Conquering pie phobia
killed a turkey or anything. So I thought, 'We're going to this farmer's house. He's going to pluck it; he's going to show us how to do it.' But he was just like, 'Here you go. Here's your bird. Go for it.' He showed us all the ways to get the bird and do what we had to. So then we killed the bird; took it back to my buddy's house and then de-feathered the whole thing. It was the biggest thing ever, so I was thinking to myself, ‘It's going to be extremely tough, extremely dry.’ It was seriously one of the best turkeys ever. Now, we brined it, which is massive on any dry bird. We'll brine. Brine, brine, brine, brine: That's the key to any turkey in my opinion.
Emilou Cadmus of Emilou's Famous Homestyle Goods sells her pies and other treats at Short Street Cakes in West Asheville and at tailgate markets around town. She's a self-taught baker. “I do not come from a family of cooks,” she says. “I was raised by my mother, and she doesn't make anything unless you can microwave it.” Cadmus sympathizes with the home cook, and she has lots of tips to share. She says aspiring bakers should not feel oppressed by the difficulties of pie crusts; it takes practice to perfect the pastry. She told Xpress some tricks of the pie trade.
Charles & Geoff Alexander’s holiday short list
Pecan Tart from Chef Kevin Archer of Laughing Seed
Wines — and one beer — for merry meals
Yields one 10-inch, vegan tart
Thierry Triolet Champagne from Bethon, France
oy ason R Chef J xington of Le Brewery e Avenu ligns a ma ellian Rockw d. r i b
Cederberg Bukettraube from Cederberg Wilderness Area, South Africa Alain et Isabelle Hasard Les Champs de l’Abbaye Bourgogne from Burgundy, France Via Vega cabernet sauvignon from Paso, Robles, Calif. A.R. Valdespino El Candado Pedro Ximenez sherry from Jerez, Spain Olde Hickory Lindley Park Imperial Stout brewed with raspberries and honey from Hickory, N.C.
[The brine] depends on whatever I've got in my cupboard. I always use salt and sugar, different kinds of spices: bay leaf, peppercorn, juniper berries if I’ve got it. The only thing to remember is, whatever flavor you put in the brine is going to be in the meat because it's going to suck all that flavor up into it. I don't like cooking whole birds. No way. We break the birds down. We make stock from the bones. We roast that and make a gravy. Debone the legs and make a ballantine. Just debone the leg and thigh portion, stuff it with something, roll it back up, truss it, twine it, whatever. I like to wrap that whole thing in bacon, too, if you want to. And then roast that whole thing, and you wind up with this awesome roulade of meat. I do that every year; stuff it with sausage. And then you have dark meat, white meat completely separate. It's clean. You're not cutting it off the bird with an electrical knife and all that. Just break it all down before. That way when you're prepped up and ready to go, it's like money.”
Updating tradition Chef Kevin Archer came to Asheville this fall from New York City to take over the kitchen at Laughing Seed Café. When he became a vegan, he wondered how he would hang on to his family's traditional dishes. Since then, he’s realized that tradition is more about the intention of the cook than the ingredients in the dish. “When I think about traditional foods that go way back in my family, for as long as I can remember, the pecan pies were the staple. Everything else in the family gatherings would cycle through and rotate. But it was my great-grandmother's pecan pie that was the centerpiece. Everybody wanted a piece of that one. I grew up in Texas, and the pecan was the state tree of Texas, so it was not just family pride, but state pride was on the line. Everyone wanted a slice of her pie, and there were, like, a hundred of us. So that led to her daughters and her granddaughters and all the cousins working on
trying to duplicate that pie or make that pie so it could be as good as hers. It's one of those things where she had a knack. She knew just when to flip that thing or turn it that way. And then, of course, nostalgia kicks in and everyone says, ‘This is not as good.’ It's the holy grail of pies. It was this unspoken, unacknowledged competition that everyone wanted their pie to be as good as hers. Growing up, my mom always made them. She still makes them for the holidays. And when I took on a vegan diet, it was like, ‘Well, OK, what can I do with this pie?’ It wasn't, to me, a matter of, ‘I've got to give up the pie.’ It was, ‘How can I convert this pie? What can I do to keep the tradition going.’ I realized then as with all my dietary shifts — when I quit eating meat and when I quit eating dairy and eggs as well — I didn't feel like I gave up any family tradition because I realized that the real tradition was making and preparing the best food possible for your family.”
1 10-inch pie crust, pre-baked 2 1/2 cups pecan halves 1 cup maple syrup 1/2 cup rice syrup 1 cup soy milk 1 tbsp. vanilla 1/8 tsp. sea salt 3 tbsp. flax meal 1/4 cup arrowroot, dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water Heat oven to 350 degrees. Toast pecans in oven for 15 minutes. In heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine maple syrup, rice syrup, soy milk, vanilla, and sea salt. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Lower heat and simmer for 10 more minutes, stirring often. Vigorously whisk in the ground flax meal and dissolved arrowroot. In large bowl, combine syrup mixture with pecans, and stir thoroughly. Pour into pie crust. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until bubbly and browned. Let cool thoroughly before slicing.
“There are a lot of terrifying things in this world, and pie is not one of them. The revolutionary moment for me that came when I was practicing making pie crust to get good at it was that when you combine all the ingredients — you cut the butter into the flour and salt mixture and you add whatever you're using for moisture — when you combine that, it's not a dough. It's crumbly. And then you put the crumbles out, and when you roll it, it becomes a dough. Keeping the butter and whatever liquid you're using separate from each other is what's going to make it flaky. Sometimes people add a little vodka. I use vinegar to add to my water. I don't know exactly how it works. I read about it in the Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery, which is full of really good hairdos if you're ever looking for inspiration.
mountainx.com • DECEMBER 19 - DECEMBER 25, 2012 37