Now, those of you guys who do not live in California (or, more specifically, Northern CA) may be wondering what in the world an olallieberry is. I certainly didn't know until I moved out here. To quote Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olallieberry) "The olallieberry (pronounced oh-la-leh, sometimes spelled ollalieberry, olallaberry, olalliberry, ollalaberry or ollaliberry) is a cross between the loganberry and the youngberry, each of which is itself a cross between blackberry and another berry (raspberry and dewberry, respectively).[1]" An olallieberry looks like an extra long blackberry with a tart blackberry taste. While picking, sometimes I would find one that was so ripe and warmed by the sun that it would just explode in my mouth in a delicious sweet explosion.
Olallieberry pie
adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything
Ingredients:
5 cups olallieberries, picked over, briefly rinsed and lightly dried
1 cup sugar, plus a little more for the top of the pie
3 tbsp. cornstarch
pinch salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch ground allspice or nutmeg
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1tsp minced lemon zest
1 recipe shell for a two-crust pie (see bellow), bottom crust fitted into a 9-inch pie pan, top crust transferred to a rimless baking sheet, both refrigerated
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into bits
milk as needed
Procedure:
1) Gently toss the olallieberries with the sugar, cornstarch, salt and spices. Stir in the lemon juice and optional zest and pile into the rolled-out shell, making the pile a little higher in the center than at the sides. Dot with butter. Cover with the top crust. Decorate the edges with a fork or your fingers. Refrigerate while you preheat the oven to 450 F.
2) Place the pie on a baking sheet and brush the top lightly with milk; sprinkle with sugar. Use a sharp paring knife to cut two or three 2" long vent holes in the top crust; this will allow steam to escape. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 F and bake another 40 to 50 minutes, or until the pie is golden brown. Don not under bake. Cool on a rack before serving warm or at room temperature.
Pie shell for a two-crust pie
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups AP flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
16 tbsp (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into about 16 pieces
6 tbsp. ice water, plus more if necessary
Procedure:
1) Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in the container of a food processor; pulse once or twice. add the butter and turn on the machine; process until the butter and flour are blended and the mixture looks like cornmeal, about 10 seconds.
2) Place the mixture in a bowl and sprinkle 6 tbsp. of water over it. Use a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula to gradually gather the mixture into a ball; if the mixture seems dry, add another 1/2 tbsp. ice water. When you can make the mixture into a ball with your hands, do so. Wrap in plastic, flatten into a small disc, and freeze the dough for 10 minutes (or refrigerate for 30 minutes); this will ease rolling.
3) You can roll the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap, usually quite successfully; sprinkle both sides of it with a little more flour, then proceed. Or sprinkle a counter top or large board with flour. Unwrap the dough and place it on the work surface; sprinkle its top with flour. If the dough is hard, let it rest for a few minutes; it should give a little when you press your fingers into it.
4) Roll with light pressure, from the center out. (If the dough seems very sticky at first, add flour liberally; but if it becomes sticky only after your roll it for a few minutes, return it to the refrigerator for 10 minutes before proceeding). Continue to roll, adding small amounts of flour as necessary, rotating the dough occasionally and turning it over once or twice during the process (use ragged edges of dough to repair any tears, adding a drop of water while your press the patch into place.) When the dough is about 10 inches in diameter (it will be less than 1/4 inch thick), place your pie plate upside down over it to check the size.
5) Move the dough in to the pie plate by draping it over the rolling pin or by folding it into quarters, the moving it into the plate and unfolding it. When the dough is in the plate, press it firmly into the bottom, sides, and junction of bottom and sides. Trim the excess dough to about 1/2 inch all around, then tuck it under itself around the edges of the plate. Decorate the edges with a fork or your fingers. Freeze the dough for 10 minutes (or refrigerate it for 30 minutes).
6) When you're ready to bake, prick it all over with a fork.
The pie came out amazing. I still need to work on my pie crust edging techniques, but it doesn't have to look perfect as long as it tastes perfect! The olallieberries were so juicy that it was less a whole pie so much as a liquid olallieberry mixture with a crust topping. But, boy was it good! Especially with ice cream! Technique wise, it worked perfectly to roll out the pie crust between two sheets of parchment paper. The crust was flaky and scrumptious. Why do I bother with storebought crusts?
For the macaroni and cheese, I used the tried and true Thomas Jefferson macaroni and cheese. If you want to know more info, here is my blog on it: http://insearchoftheperfectmacaroniandcheese.blogspot.com/2011/06/thomas-jefferson-macaroni-and-cheese.html The only difference here is that I used 16 oz of pasta (the "light and luscious" version) and an unknown amount of cheese. I just took a block of extra sharp cheddar that I bought at Trader Joe's and shredded it. It was a lot of cheese. The macaroni and cheese came out incredibly: cheesy, delicious, crispy crust, just right pasta. We couldn't stop eating it! Mmmm..
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| Freshly baked olallieberry pie |
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| Macaroni and Cheese |
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| Dinner with Jennifer and Martin |
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| Everyone shows their approval of my delicious mac and cheese |
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