the four and twenty blackbirds pie book

For years, pie was one of those things I was intimidated by.  Why?  It’s a marquee holiday dessert, easy to get wrong (the crust!), and the whole process is fairly long and labor-intensive.  I got over that fear thanks to my best friend’s aunt – she took a day and demystified pie for us two aspiring bakers in her large, sunny kitchen.  These days, Thanksgiving isn’t complete if I haven’t made three pies. 

That said, I wasn’t in a hurry to branch out from the exact technique Aunt Laura taught us.  UNTIL.  I asked my local library to order a copy of The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book: Uncommon Recipes from the Celebrated Brooklyn Pie Shop.  I borrowed it, but only peeked inside once before returning it.  When I found out that authors Emily and Melissa Elsen would be at the Baltimore Book Fest this past fall, I made it my mission to go to their presentation.  Which was awesome.  I was an instant convert (the Bourbon Pear Crumble pie slices they passed around didn’t hurt).  Armed with this cookbook and my newly-acquired tools of the trade (thanks to the holidays!), I feel like an adventurous baker.  Long live pie!

From the proprietors of the renowned Brooklyn shop and cafe comes the ultimate pie-baking book for a new generation of bakers.

Melissa and Emily Elsen, the twenty-something sisters who are proprietors of the wildly popular Brooklyn pie shop and cafe Four & Twenty Blackbirds, have put together a pie-baking book that's anything but humble. This stunning collection features more than 60 delectable pie recipes organized by season, with unique and mouthwatering creations such as Salted Caramel Apple, Green Chili Chocolate, Black Currant Lemon Chiffon, and Salty Honey. There is also a detailed and informative techniques section. Lavishly designed, The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book contains 90 full-color photographs by Gentl & Hyers, two of the most sought-after food photographers working today.

With its new and creative recipes, this may not be you mother's cookbook, but it's sure to be one that every baker from novice to pro will turn to again and again.

This cookbook is as advertised: it’s a collection of pie recipes from the pie shop that South Dakota-raised sisters Emily and Melissa Elsen own and run in Brooklyn, New York.  If you’re like me, the mention of Brooklyn + _____ [insert some trendy thing here] makes you a little wary.  I always wonder, “Will this be for real?  Or did it just get this far because NYC is the center of the world (at least according to New Yorkers and half of the East Coast).”  Luckily, this pie book has solid roots – decades of baking and food service run along the Elsen girls’ maternal line.  Though they’re self-taught, Emily and Melissa’s recipes and methods are reliable (and delicious).  

The cookbook is arranged seasonally, by what ingredients are available when.  The pie crust recipes are at the back, and notes on sourcing ingredients and techniques (including step-by-step photos) for crust construction are at the front.  I skipped over a lot of those notes at first in favor of staring at the stunning photos of individual pies (really, it’s enough to make you want to lick the pages!).  One of the best bits about seeing Emily and Melissa in person was their reiteration of suggestions in the book – the little things that make the baking process easier.  Most helpful to me were mentions of which tools are hardiest (they’re fans of OXO) and necessary (I HAD to have a pastry scraper!), versus others that they could take or leave.  It’s also confidence boosting to just see someone else make a crust in front of you.  You end up thinking, “If they can do that in front of a crowd, on a time schedule, in warm-to-hot weather under a pavilion, I can definitely do it in my kitchen!”

And I have.  So far I’ve made their Bourbon Pear Crumble (photo above!), Lemon Chess, Salted Caramel Apple, and Browned Butter Pumpkin pies.  All of them ‘turned out’ beautifully, but the most popular were the lemon chess and pumpkin.  The pumpkin survived a flight to Syracuse at Thanksgiving!  I’ve never before felt so many envious eyes on me as when I carried it through the security line at Reagan National Airport. *grin*

Best part of the cookbook: uhhh… everything? I adore it.  I take it off the shelf often, and I think I will continue to do so.  It’s dead useful for anyone interested in pie, and it’s ridiculously pretty.  It also hasn’t steered me wrong yet – the recipes, if you follow them to the letter, are kind of ridiculously reliable.  My OCD-prone baking soul is content.  Worst part: again, I don’t have anything to say here.  You can skip over the intro if you want, but the rest is readable and useful.

In conclusion: if pie matters to you, get this book.  Buy/borrow/whatever-you-have-to-do. It’s worth a perusal for the photos alone, but I’ve found it extremely practical and inspiring, as well. A+.

Recommended for: pie bakers (from aspiring to experienced), those interested in local/seasonal food preparation, and anyone with an eye for attractive cookbook design.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking!

monday memories - the four and twenty blackbirds pie book

Emma of Miss Print and Nicole at The Book Bandit have started a new weekly feature called Monday Memories.  To participate, all you have to do is take a photo of one of your books (or a library book that means a lot to you) and talk a bit about why it made an impression.  Today I'm going to talk about The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book: Uncommon Recipes from the Celebrated Brooklyn Pie Shop by Emily Elsen and Melissa Elsen.

On Saturday I went to the Baltimore Book Festival for the first time.  It was a gorgeous, sunny day on the Inner Harbor, with dozens of tents set up all around the waterfront to host author talks, panel discussions, signings and book sales.  I took the train up with Sajda and Ashley from my DC Forever Young Adult book club, and we went to several panels together.  I was most excited for the 4pm feature at the 'Food for Thought' stage.

The Elsen sisters founded a pie shop in Brooklyn (I've never been there, but I follow on Instagram), and a cookbook soon followed.  I first heard about their cookbook through... blogging!  In the past few years I've become the pie master (not an official title) at Thanksgiving, and I tend to perk up whenever I see a pie recipe or crust variation.  Every year I live in genuine fear that my crust will turn out wrong, so anything that could help the cause is always of interest.

So, I was excited to see the Elsens in person.  AND IT WAS AWESOME!  They held a pie crust clinic right in front of us, took questions from the audience, and had a lovely volunteer named Laura (she's on the left side in that photo above) join them on the stage.  I drank in the whole experience.  During the presentation they served samples of their Bourbon Pear Crumble, and it was kind of unbelievably delicious.

Afterwards I had to have my newly-purchased copy of their cookbook signed (obviously!).  Emily and Melissa are/were super sweet, and talked a bit with me about pie (again, obviously).  I'm really looking forward to reading this cookbook cover-to-cover and trying out the recipes for myself.  The day was a huge success, and this book signing and cooking demo were a huge part of it.

If you'd like to see more Monday Memories posts, head over to this week's link list.

potato, leek and chicken pie

My girlfriends and I are going to vacation in Ireland in September.  We each have certain things that we’re excited for (scenery! castles! beer!), and one of those bits of interest for me is the cuisine.  I’ve heard lovely things about Irish seafood, and I own Darina Allen’s cookbook The Forgotten Skills of Cooking, but my Irish food experience won’t be complete until I’ve tasted a savory pie in a pub.  

My friend Katie gifted me with a cookbook on Irish pub food, so I’m well on my way to learning the ins and outs of this mainstay recipe.  I made this pie for our Ireland trip planning meeting last week, and it was a hit across the board.  I’ll be adding this recipe to my permanent entrée repertoire.

Potato, Leek and Chicken Pie (from Irish Pub Cooking)

INGREDIENTS

2 potatoes, cubed (I used Yukon Gold, though the original recipe specified ‘waxy’ potatoes)

1/2 cup butter

6 ounces chicken tenderloin, cubed

1 leek, sliced

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (if you’re not a mushroom person, switch out for carrots and cook them up with the potatoes)

2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups milk

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped

8 ounces store-bought filo pastry, thawed

salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Melt 5 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet and cook the chicken for 5 minutes, or until browned all over. 

Add the leek and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes, stirring.  Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Gradually stir in the milk and bring to a boil.  Add the mustard, sage and potatoes (and carrots if you used them), season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a small pan.  Line a deep dish (I used a 9”x13” pan) with half of the sheets of filo pastry.  Spoon the chicken mixture into the dish and cover with 1-2 sheets of pastry.  Brush with melted butter and lay another sheet on top.

Cut the remaining filo pastry into strips and fold/arrange them onto the top of the pie to create a ruffled effect.  Brush the strips with the remaining melted butter and cook in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.  Serve hot.  Yields 4-6 servings.

Note: I started Weight Watchers a couple of weeks ago (!) so I calculated the points – 10 per serving for this recipe.  And you get a healthy amount of veggies (always a good thing).

Recommended for: a hearty, homey main dish that isn’t too heavy or involved, and for a delicious taste of pub cooking at home.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking!

pumpkin pasties. or pumpkin mini-pies. whatever. delicious!

CUE: Fall cliché. I went to a pumpkin patch. You may remember this from my apple crisp experiment. On that trip I bought apples, picked fresh greens and selected a lovely deep orange pumpkin. And after sitting in my apartment for three weeks, that pumpkin begged to be used.Really. It was like, “Cecelia, PLEASE bake me into something delicious!” Okay, not really. But it would have if it had thought about it for five seconds.

ENTER, stage right: super cute photos of pumpkin pasties. Uh… how could you NOT want those? So I decided to try the recipe myself. But first, I cut up my pumpkin patch pumpkin and roasted it to make my own puree (instead of that canned stuff). It tastes great, but it took FOR-EV-ERR, so I think in the future I’ll stick to the ready-made stuff. Pumpkin pastry marathon, ahoy!

Pumpkin Pasties (or Pumpkin Mini-Pies) based on this recipe from Allison Eats

INGREDIENTS

Pie Dough (Martha Stewart’s Pate Brisee)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter chilled and cut into small pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Pumpkin Pie Filling

2 cups pumpkin puree

3 large eggs + 1 large yolk

2 Tablespoons bourbon (I didn’t have any on hand, so I substituted vanilla extract)

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

DIRECTIONS

Dough – Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add butter and work into mixture with a pastry cutter until it resembles course meal.
Gradually add ice water and fluff with a fork until mixture begins to come together (but isn’t sticky). To test, squeeze a small amount together: if it crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

Filling – Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and grease a pie dish.

Whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Pour into pie dish and bake for 1 hour. Let cool completely.

Assembly – Whisk together 2 Egg Yolks + 2 TBSP Heavy Cream, for egg wash. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out dough onto floured surface, about 1/8-inch thick. Using a drinking glass or round cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough. Scoop about one and a half Tablespoons of pie filling into the center of half the dough rounds. Using your finger, wipe the edges of the filled rounds with egg wash. Top your pies using the remaining dough rounds, and press around the edges with a fork to seal well. Use a sharp knife to cut 4 slits in the top of each pie. Brush egg wash over the pies and transfer to parchment lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with sanding sugar if desired. Bake for 20 minutes, until edges are golden brown.

VERDICT – The mini-pies were delicious and popular among my coworkers, as promised. However. This recipe is a marathon. A do-it-once-for-kicks thing. Recipe says you can make 17 of these things? I made 8 and gave up. Too much work, time, and effort for teeny, tiny pies. That said, they were DELISH, and everyone who had one thought they were amazing. So there’s that. Also, do not underestimate the cute factor!

Recommended for: a delicious take on the traditional pumpkin pie, those looking for a novel way to use up extra jars of pumpkin puree, true pie enthusiasts, and anyone interested in a day of precise baking and über-cute results.