Cherry Peach Pie + Homemade Pie Crust

Holy moly baking success. But really, we couldn't stop moaning and groaning over how good this sucker turned out.

A couple weeks ago for Father's Day, I knew I wanted to make a peach pie for my dad. We were grilling out, it's summer and it's one of his favorite desserts. But I had to find a way to amp it up a bit! I decided on cherries, but chose rainier cherries, a Tucker favorite. Their coloring almost looks like a baby peach with a stem.

Besides Thanksgiving I don't ever make pie. I like pie it's just not quite in my repertoire, time to change that. I firmly believe the best summer dessert is some kind of fruit pie or cobbler or crumble served up with cold ice cream!

Homemade crust was a definite for this pie. Again not something I ever make. We go straight up Pillsbury on Turkey day, but not anymore. The crust made this pie. It was thick and flakey with a touch of sweetness. I'm all about the crust. I struggle to understand people who don't eat their crust. Pizza crust, hand it over. Pie crust, scoop me some more ice cream and I gobble it up.  

I firmly believe in this pie. It had everything I want in a pie. One of my favorite parts is how well it stays together when you cut it. Fruit pies struggle in this category. Our Thanksgiving apple pie is delicious but comes spilling out after the first slice. Give this recipe a try, I'm not letting you down here!

Cherry Peach Pie

Ingredients:
5 ripe peaches
2 cups rainier cherries (the light red and yellow ones)
4 Tbsp. cornstarch
zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 tsp. almond extract
2/3-3/4 cup sugar (I only used 2/3 but it depends how sweet you want it)
pinch of salt
egg for egg wash
Perfect Pie Crust (recipe to follow)

Directions:
Using a paring knife, peel your peaches. Slice in half and remove the core. Slice into thin wedges and place in a large bowl. Pit your cherries, slice in half and place in bowl with the peaches. Toss with sugar, almond extract, lemon zest and juice and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Lightly grease your pie pan. On a floured surface, roll out both crusts to about a 1/4 inch thick. Gently press one crust into pie pan. Fill with pie filling and make sure peaches and cherries are evenly distributed. Slice your other pie crust into thick slices and alternate pieces creating a lattice top. Pies are supposed to be rustic, so no need to beat yourself up about trying to do a pretty edge. I just cut off the excess pie dough then roll it inward and give it a pinch to seal the two together.

Place your pie in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. After 15 minutes, give the pie an egg wash and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 min. Lower the temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 35 to 45 minutes until lightly brown and bubbly. Serve with some homemade vanilla bean ice cream and enjoy!
 

Perfect Pie Crust
yields two pie crusts, enough for a top and bottom

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cup flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
9-10 Tbsp. ice cold water

Directions:
Combine flour, salt, sugar and cold cubed butter in a food processor until pea size crumbs form. With the food processor on, drizzle in the ice cold water until a ball forms and it pulls away from the edges. The dough is slightly slightly sticky, but if you think it's too dry or need it to come together more add an additional tablespoon of water. Flatten the dough into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Dough can also be frozen. I suggest wrapping in plastic wrap and placing in a ziplock to store. 

I know this pie is good from the fact that my brother-in-law was still talking about it three days later. Some things you just can't get off you mind-ha! Don't forget to serve with some vanilla bean ice cream. And it's even cuter baked up in cute pie pans like this "I love you more than 3.14" made by local, Designs by Kace

Annie

Bites of My Life

Post vacation depression. Why must all good things come to an end? After 72 hours, it has me craving more. Cheers to you D.C. you really know how to put on a show! Besides the weekend in my favorite city, there was the bachelorette, work meetings, a fair effort at cleaning out the fridge and a birthday celebration for big daddy T.

-Quinoa Fried Rice: my ultimate clean out the fridge/haven't gone grocery shopping in weeks kind of meal. 
-This matcha obsession is getting a little out of hand. Evoke knows how to serve it up.
-Happy Birthday dad! I love celebrating you.
-Finally made it back to my favorite city with my favorite D.C. loving bestie!
-I loved taking Barre3 when I lived in D.C, but it was the perfect start to my Saturday getting to take a class at the new 14th St. location!
-Back in Georgetown for the afternoon, back to my old stomping grounds.
-Chaia took tacos to the next level. I've been stalking them on insta since they opened and they didn't disappoint.
-Amazing dinner, better company. Marsha, Virginia, Heidi and Charlie roll out.
-Oh Roses's. I went into this dinner knowing you'd be good, but I didn't know you'd be that good.
-Cappuccino and mushroom tart please! Le Dip still cranks out a delicious brunch!
-Sunday night ramen night. After so many Milk Bar treats, I can finally say I tried their big brother restaurant Momofuku. And I didn't even have to go to New York to get it!
-Cheersing to the best weekend with Milk Bar cereal milk ice cream.

Annie

Goodbye Spring, Hello Summer

image via The Everygirl

Summer came in full force weather wise about two weeks ago. We are already seeing triple digits almost everyday. I love the heat, but this early makes me a little unnerving for what the rest of the summer will look like. Yesterday marked the first official day of Summer, so before putting my Summer TDL out there I wanted to take a look back and see what I crossed off my Spring installment. Pat on the back Annie, you did pretty good!

1. Host a spring dinner party...
I'm so mad I didn't do this. Really striving to make it happen soon. Using these tips to maybe make it a bit easier!

2. Attend the Oklahoma City Arts Festival-CHECK! I actually went twice!

3. Take some kind of cooking, pastry or coffee and latte making class-almost CHECK!
I can't give away too many details for certain reasons, but this is getting accomplished very soon.

4. Go to a crawfish boil/convince a friend to have one-CHECK!

5. Eat outside as much as possible-CHECK, CHECK, CHECK! I would even more now if it wasn't 100+ outside.

6. Cheer on the OKC Thunder at a playoff game...
This unfortunately did not get accomplished:( My thunder held strong for a while, but not long enough for me to make it to a game.

7. Make this Coconut Carrot Cake Cheesecake-CHECK! We can't forget the double cheesecake mistake of Easter2k16.

8. Perfect how to poach an egg...
Still working on this task! I hear the key is using the freshest egg you can. Hoping to hit up a farmer's market soon to get some farm fresh eggs!

9. Host a Cinco De Mayo party-CHECK!

Okay so 6 out of 9 seems pretty good to me. Now to craft up my Summer TDL. Any suggestions?

Annie

Bites of My Life

I'm writing this as I drift off into a NyQuil induced slumber, so please ignore any run-ons or grammar errors. A little cold decided to come hang out with me this week, it was uninvited. It's time it leave the party because I want to be on my A-game for a very anticipated trip this coming weekend. I am headed back to D.C!!!! A full D.C. Diary post to be expected next week recapping the week.

-Snuck half the batch of these turkey meatballs I made a few weeks back in the freezer. I love having them to pull out for an unexpected satisfying dinner.
-Pulled out this recipe from the TAB archives. I'm working on remaking old recipes to give them some 2016 life!
-Last weeks work was fueled by Elemental Coffee's chai tea latte. 
-Have you tried the new siggi's seasonal flavor? Strawberry basil!!
-My OKC guide is revamped and up to do date.
-Lunch with mom typically means at least one of us is ordering a taco salad. We both pulled the plug this time. 
-Breakfast with dad on Saturday morning like the old days! We used to get up real early on Saturdays and go try different spots, just the two of us while the rest of the family was still sleeping.
-If I'm not going to drink my calories on the weekend, I fully plan on indulging, by eating them instead.
-Father's Day pie was a huge success. The crust, the filling, the flavor; an all around win!

Annie

Bites of My Life

A busy week, but well worth it. When I was younger, I used to kind of like to be bored. I would spend hours on end watching TV wasting away summer days (My mom is probably dying that I'm admitting this). Now I can't sit still for more than 30 minutes. Even if I'm watching TV, I'm usually also blogging, online shopping, instagramming or something else to multitask my time. When I'm on a walk I have to listen to music or a podcast, when I'm cooking I usually have the TV on or a Netflix show playing on my computer. I blame part of this on my generation of always having to be stimulated, but I also blame myself. 

I can't stand to be bored now. I think this is more a good thing though. All of this is coming back to how I had a busy week last week. It was full of family dinners, work events and parties, but ended with a weekend at the lake with some of my best friends. As I've gotten older I've realized I'll take being busy over being bored any day. Are you a bored or busy person?

-Barre3 in the Park is easily one of my favorite summer activities and a perfect start to the week!
-The week was full of work events, but when food is involved I find it hard to call it work. 
-Seeing this pic again from last week's recipe for Vanilla Bean Ice Cream has me seriously drooling.
-Crafted up lavender oatmeal and can't stop thinking about it. 
-Welcome to OKC 21C! Loved getting a peek at my city's swanky new hotel and restaurant. 
-I'm a sucker for party hors d'oeuvres. I made a few too many trips to the charcuterie board... 
-5 years later and we are all back at the lake together!
-High school lives on.
-Turmeric and cumin roasted cauliflower. Flavor game strong. Recipe on my insta.

Annie