I don’t post a food flop every Friday, but now and then I’ll share my latest kitchen bummers, because I certainly have plenty. I hope you’ll grab that picture above and share your own flops at your blogs and then comment below with the link!
So here’s my Friday Food Flop for today:
Do you think I need to work on my pie crust technique?
I never said I was Martha Stewart!
This was actually a picture from my Lemon Blueberry pie last summer (one of the only pies I ever make) and I’m just getting it up now for some reason, but I thought it might make you laugh. Pathetic, huh?
UPDATE: Go to the Lemon Blueberry pie post and there I share what I’ve learned recently about how to make my pies a little less pathetic looking. 
- Scroll down to see my past Friday Food Flops
- Dessert recipes that are a *little* healthier than some others
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Did it taste ok? I’m always less than esthetically pleasing the meals, but darnit if they don’t still taste good.
Kelly,
You are just too funny!!!!! That pie looks amazing!!!
I like the look of the pie–it’s rustic. Rustic is “in” right now!
It might not be Martha Stewart cover, but it’s PERFECT and totally rustic chic.
I tried every which way to save my mayo the other day. I ended up with a hard (semi-soft) mayo-ish spread that I used anyway. I haven’t had the umph to have another go at it yet
. Soon, though.
Scroll down to the mayo part of the post:
http://eclecticlvng.blogspot.com/2011/01/shelf-work-choices-mayonnaise.html
I posted it for RFW but it was a big flop! The good part of the post though is all the links to mayo recipes to try, try again.
OK, here is a fool-proof pie crust recipe I learned from a friend’s mother (this does not include soaking grains overnight):
2 cups flour (if you whole wheat or half wheat and half unbleached white, your dough will be dryer and more finicky).
1 tsp salt
1/2 c olive oil in measuring cup. Add 4 Tbsp cold milk, DO NOT STIR. Pour over flour. Mix quickly, stirring as little as possible (her mother said “stir 3 times,” but I have never been able to manage that, probably because I use whole wheat pastry flour).
Shape into a ball, flatten, and chill for up to an hour. Roll into a pie crust.
Add pie ingredients and bake as directed, or to make a shell, bake for 10-15 minutes at 400-425 degrees. (Adjust as necessary for your own oven.)
This recipe makes the top and bottom of small pie if you like the crust thin. Otherwise, it makes a nice thick bottom crust for a pie or a tart. Enjoy!
My fool-proof pie crust is 4 parts flour, 2 parts butter, 1 part ice water, by volume, with a dash of salt. So 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, and 1/4 cup ice water will make enough crust for a 1-crust pie. Double it for a 2-crust pie. I’ve made it successfully with both white flour and white whole wheat, but it is an unsoaked recipe (I like wheaty crusts for maple-pecan pie). But pie is a treat around here, so I don’t worry about compromises. When it’s in the budget, I’m going to try it with sprouted flour.
Oh, depending on the weather, you may not need all the water. I make this in the food processor, but make sure you process the butter and flour together until the chunks of butter are a little bigger than you want, then add water gradually. It also works made traditionally, with knives and a bowl. It needs to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge before using.
yeah, I’ve tried to make pie crust with w/w flour. Probably won’t do it again. If we have pie, it’s once in a while, like 2-3 times per year. I’ll go ahead and use the dreaded white flour and butter for the fat. I use a betty crocker recipe. The dough should be slightly chilled when you roll it out. Pie making is an art for sure!
Try rolling out the crust on parchment paper the flip the parchment paper to get the crust off in one piece.
I usually flip the parchment paper on top of the pie. Then just peel it off once it on the pie.
What a great suggestion!!!!!!!!!!!!!
has anyone tried the rustic rye dough in Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain? It looks REALLY good. I think I’ll give it a go tomorrow. Will let you know if it’s ‘foolproof’ if I do! Lovely to see some flops posted on this blog- Makes me feel brave enough to start photographing some of my own! Cheers, Angela
I’ve seen that pie crust photo before……at my house. Ha!