fly baby fly

We found her!
And then there was pie.
Cherry pie, of course.
Two in fact.

One All-American Cherry Pie

Ingredients for One Double Pie Crust

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

3/4 cup shortening

1/2 cup or less, very cold water

Ingredients for One Pie Filling

3 1/2 cups fresh, washed and pitted cherries

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 heaping cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

Sift the flour and shortening into a small bowl. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the shortening into the flour until the mixture looks crumbly. Add most but not all of the water and stir to combine. If the dough seems a little dry, stir in the rest of the water.

Pat the dough into a disk, cut it in half, one for the bottom crust and one for the top crust. Reshape each half into a round. Loosely wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Once the dough is chilled, prepare the pie filling. Place the cherries in a large bowl and sprinkle with the sugar, tossing to coat. Add the salt, then the flour, and toss again. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove one portion of the chilled dough. Roll it out on a floured board to a size large enough to fit a 9" pie pan. Loosely wrap the first third of the dough over the rolling pin, lifting it and then unrolling it gently into the pan. Don't stretch the dough but lift along the edges, allowing it to ease itself down into the pan. Crimp the edges a little but don't fuss over them.

Next roll out the other half of the dough which will be the top crust of the pie, to a size large enough to cover just beyond the edge of the pan.

Fill the pie pan with the cherry-sugar mixture. Again wrapping the dough loosely over the rolling pin, unroll it onto the top of the pie. Pinch the two crusts together along the edge of the pan.

With a sharp knife, cut three slits in the dough to allow steam to escape while baking. Place the pie on a cookie sheet and bake for 55 to 65 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven.

Now stand in front of the pie and listen. It will hiss and sputter as the hot filling continues to bubble and the pie adjusts to the cooler temperature. Watch the crust rise and fall. It looks like the pie is breathing. Or perhaps singing......Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave....