Monday, August 6, 2012

TOMATO AND CHEDDAR PIE





I just love vacation!  We’re on to Northwest Montana to see Billy’s folks.  The guys golf, of course (no pun intended… no really), we float the river on tubes (we are proud to be members of the redneck yacht club), watch natures TV (the deer and the wild life), and we always take a trip up Glacier National Park to marvel at God’s craftsmanship.
To start our visit to Glacier, we like to take a picnic to enjoy upon entering the park.  I made a savory Tomato and Cheddar pie, to go along with sliced ham, and dill pickles. 

 We enjoyed our spread at Lake McDonald, a cold lake, surrounded by park land.  As we watch kids splashing around in the lake Billy and I reminisce of how when we were young growing up in small town Canada, just on the other side of the Montana border, we had swam in some icy cold lakes.  The kind of icy water that is so cold it hurts to get in, but if you tough it out you will get numb, and once you get numb, it stops hurting, then you’re good to play and swim for hours.



Normally we drive ourselves up The Going to the Sun Road, but this year we decided to take the RedBus,  http://glacierparkinc.com/tour_detail.php?id=1  
 and let somebody else do the driving.  The bus has an open top to allow for optimum viewing, so we slapped on the SPF and donned our hats.  We took the bus from the historical Lake McDonald Lodge.






Billy is prepared for our scenic tour.










We are at the summit of the Going to the Sun Road, and these are the mountains atop of the mountains!








Now back to the picnic…The pie needs to sit for at least 1 hour before it is cut into.  I made the Tomato and Cheddar Pie the night before.  It tastes best served at room temperature which is why it is perfect for a picnic or pot luck. 
Don’t be intimidated by the length of the instructions.  The instructions are long because I have described how to make a lattice top crust for the pie.  The actual prep time for the pie is only about 40 minutes.
Your will need two pie crusts. 



I use the refrigerated pie crusts that unroll and I can fit into my own dish.  Use one for the bottom of the pie.  The pie dough should be about ½ inch larger all around, than the pie dish.  I had to roll mine out a little to get the correct size.






The other pie crust should fit the top of the pie dish; again I had to roll mine out slightly.  Cut the dough into about 1 ¼ inch strips.  Refrigerate the prepared pie crusts for about 20 minutes, while you prepare the filling.







Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds and pulp.








Slice the tomatoes to about ¼ inch of thickness.  Place to the side.











Finely slice the scallions.









In a small bowl mix together the cream cheese, ½ cup of cheddar, 2 Tbsp of scallions, and the egg yolk.  Place to the side.








In another small bowl mix together the 1/3 cup of mayo and the 1 ½ cups of cheddar cheese.  Place to the side.




To chiffonade the basil… stack the basil leaves atop of each other.  Roll the leaves length wise into a cigar shape.  Then make thin slices across the basil cigar.  Now you have fancy basil, chiffonade!









Spread the cream cheese mixture into the bottom on the pie, coming slightly up the sides.




Layer half of the tomatoes evenly over the cream cheese mixture.  Sprinkle with half of the salt, pepper, scallions and basil.  Also put small dollops all over the top using half of the cheddar and mayo mixture.
 



Repeat with the other half of the ingredients. 









 Now for the lattice top:  Save the two longest strips of pastry for the center pieces.  Lay 3 strips over the top of the pie, starting with the longest strip in the center.  Space the strips evenly about 1 inch apart.  Only these 3 strips of dough will be folded in the next steps.

 Pull the center pastry strip to back and place another strip over the other two strips of dough.  Put the center strip back.  Now fold the left and right strips up , over the strip that you just layed.  Place the other longest strip in the center, the two center strips should cross at the middle of the pie.  Place the two strips back.  Does this make sense to anyone else?  This is why pictures are good!

Pull that first center strip up, over the last strip you layed, and place the final strip of dough on the bottom side of the pie.  You should have a nice basket weave pattern.




If necessary trim the lattice pieces to fit the top of the pie.  Fold the excess ½ inch of dough over and crimp the edge.







*If you are not comfortable making the lattice top then, do not cut the top crust into strips.  Just place the second crust over top of the pie and crimp the top and bottom crusts together and cut slits in the top for the steam to escape.   



Make an egg wash with the remaining egg white and 1 Tbsp of water.  Brush the egg wash over the top of the pie crust and sprinkle with coarse salt.








I made a collar from aluminum foil to protect the edge of the crust from getting to dark.  Bake the pie at 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes, until the top is golden.  Take the collar off with about 8 minutes of cooking time left to get the edge of the crust that perfect golden color.





There will appear to be a lot of juice at the top of the pie, but when it sits for a minimum of 1 hour the juices are reabsorbed by the tomatoes. 




The tomatoes get even more sweet from the baking, the cheese is subtle, but perfectly complimentary, all wrapped up in a flaky crust.








Serves 8
2                            Refrigerated pie crusts, the rounds that are ready to put into your own dish
2             lbs          Tomatoes, sliced
½ cup + 2 Tbsp    Scallions, or green onion, finely sliced
4             oz           Cream cheese, softened at room temperature
2             cups       Aged cheddar cheese, grated
1                            Egg, separated
1/3         cup         Mayonnaise
2             Tbsp       Basil, chiffonade (chiffonade means to cut into small ribbons)
½            tsp          Salt
½            tsp          Pepper

1.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.      Place 1 of the pie crusts into a 9 inch pie dish, if it does not hang over the edge of the dish by about ½ inch you will need to roll the dough out a little. 
3.      Place the second of the pie crusts over the top of the dish just to get the size, it should be just a tad bigger than the outside lip of the top of the dish, if not you will need to roll that dough out.  Cut the dough into 1 ¼ inch strips.  Place the strips on to a plate. *If you do not wish to make the lattice top then skip this step.
4.      Put both the bottom pie shell and the strips of pie dough into the refrigerator, for about 20 minutes.
5.      In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, ½ cup of the cheddar cheese, 2 Tbsp of scallions, and 1 egg yolk only (save the whites).  Set to the side.
6.      Mix the 1 ½ cups of cheddar cheese and the mayonnaise in a small bowl.  Set to the side.
7.      Put the cream cheese mixture into the bottom pie shell.  Spread the mixture in an even layer over the bottom, and slightly up the sides.
8.      Put half of the sliced tomatoes in nice even layers, over that mixture.
9.      Over the tomatoes, sprinkle half of the salt, pepper, scallions, and basil.
10.   Put half of the cheddar and mayo mixture over the tomatoes in small dollops.
11.   Layer the other half of the tomatoes over that, and repeat with the remaining seasonings and the cheese mixture.
12.   You will use 6 strips of strips of dough to make the lattice top ( it's like weaving a basket ).  Use the 2 longest strips for the center pieces.  Place 1 of the longest strips of the pie dough in the center, then place two strips evenly on either side of that, leaving about 1 inch in between; be sure to dust off any extra flour if necessary.  Only these 3 strips of pie dough will be moved in the next steps.
13.   Turn the pie so that the dough strips are vertical to you.  Pull the center strip of dough half way back toward you, and place another strip of dough over the other two strips of dough, place the center strip back over.
14.   Now pull the left and right strips of dough up towards the top of the pie, over the strip you just layed, place another longer strip in the center, on top of the other center strip to make a cross in the middle of the pie, put the two strips back over.
15.    Pull the first center strip of dough up, over the strip you just layed, place the last strip of dough over the left and right strips of dough on the bottom side of the pie, and place the center strip back over.  Now you should have a nice basket weave pattern made of dough.
16.   Pull and fold the excess dough hanging over the dish up to the outside edge of the dish and crimp the edge to seal the dough together and make a pretty edge.
17.   Mix the egg white with about 1 Tbsp of water.  Brush over the top crust.
18.   Sprinkle coarse salt over the top of the crust.
19.   Place in a 400 degree oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp.

* If you are not comfortable making the lattice top then do not cut the top crust into strips in step 3, and skip steps 12 through 15.  Instead, just place the second crust over top of the pie and crimp the top and bottom crusts together and cut slits in the top for the steam to escape.


4 comments:

  1. Oh Kari you are an artist! This is beautiful. You know I love pies, and tarts and vacations out west! Thanks for all the wonderful photos.

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  2. Looks like you had a wonderful vacation! The pie looks to die for. I'd kill for a slice!

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  3. Thanks for coming by and checking out my blog. This pie looks amazing. I wish I could have a slice right now.

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