[35] Blueberry Pie (pg 132)

The awesome thing about being the pie boss? You get to pick the pies for the day!

Blueberry is probably my second favorite kind of pie, so it definitely made the list of pies to make for the rehearsal dinner. I also chose it because of the simplicity of the recipe (yes, that’ll be a running theme), and the fact that I suspect many people like blueberry pie.

You guys have to understand. I was making pie for a bunch of people, some of whom I barely knew. Then there was the groom’s family!

Okay, I’m just joshing. I know most of my own family fairly well, but not their pie preferences, oddly enough. Of the groom’s family, I mostly knew him. I’d met his mother and brother once each, and we did not discuss pie amongst the three of us (a tragic failing of our conversation, I can see now). I had not met his father, grandmother, any aunts or uncles, anything.

I had to make pies I expected would be tasty and well received. Hence, I picked blueberry over “pear craisin” pie and apple over “zucchini-apple” pie1. Basically, I wanted to go for the classics. Aside from apple pie, there’s not much more classic than a good, old-fashioned blueberry pie.

Also, did I mention it was dead easy?

h2. Ingredients

Pie crust dough for two 8″ pies (Two more dough balls from the pie crust recipe previously posted.)
4 c blueberries (She says they don’t need to be thawed if they were frozen, so I didn’t.)

3/4 c sugar

3 1/2 tbsp flour

Pinch of salt

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp butter

h2. Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line the pie plate with the first of the two crusts. Mix together the sugar, flour and salt, then add the blueberries and a squeeze of lemon juice and mix it all together very well. Pour the mixture into the pie crust, then dot the top with the butter (even chunks all over the top, not a big ol’ pat in the middle). Cover with the top crust, crimp it, trim the edges as needed, cut some ventilation into that thing, then pop it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes at 425°F, then lower temperature to 4325°F and bake an additional 40 minutes; until the top is nicely browned.

h2. Cooking and Consumption Notes

h3. Cooking

This was actually the first of the four total pies we made. I don’t have a good reason for posting the apple pie first, except that in my frenzy to post all these recipes, I typed it first.

Anyway, that said, this was also fairly straightforward. However, it did not stay as beautifully mounded at the end as the apple pie did, as it kind of collapsed in the middle. I have photos of that, for later, but not of the apple pie, so you’ll have to take my word for it that it was beautiful.

Also, some blueberry juice oozed out the sides for awhile. This wasn’t entirely unexpected (pies often ooze), so Dad & I had very intelligently placed the pies (all of them) to bake on a cookie sheet. It got very messy after four pies.

h3. Consumption

I am a bad baker. I did not have an opportunity to sample this pie. I have no idea how good or bad it was. Maybe, someday, someone I’m related to will read this blog and tell me how it was. Well, someone I’m related to and who was at the rehearsal dinner.

But, for now, I’d settle for a relation regularly reading the blog.

Anyway, I’d say that’s a good sign, though, right? I didn’t manage to have any? It means it was either delicious and devoured, or I was having so much fun being at my sister & her now-husband’s rehearsal dinner that I didn’t manage to eat tons of pie. Or both! Win!

I’m going to go out on a limb though. I’m going to guess it tasted like delicious blueberry pie.

fn1. Oh, yes, I’ll be making both of those pies. And apples & pears are finally coming into season here in Illinois, so I might even make them soon. Unfortunately, zucchini seems to be out of season, so it might be tricky to make the second one.