Cherry Pie take 2

No better excuse to make a pie than a church picnic.  And no better excuse to have a church picnic than "we don't have a building to meet in today."  It did sprinkle on us a little, but in mid July in Redlands, it was much appreciated and welcomed weather.  What a fun Sunday morning!

Last time I made a cherry pie, Carina, Jamie, Mom and I all did it together.  Or at least we did all the cherry picking and pitting together.  Standing around the kitchen counter together at home in Eugene.  And it was for a picnic then too, just a fun small family picnic.  This time I had to do the cherry pitting by myself, but it's really not too bad.  I used cherries from Trader Joes, and only had trouble pitting three of them (even without a cherry pitter!)

I know my first recipe was delicious, but I decided to try a new one, just for fun.  It too turned out wonderfully.  I pretty much followed the recipe I found here at Chic Eats, with slight adaptions here and there.

Ingredients
For the pie crust
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs sugar
2 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1/4 cup vodka
1/4 cup cold water
ice

For the filling
2 red plums
2 lbs fresh cherries
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
juice of half a lemon
2 tsp brandy
4 Tbs corn starch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon of water

Procedure
Place a large mixing bowl in the freezer.  Combine cold water and vodka with a few ice cubes, and place in the fridge until you need it.  In a small mixing bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the salt and sugar, and place in the freezer for a few mintues, to keep very cold.  In a food processor, process the flour mixture. Add the cold butter and process until the butter is in small, pea size clumps.  Pour dough mixture into the large, cold mixing bowl, and add the remaining flour.  Mix with a rubber spatula.  You don't want to use your hands yet, or the dough will get warm!
Add 1/4 cup of the water vodka mixture, and mix with the rubber spatula.  Press and fold the dough to incorporate all the wet ingredients.  Continue to add the water vodka mixture one tablespoon at a time, until there is no more dry powdery flour.  There will still be many many small crumbs, but they will look moist.  At this point, use your hands to push dough together in a solid clump.  Work quickly, and DON'T mix the dough any further.  Simply press it together.  Divide the dough into two equal portions, pat into disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes (up to 2 days).

Halve and pit the cherries.  Since I don't own a cherry pitter, I pimply run a small knife around the pit of the cherry, and twist to separate the two halves (as if I were cutting a peach).  The it's surprisingly easy to grab hold of the cherry pit and twist to remove it.  Combine 1 cup of halved cherries with the two peeled and pitted plums in a food processor. Process until smooth.  In a bowl combine the puree, remaining halved cherries, lemon, sugar, salt, brandy, corn starch, and cinnamon. Toss gently to combine.  Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the pie.

To assemble, remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a well-floured surface. The dough may be sticky, so be generous with the flour, and ref-lour your surface often!  You want it to be about 12 inches in diameter.  I gently fold the dough in half, then in half again, and lay it into the pie pan before unfolding.  You may also roll the dough loosely around the pin and unroll it over your pie plate. Gently make sure the dough is settled into the corners, then trim the edges, leaving 1/2 to  3/4 inch overhang. Refrigerate for 40 minutes.

Remove the second disk of dough from the fridge, and roll it out in the same manner.  Pour all the cherry mixture - juice and all - into the pie pan, then lay the second crust on top.  Trim the edges, this time letting the top crust extend about a 1/2 inch beyond the bottom crust.  Tuck the top crust under the bottom, and pinch to seal the two together.  Flute the edge to make it pretty, and using a shard knife, cut 5 slits in the top of the pie to help keep the pie from bubbling too much.  Brush the top with the egg wash.  (I forgot this last step, and it turned out beautifully anyways).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, place the oven rack near the bottom of the oven, and place the pie in the freezer for 20 minutes.  (It also would be smart to put a pan or some aluminum foil under the rack where you'll put the pie - just in case it bubbles over.  I put my oven racks on the lowest two shelves, with the aluminum on the bottom one).  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn down the oven to 350, and bake for another 40 minutes or more - until the crust is deep golden brown.  Let cool for about an hour before serving.

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