A Blueberry Pie Fit for a Father

When my husband requested blueberry pie for dessert on Father’s Day, I immediately pictured the disastrous crusts of my past. I have spent a lifetime trying to learn how to make a pie crust like my mother’s. I obviously did not inherit her secret.

Yesterday while I bemoaned my pie crust dilemma over gin and tonics with my friend Reya, she told me exactly what to do to create the perfect pie crust: chilled ingredients, a few drops of balsamic vinegar mixed into the ice water, frozen crust before the filling is added. She looked at me and said, "I have a good feeling about this pie of yours." Although Reya isn’t doing much magic these days, a good feeling still counts for a lot. So I went home hopeful.

This morning before I dashed out of the house to play music with Deborah, I made the dough. I must confess that as usual in my cooking I didn’t exactly measure everything. I just guessed at the quantity of shortening, but I think it was pretty close. I was also making a slightly bigger recipe because I planned to use a 10 inch pie plate.

As I rolled out the dough for the bottom crust, I could see that it had a different consistency than my previous disaster doughs. It was almost a little bit elastic. Whatever... The good news was that it didn’t rip, didn’t tear even once. I deftly rolled it onto the rolling pin and lowered it into the pie plate, trimmed and fluted the edges, and put it into the freezer, as instructed.

Meanwhile I mixed the blueberries with tapioca, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and lemon zest. I was then ready to assemble, but wait – I couldn’t find the pastry cutter that I needed for the lattice crust that I probably hadn’t used for a million years. A quick call to my next door neighbor and I had a pastry cutter.

The blueberries with their gloppy sugary mix glistened as they awaited the crowning lattice. Once again, the second crust rolled out as nicely as the first. I cut the little strips with their decorative edges and carefully placed them on the top of the pie. A pinch here, a pinch there to seal the lattice, and the pie was ready for the oven.

If it tastes as good as it smells, this will help erase my past attempts at fruit pies. Instead of hiding behind the appetizers and salads, I may now volunteer for dessert the next time I go to a potluck!

This is a picture of MY BLUEBERRY PIE! Isn't it pretty?