as well. Remember, if the pie looks amazing, it’s already starting to taste amazing.

The different styles depend on how you’re feeling that day or if you have developed your own signature way. At some point you’ll make enough pies that you develop your own style. Mine is the simple yet effective “pinch”. The pinch is when you take your thumb and pointer and create a “v” with your tips. Then you take your opposite pointer and press it into the “v”. Each time you will place your thumb in the last crimp. This is a very popular method. The clown ruffle is a crimp that is smooth and looks just like the ruffle around a clown’s neck. Use the same thumb and pointer on one hand and then turn the opposite thumb flat to create the shape.Some others are the dreadful looking fork press. Just take a fork and smash the two crusts together. Not attractive at all but it’s out there so I’ll just consider this a for warning. Remember, what you do outside the crust, reflects the inside. If you’re ever with someone who is doing this, now’s the time to show them a beautiful decorative crust. Best excuse for you to rescue them and cover up that mess. The decorative look is after you finish the crimp, make small cut outs like little leaves or circles. Egg wash the entire crimped crust and then lay each leave on the crust overlapping the last. Leaves are especially nice for this in the Fall. I have posted the pie crust with the circle overlay to show you. I have also posted a picture to show you how to do the entire crust with circles. This is a nice trick because you can create vents without intentionally puncturing the crusts. Just leave small vents when you lay the circles down.

If you’re making a gluten-free crust, working with small circles is a very easy way to work with that crust. It can be a challenge to move a large circle without cracking it. Whether you’re gluten-free or not, these tips work very well for any pie.

If you are making a single shell, it’s a really good idea to make the complete shell already with the crimping done and then freeze it. You only have to freeze it for an hour but remember, you have butter in the crust (you better be using butter!) and as soon as it hits that oven, it might want to relax. This is just an insurance to be sure your quiche or cream pie (heavens!) will hold up. I like to make a batch of pie dough and then make them all single shells and have them ready to go in the freezer.

So that’s my lesson on crimping. I never thought there was that much to know but I guess once you start talking about it, there’s more than you think. There’s more than I thought! Feel free to add any ideas you have. Remember to have fun. Making pies with kids and watching them create their own styles (sorry about the mess) is actually more fun than eating the pie itself. It’s almost time for the holidays so you have plenty of time for a few dress rehearsals. How bad can that be? Here’s a quick tip: If it’s that bad (including the blowouts): Regardless of what it looks like, save it by putting a serving of the pie mess in a dessert glass and add a scoop of ice cream and another scoop of the filling. People will think you made the best dessert ever! And do you know what? You just did.

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A love affair with pie crust

With Fall on our heels, it’s time to find that pie crust recipe that year after year you said you were going to tackle. Then everytime you’re ready, the phone rings, the mailman’s at the door (do they still do that?), or the kids need help with their homework (you should still do that!). Any reason was a good reason not to attempt the obvious. This year is going to be different. You’re going to create a love affair with your pie crust. This year, I’m going to give you a pie crust that is so easy to make, everyone will want you to make the holiday pies. Then and only then, you will probably regret this post but it will soon pass and before you know it, you’re opening your own bakery. Okay, not so fast but always a possibility.

There are so many different types of crust for various pies. This will be an all around easy to make blue ribbon winner. Actually, it has won awards. You can use this for quiche, fruit pies, cream pies, turnovers, tart shells, crostadas…The list goes on.

For those of you who are gluten free, the directions are exactly the same except you will substitute GF all-purpose flour for the traditional all-purpose plus add xanthan. I’ll include that in the recipe.

This basic but incredible recipe can be made by hand, in a Kitchen Aid with the pastry hook (looks like a “J”) attachment or in a Cuisinart style food processor.

Here’s the recipe that will make Four 10″ pie crusts.

Ingredients:
3 cups of all-purpose flour (or pastry flour)
1 cup (2 sticks) Cabot unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup very cold water

*Gf readers: 3 cup GF all-purpose flour plus 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1. By hand:
Place the flour, salt and butter in a bowl. Using a fork or a pastry cutter, break the butter up until the mixture resembles cornmeal

Kitchen Aid:
Place the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix on low until the mixture resembles cornmeal.

Cuisinart:
Place all of the dry ingredients and the butter in the processor. Using the pulse button, press with quick pulses until the mixture resembles cornmeal. This is the quickest method.

2. Slowly add the water until almost all of the dry ingredients are absorbed. It should still look alittle dry because you will form the dough balls withy your hands. The warmth of your hands will bring the dough together. You want to be very gentle with pie dough because once the gluten forms (what gives the dough its stretch), it can become tough.

3. Divide the dough into 4 balls. Wrap in plastic and let set in the fridge for about an hour. You can even make these the day before. Just pull them a half an hour before you’re ready to roll it.

4, Place some flour on the counter (clean ofcourse). I only use about 3 tablespoons of flour at a time. Because you’re rolling the dough on flour, you’re adding more flour into your dough so don’t roll it into a handful of flour. Gentle. We need to be gentle. Gentle equals a light flaky crust.

5. Roll into a 10″ round for a 9″ pie pan. Lay the bottom crust down on a sprayed with non stick spray pie pan and prepare the top.

I always cook my fruit fillings the day before so they are cool and ready to fill. Never put a warm filling of any kind into a fresh rolled out crust. The advantages to making your filling ahead of time are well worth the effort. You know what the filling will taste like before you bake it so no surprises. The consistency is exactly what you want it to be so again, no surprises. All you have to do is brown the crust which takes about 40 minutes. You eliminate that horrible dome with the huge air pocket when you cut into an apple pie. By cooking your pie filling, that will never happen. That in itself is well worth it! Plus, and this is a big plus, any filling you have leftover makes incredible ice cream sundaes or a quick parfait with vanilla sponge cake (aka Genoise).

Crimping the edges is as individual as snowflakes. It’s whatever work for you.Be sure to fold the top crust under the bottom crust along the edges and then pinch them together. I brush my top crust with an eggwash (1 egg plus 1 tablespoon of water). Then I take extra dough strips and cut our really cute designs. Ever wonder what to do with all of those mini cookie cutters?? Place those little guys on your crusts. Cut a vent hole for the steam to escape. Very important those vent holes. If you forget, you get a blow hole out the side of your crust. Not attractive but can always be disguised with a scoop of ice cream when you serve.

This is actually a quick lesson. I’ll have more tips to follow. I think if you have gotten this far, you’re love affair has started and there’s no reason to turn back now. Follow through and enjoy the rewards.

Tomorrow, crimping tips and decorative top ideas. Plus, how to make rolled out dough ahead of time for a quick construction.

Remember, post pictures!! I’d love to see them. And most important, go ahead and volunteer to make the pies this year. It’s your best year yet!!