[Sca-cooks] Pillsbury pie crusts

[Anne]

*drool*   :)   So, when are you doing one of these marathon
experiemental sessions again???

Juliane Rose


On Thu, 4 Nov 2004 14:02:48 -0500, Phlip <phlip at 99main.com> wrote:
> 
> Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...
> 
> > That said, I can't make pie crust to save my life. No matter what recipe
> and
> > technique I use, it always comes out wretched. Go figure.
> >
> > Cynara
> 
> Two things to make pie crusts come out right-- make sure the fat is VERY
> chilled, just soft enough to work into the flour mix, and _don't_ over work
> it. Pie crusts, and many pastries, unlike other flour based concoctions such
> as bread and cakes, don't benefit from being mixed within an inch of their
> lives- their internal structure, the thing that makes them flaky, relies on
> there being a bit of butter next to a bit of dough.
> 
> My suggestion would be to do what I do every time I'm learning to make
> something- do it, and do it and do it until you get it right. When I learned
> Julia Child's omelet making technique, I got several dozen eggs and various
> stuffing ingredients, invited the neighbors over, and made omelets until my
> neighbors could barely walk out the door, and in the process, worked out the
> proper temp and timing, which is the key to a good omelet. And most of us
> know my adventures with making fudge this last spring and summer- I asked
> here first, listened closely, watched Alton Brown, and had at it until I
> understood the process thoroughly. The recipe I posted a few days ago comes
> from making batch after batch of fudge, and is as near fool-proof as I could
> make it.
> 
> It may seem odd, to spend that much time getting a "simple" recipe straight,
> but along the way you learn lots of other things that are related- for
> example, my efforts with the eggs made most of my other egg dishes better.
> The fudge work gave me a better understanding of crystallization processes,
> useful in both future candy making, and in my blacksmithing. I've done
> similar marathons with stir frying, making Indian style (and later other
> Asian styles) of curries. My efforts, some years ago, learning how to make a
> proper bouillion let me understand exactly what Adamantius was saying,
> discussing the larded milk.
> 
> I am not, nor am I ever likely to be, a chef, but I guarantee you I'm a
> damned serious amateur, and it really pays off.
> 
> Saint Phlip,
> CoD
> 
> "When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
> Blacksmith's credo.
> 
> If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
> cat.
> 
> Never a horse that cain't be rode,
> And never a rider who cain't be throwed....
> 
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-- 
When nothing is sure, everything is possible.  

Laissez les bon temps roulez!!!