My Thanksgiving Pies
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a very safe and enjoyable holiday!
This morning I am busy cooking in my kitchen like all of you. I am preparing a stuffed and roasted 20-pound organic heritage turkey to add to my friend's buffet table. And of course, I am also making a big bowl of my mother's, "Big Martha," delicious mashed potatoes! Yesterday, I was busy baking 30-pies! I love baking pies and every Thanksgiving, I bake one for every member of my staff here at the farm to thank them for all their hard work during the year.
Here are some photos.
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- Here I am rolling out one of the pâte brisée discs. When rolling, make sure there are no cracks. To fit a nine-inch pie plate, roll out an 11-inch round that’s about 1/8-inch thick. I have been making this pâte brisée for many years and have perfected this recipe. It calls for two-and-a-half cups all-purpose flour, one teaspoon kosher salt, one teaspoon granulated sugar, two sticks unsalted butter, and a quarter to a half cup of ice water.
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- Every year, I pull out lots of my own pie plates, but I remind all the recipients that they must come back after the holiday. I like to use glass pie dishes most, so it is easy to see when the pie’s bottom crust is sufficiently browned.
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- Here are several chilled pâte brisée discs. Pâte brisée is the French version of classic pie or tart pastry. It is a versatile all-butter dough for both sweet and savory recipes—from apple pie to quiche.
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- I blind bake my pie crusts. This is the process of baking a pie crust without the filling. To blind bake a chilled pie crust, just line it with parchment paper in the pie dish and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. After about 20 minutes at 375-degrees Fahrenheit, carefully remove the parchment and the weights. Then bake it until the crust is dry but not brown, about five minutes more.
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- Here is one pie crust baked and ready to empty of its bean weights. I’ve been using the same dried beans for more than 25-years. I reuse them time after time and store them in a big glass jar in my kitchen.
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- Using kitchen shears, I just trim the edge to one inch and fold under, so it all looks neat and tidy.
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- Next, using my fingers I decoratively crimp the crust. Crimping is not only decorative, but it makes it less likely the sides of the pie will fall or shrink during baking.
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- I also prick the bottom of the crust a few times with the tines of a fork. This is called docking, the culinary term for poking holes in a pie crust. The holes allow steam to escape, so the crust should stay flat against the baking dish when it isn’t held down by pie weights or a filling. Otherwise the crust can puff up, ruin its appearance, and leave less space for whatever filling is planned.
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- Meanwhile, on the stove cooking are two large pots of beautiful cranberries.
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- I worked in an assembly line fashion to get all the pies ready on time. Once cooked, they are left to cool – on the counter, on the stovetop, near my sink – anywhere there is room.
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- I also make lots of small decorations for the pies. The decorations are baked separately and then placed on the pie at the end – this allows for pieces to be moved onto each individual piece of pie when served.
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- After they are all done and slightly cooled, the pies are brought outside to the terrace to cool some more. The crew was given several choices, and I made all the pies and tarts “to order.” With a couple for me too, of course.
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- I made pecan pie…
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- Brown sugar pumpkin pie from my original “Martha Stewart’s Pies & Tarts” book…
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- Lemon curd pie…
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- And a cranberry tart. This recipe is from my original “Martha Stewart’s Pies & Tarts” book.
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- All the pies for gifting were wrapped carefully in cellophane, tied with ribbon, and labeled for each recipient.
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- Then they were displayed on the tables by type.
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- Just before I personally distributed a pie to each staff member, I stopped for a quick photo – it’s all in a day’s work.
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- My beautiful Chow Chows, Emperor Han and Empress Qin, watched all the activity from the steps of my kitchen – and hoping for a crumb of crust to fall their way.
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- Here’s my business manager, JC Roberts, with his cranberry tart.
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- My property manager, Doug White, selected a lemon curd pie.
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- Carlos Restrepo from my housecleaning team wanted a classic brown sugar pumpkin pie.
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- Phurba Sherpa, a member of my outdoor grounds crew, asked for a pecan pie.
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- And my longtime helper here at the farm, Fernando Ferrari, took home a chocolate pecan pie.
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- I am always so happy to make pies for my hardworking team. I hope you are all having a wonderful time preparing for today’s big feast. Have a safe and wonderful holiday. And please share some of your memories with me in the comments section below.
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