During my tenure as a food ambassador at Outpost Natural Foods Co-op on State Street, I had the opportunity to really hone my culinary skills. I experimented with ingredients and produce that I'd never attempted to tackle before, and try out brand new local products. Best of all, I was able to test-kitchen new recipes. That bug bit me long ago, when my grandmother (Gumma), instilled in me a sense of adventure and love of trying out new things in the oven and on the stovetop. So it was only fitting on the last day of leaving my post, that I made a play for my most ambitious recipe reenactment ever: "Twin Peaks Cherry Pie."
Like so many hunts on the internet, I could find several likely candidates through a good old Google search engine straight away. The one that caught my eye was intricate, but I wanted to go out with a bang. I did a few small alterations, as we did not carry cherry liqueur in the store, but all in all the two part prep was definitely David Lynch-worthy. I especially loved recreating the Black Lodge crust design on the top. With the help of strong black Valentine coffee (damn good coffee) on the side, one really does not require any a la mode to top this baby off.
As to to the series, "Twin Peaks: The Return," it fulfilled all of my wildest expectations and managed to forge some new ones. Whether Audrey Horne is trapped in an insane asylum forever, or Coop never really is able to save Laura Palmer, we can imagine the many-layered plot lines to infinity. We will contemplate these in stillness, perhaps in a strange warehouse watching an empty plastic box, forever hopefully awaiting any future strange and wonderful installments from the mind of the man who plays Gordon Cole.
Here is the recipe, if you're missing that unique TV treasure from last year:
"TWIN PEAKS" CHERRY PIE
Yield: 1 pie
Dale Cooper's favorite dessert gets a wavy line double-crust. Serve with coffee, "black as
midnight on a moonless night."
For the crust:
1/2 cup cold whole milk, plus more if needed
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
8 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg
1/4 cup whole milk
Raw sugar, for sprinkling
Make the crust: In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk and vinegar. In a large mixing bowl, toss the flour, sugar and salt with a fork to combine. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in the butter cubes until the butter is the size of small peas. Using a fork or large spoon, slowly add the the liquid in 4 or 5 additions, stopping after every pour to combine, until the dough just sticks together. Knead lightly in the bowl until it forms a taught ball.
Separate the dough into 2 equal-size disks and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour. (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen for up to 2 months.)
For the filling:
8 cups pitted sour cherries, fresh or frozen
1 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons of cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons of cherry liqueur, cherry-flavored brandy, or wild cherry-flavored syrup
Mix the cherries, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium-size saucepan and cook over medium heat until cherries thaw (if frozen) and the cornstarch and sugar dissolve. Reduce heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally to keep from burning, and cook until mixture thickens slightly (about 20 minutes). Add liqueur or syrup, stir and remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk of dough into 1/8-inch thick circle about 15 inches in diameter. Transfer to a 9-inch deep dish pie plate and chill in refrigerator as you work on the top crust. Eventually take out and fill with cherry pie filling. Roll out and cut second disk into five zigzag strips and lay on top of pie filling, trimming excess. In a small bowl, whisk egg and milk to make egg wash. Brush crust and sprinkle with raw sugar.
On a baking sheet, bake pie for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, rotating once halfway through. Lower heat to 350 degrees and bake another 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is thick and glossy. Juice may bubble onto baking sheet. Remove pie to wire rack to cool before serving. The pie can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
(Recipe adapted from Sara Bonisteel from New York Times Cooking. Her recipe in turn, was adapted from "Butter & Scotch" by Allison Kave and Keavy Landreth [Abrams, 2016]. Note: Listening to the double-album Music From The Limited Event Series soundtrack while baking should prove inspirational.)
Like so many hunts on the internet, I could find several likely candidates through a good old Google search engine straight away. The one that caught my eye was intricate, but I wanted to go out with a bang. I did a few small alterations, as we did not carry cherry liqueur in the store, but all in all the two part prep was definitely David Lynch-worthy. I especially loved recreating the Black Lodge crust design on the top. With the help of strong black Valentine coffee (damn good coffee) on the side, one really does not require any a la mode to top this baby off.
As to to the series, "Twin Peaks: The Return," it fulfilled all of my wildest expectations and managed to forge some new ones. Whether Audrey Horne is trapped in an insane asylum forever, or Coop never really is able to save Laura Palmer, we can imagine the many-layered plot lines to infinity. We will contemplate these in stillness, perhaps in a strange warehouse watching an empty plastic box, forever hopefully awaiting any future strange and wonderful installments from the mind of the man who plays Gordon Cole.
Here is the recipe, if you're missing that unique TV treasure from last year:
"TWIN PEAKS" CHERRY PIE
Yield: 1 pie
Dale Cooper's favorite dessert gets a wavy line double-crust. Serve with coffee, "black as
midnight on a moonless night."
For the crust:
1/2 cup cold whole milk, plus more if needed
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
8 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg
1/4 cup whole milk
Raw sugar, for sprinkling
Make the crust: In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk and vinegar. In a large mixing bowl, toss the flour, sugar and salt with a fork to combine. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in the butter cubes until the butter is the size of small peas. Using a fork or large spoon, slowly add the the liquid in 4 or 5 additions, stopping after every pour to combine, until the dough just sticks together. Knead lightly in the bowl until it forms a taught ball.
Separate the dough into 2 equal-size disks and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour. (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen for up to 2 months.)
For the filling:
8 cups pitted sour cherries, fresh or frozen
1 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons of cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons of cherry liqueur, cherry-flavored brandy, or wild cherry-flavored syrup
Mix the cherries, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium-size saucepan and cook over medium heat until cherries thaw (if frozen) and the cornstarch and sugar dissolve. Reduce heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally to keep from burning, and cook until mixture thickens slightly (about 20 minutes). Add liqueur or syrup, stir and remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk of dough into 1/8-inch thick circle about 15 inches in diameter. Transfer to a 9-inch deep dish pie plate and chill in refrigerator as you work on the top crust. Eventually take out and fill with cherry pie filling. Roll out and cut second disk into five zigzag strips and lay on top of pie filling, trimming excess. In a small bowl, whisk egg and milk to make egg wash. Brush crust and sprinkle with raw sugar.
On a baking sheet, bake pie for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, rotating once halfway through. Lower heat to 350 degrees and bake another 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is thick and glossy. Juice may bubble onto baking sheet. Remove pie to wire rack to cool before serving. The pie can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
(Recipe adapted from Sara Bonisteel from New York Times Cooking. Her recipe in turn, was adapted from "Butter & Scotch" by Allison Kave and Keavy Landreth [Abrams, 2016]. Note: Listening to the double-album Music From The Limited Event Series soundtrack while baking should prove inspirational.)