Sunday, October 07, 2007

Thankful for...Raspberry Rhubarb Pie and More


Some of you may be aware that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Canadian Thanksgiving, that is, as we celebrate it a month earlier than the USA. There is always so much to be thankful for and this year is no exception…health, family and friends, a baby on the way, and of course, great food!


I love this fall holiday; we enjoy a lot of the same great food as we do at Christmas, but experience little of the rush and hectic pace of those days surrounding Noel…
This year I am not doing my own grandiose dinner, but rather collaborating on two different events-one with family and one with friends.
However in most Canadian homes you will find menus that center around a roast turkey, cranberry sauce, probably a stuffing, mashed potatoes, autumn vegetables…and-most importantly-PIES!

Mini Apple-Raspberry Pies

Early on in my childhood years, my parents realized that I had a passion for food and cooking. I mean how else can you explain the gift of a beautiful pie cookbook for my 11th birthday from them? I spent many a happy hour rolling pie dough and trying new fillings, some of them successful, and some of them failures.
Perhaps it was all that early practice that sparked my love of pies and so for me, Thanksgiving is largely about these special, fruity tarts.
So now, even though I have pumpkin roasting for the must-have Pumpkin Pies, cranberries on the shopping list for my traditional Cranberry-Orange Pie, and things set in motion for a few dozen Butter Tarts, I wanted to use up what I have in my garden for a seasonal pie. Most of my small plots have been turned over for the winter but the rhubarb is hanging in there and my raspberries have decided to renew their efforts and produce a second crop of berries. I couldn’t be happier! (maybe this is normal for raspberries, I don’t know, but when I finished harvesting in July, I thought I had seen the last of them.)
So this pie is showcasing these fall fruits fresh from my garden and the flavors did not disappoint. I love a tart pie!
For the top I had a bit of fun and cut little baby turkeys out of the dough with a cookie cutter and partially covered the filling. They looked a little less recognizable when they came of of the oven, but tasted yummy anyway!
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Rhubarb Raspberry Pie

6 cups chopped rhubarb
1 pint fresh raspberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon cream
double crust pie dough

Roll out bottom pie crush and mold into pan. Chill 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat egg yolk and cream together, set aside.
Toss rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, and salt together until well coated. Gently add raspberries to mixture. Heap up into chilled pie shell and dot with butter. Roll out top pie crust and make desired designs with it (lattice, etc). Cover pie filling with the pot crust, crimp edges and brush with egg mixture.
Bake until crust is golden brown and juices run from the rhubarb. Cool at room temperature. Chill before serving.
Lovely with vanilla ice cream!

19 comments:

test it comm said...

Rhubarb pies are one of my favorites. I have never tried combining rhubarb with raspberries though. It sounds like a tasty combination.

Anh said...

What a beautiful pie! Aimee, this pie must be perfect for your Thanksgiving table!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pies! I love the mini ones. Do you serve everyone their own little pie for Thanksgiving? I know I'd be thankful for one of those!

Manggy said...

Rhubarb is not available anywhere nearby so I've never tried it, but that pie looks incredible!

Brilynn said...

Those pies look wonderful, perfect crust!

winedeb said...

Aimee those pies look fantastic! I have not had a rhubarb pie since I was a child (and that was quite some time ago!) I remember that was one of my dad's favorites. Nice that your garden is still producing for you! Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

You just can't beat a good pie and yours look fantastic.

Anonymous said...

Your pies are BEAUTIFUL!! I heart rhubarb but it is so hard to find. I'm always shocked at how many people have no idea what it is! Everyone always asks, "Is it like celery?" Um - NO! It's way more awesome! Thanks be to god for rhubarb!

Shayne said...

the little turkeies are so cute. Loke you i love tart pies and any other backed good, so often lemon or cranberries end up in my baked goods and rhubarb is one of my faves.

Thank you for sharing and happy thanksgiving

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I love the little turkey cutouts for the top crust on your pie!! A very ingenious idea!!I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!You have a lot to be thankful for!!!

Aimée said...

Hi Kevin- The berries make it a tad sweeter-it's a nice mix.

Hi Anh- Thanks! I know, even the pie's colors are fall.

Hi Lynn- Actually the little ones were for a donation for food baskets for needy families. Isn't everything cuter in mini?

Hi Manggy- Well, you probably enjoy a lot of fruit that we would label as exotic here in Canada. You have to come over to try our rhubarb!

Hi Brilynn- Thank you and welcome to UtHC!

Hi Winedeb- Thanks for the well wishes. I agree with your dad's taste!

Hi Amanda- Merci!

Hi Miss Scarlet- Yes, rhubarb keeps a pretty low profile, doesn't it? Good luck on your new blog!

Hi Shayne- You must have some great recipes for rhubarb!

Hi Valli- Glad you appreciated my somewhat cheesy turkey cutouts! Hope your thanksgiving was wonderful,too.

Sandy said...

Your pies are really gorgeous. I have pie envy! Anytime I have made pie crusts, they seem to shrink and not look very pretty.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Belinda said...

What beautiful pies, Aimee. Raspberry and rhubarb...how wonderful to combine the two! And would you just look at how gorgeous they look, set against that pretty coordinating cloth?! :-) Very nicely put together...and I love how your pie crusts turned out...I'm utterly hopeless at pie crusts, so I'm coveting yours now!

Big Boys Oven said...

those tarts look jolly good!

Amber said...

Those are the ugliest pies I have ever seen! JUST KIDDING, I just wanted to write something different than everyone else:) I made the wonderful discovery of some rhubarb seeds a few months ago, and now have a nice bunch of rhubarb growing here behind my house. (Guatemalans don't know about rhubarb, so no one grows it here), On the package it said to wait a year to harvest but I don't think I'll be doing that. Strawberry rhubarb is my fave, but I would gladly partake of a piece or two of your rhubarb raspberry combination!

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Anonymous said...

I wish I had seen this post when I was planning out our Thanksgiving dinner...!
I will have to try this soon!

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Anonymous said...

Hello!
I'm from England , and i have a lovely Rhubarb plant in my back garden . At the moment it is tiny ( it being january ), but around august it is massive!

I was browsing for a good recipe for miniature raspberry pies for my Home ec. / Food tech class next week ( I'm in Englands equivalent of Junior high.. i Think :P _when i came across your site , and this pie looks great! I may even make it in class next week.

Bye!

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