Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Felicity McNelley
THE DOWNHOME CHEF
Felicity, a native Montanan, has been cooking and running kitchens for 27 years. She learned her trade from her mother, a master chef in the hotel industry. Felicity has 3 children and lives in Granbury.
Hello foodie friends.
I'd like to first introduce myself. My name is Felicity, and I am the executive chef at the Square Cafe & Bakery in Granbury. I have three kids, four dogs, a wonderful partner, and a love for food. Not eating food, per se, but creating it — making other people happy in the way that only a good meal can.
I would like you to join me on a tour of different recipes, meals, ideas, and feelings about a variety of foods that I and others enjoy along the way. Food is more than just nourishment. It is a way to gather your friends and family. Memories are created around meals more often than not. Food is art and passion and love. I hope you enjoy the recipes and thoughts I want to share with you along the way.
I have fond memories growing up of picking fresh strawberries from my grandmother’s garden and wild blackberries that grew along the shores of the Thunder Bay River and Lake Superior in upstate Michigan. I would always pop a couple in my mouth while gathering these berries. Then we would take them home, eat some more, and grandma would make pies or can them. It was always a happy time.
Today, I’d like to share with you a recipe for bumbleberry pie. The wonderful thing about this pie is that you can use any berries that you fancy. And you don’t have to pick them yourself. My favorites are strawberry, blackberry, and blueberry.
To begin, here is the pie crust recipe I use:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup very cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch cubes (two sticks)
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water
Add 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar to a food processor. Pulse 2 to 3 times until combined. The remaining cup of flour will be added later.
Scatter butter cubes over flour and process until a dough or paste begins to form, about 15 seconds. (There should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl, redistribute the flour-butter mixture, then add remaining cup of flour. Pulse 4 to 5 times until flour is evenly distributed. (Dough should look broken up and a little crumbly).
Transfer dough to a medium bowl, then sprinkle ice water over the mixture. Do not pour ice water into a bowl — start with 4 tablespoons and add from there. Using your hands, press the dough into itself. The crumbs should begin to form larger clusters. If you pinch some of the dough and it holds together, it’s ready. If the dough falls apart, add 2 more tablespoons of water and continue to press until the dough comes together.
Remove dough from bowl and place in a mound on a clean surface. Work the dough just enough to form a ball. Cut the ball in half, then form each half into discs. Wrap each disc with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days. It is very important to chill the dough before using it.
At this point, while your dough is chilling, you can make the filling for your pie.
Ingredients for 8-inch pie:
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed if frozen
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed if frozen, hulled and sliced
1 cup blackberries fresh or frozen, thawed if frozen
1 cup granulated sugar, 1 1/2 cup for larger pie sizes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup for larger pies
1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tbsp for larger pies
Increase each fruit by a half cup for a 10-inch pie and by one full cup for a 12-inch pie.
Roll out one disc of your pie crust and line your pie pan with the dough. Make sure that the crust overhangs the edge of your pie pan by roughly half an inch.
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients for the filling; make sure that the flour and lemon juice are thoroughly mixed together. The flour will thicken the juices from the berries and lemon juice to give it a warm jam and a preserve-like texture as it bakes, which is exactly what you need in a pie.
Once your filling is mixed, pour into the prepared pie crust.
With your second disc of crust, there are many things you can do. However, the easiest thing to do is to roll out your pie crust and then lay it on top of the filled pie crust. You want to make sure that this pie crust is also a little larger than your pie pan.
Next, fold and crimp the edge of both crusts together. Press down the crust with a fork all the way around the edge. Cut four slits into the center of your pie crust in a cross shape to let the steam vent from the pie. Cover the edge of your crust with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
Bake for 20 minutes in a 400-degree preheated oven. Reduce to 350 and bake an additional 40-45 minutes. Filling should be bubbly, and the crust should be golden brown. Once done, let the pie rest for 1 hour on a wire rack to cool.
I highly recommend serving this pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Dear reader, if you have gotten this far, and you’ve decided to try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it. The taste of warm berries and buttery, flaky crust may open up old memories for you and will certainly create a positive memory for the people you choose to share this dessert with. And you just might be lucky enough to catch this pie at The Square Cafe & Bakery a time or two!
Until next time,
Felicity
felmcnel@gmail.com
