Last night I made double batches of pie pastry...my usual Cook's
Illustrated recipe and also an all lard recipe from the lard package.

I made extra, too, because the kids like Pie Crust Cookies (pastry
sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar) for breakfast on Thanksgiving.

Though the lard crust is incredibly flaky, the CI one edges it out in
familial statistically unreliable taste tests. This may have been due
to the fact that the CI recipe calls for a bit of sugar & so the pasty
was sweeter. Four to one for the CI....one of the kids has a cold &
said he couldn't taste any difference at all.

Believe me, nothing was "wrong" with the lard crust at all...it is
great, but the CI recipe retains its title in this household.

Boron

"Boron Elgar" wrote in message
...
Last night I made double batches of pie pastry...my usual Cook's
Illustrated recipe and also an all lard recipe from the lard package.

I made extra, too, because the kids like Pie Crust Cookies (pastry
sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar) for breakfast on Thanksgiving.
but the CI recipe retains its title in this household.

snip?

Boron

Oh, it's so nice to hear that someone else's kids enjoy Pie Crust Cookies!
Ours used to roll and shape them by themselves. The cookies were pretty
grubby by the time they hit the oven, but the kids loved them.

Felice

Boron Elgar wrote:
:: Last night I made double batches of pie pastry...my usual Cook's
:: Illustrated recipe and also an all lard recipe from the lard package.
::
:: I made extra, too, because the kids like Pie Crust Cookies (pastry
:: sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar) for breakfast on Thanksgiving.
::
:: Though the lard crust is incredibly flaky, the CI one edges it out in
:: familial statistically unreliable taste tests. This may have been due
:: to the fact that the CI recipe calls for a bit of sugar & so the
:: pasty was sweeter. Four to one for the CI....one of the kids has a
:: cold & said he couldn't taste any difference at all.
::
:: Believe me, nothing was "wrong" with the lard crust at all...it is
:: great, but the CI recipe retains its title in this household.
::
:: Boron



Care to share the recipe with us? Or let me know what issue it was in, I
don't remember seeing it.

Thanks...and happy holidays,
Scott

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 16:42:58 GMT, "Scott"
wrote:

Boron Elgar wrote:
:: Last night I made double batches of pie pastry...my usual Cook's
:: Illustrated recipe and also an all lard recipe from the lard package.
::
:: I made extra, too, because the kids like Pie Crust Cookies (pastry
:: sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar) for breakfast on Thanksgiving.
::
:: Though the lard crust is incredibly flaky, the CI one edges it out in
:: familial statistically unreliable taste tests. This may have been due
:: to the fact that the CI recipe calls for a bit of sugar & so the
:: pasty was sweeter. Four to one for the CI....one of the kids has a
:: cold & said he couldn't taste any difference at all.
::
:: Believe me, nothing was "wrong" with the lard crust at all...it is
:: great, but the CI recipe retains its title in this household.
::
:: Boron



Care to share the recipe with us? Or let me know what issue it was in, I
don't remember seeing it.

I will go one better and offer up the web site from which I lifted it.
This page has not only the CI recipe (1994), but several other crust
recipes, too. So far, not a bad one in the bunch.
http://labellecuisine.com/archives/p...st_recipes.htm
The BEST Pie Dough

(9-inch single pie shell)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Mix flour, salt and sugar in bowl of food processor fitted with steel
blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour. Cut butter into flour with
five 1-second pulses. Add shortening and continue pulsing until flour
is pale yellow and resembles coarse corn meal, with butter bits no
larger than small peas, about 4 more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture
into medium bowl. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons ice water over mixture. With
blade of a rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on
dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding
up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if dough will not come together.
Shape dough into ball with your hands, then flatten into a 4-inch-wide
disk. Dust lightly with flour and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30
minutes before rolling.
For 10-inch regular or 9-inch deep dish: add 1/4 cup flour and 2
tablespoons butter
For double crust 10-inch or deep dish: 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon
salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, 13 tablespoons butter, 7 tablespoons
shortening, 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water



Thanks...and happy holidays,

You are most welcome. May your day be filled with fine friends, fine
family and fine food.

Boron

Boron Elgar wrote:

Last night I made double batches of pie pastry...my usual Cook's
Illustrated recipe and also an all lard recipe from the lard package.

I made extra, too, because the kids like Pie Crust Cookies (pastry
sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar) for breakfast on Thanksgiving.

Though the lard crust is incredibly flaky, the CI one edges it out in
familial statistically unreliable taste tests. This may have been due
to the fact that the CI recipe calls for a bit of sugar & so the pasty
was sweeter. Four to one for the CI....one of the kids has a cold &
said he couldn't taste any difference at all.

Believe me, nothing was "wrong" with the lard crust at all...it is
great, but the CI recipe retains its title in this household.

Boron

I made lard crusts this year, and I weighed the ingredients for the first
batch so I could duplicate it for the next batches. I made 5 balls of
pastry dough and put them in baggies in the fridge, and made 3 pies after
the dough had rested a few hours. There's 2 more balls of dough that will
prolly go in the freezer.

For each extra large single crust pie I used:

220 grams all-purpose flour (a generous 1 1/2 cups)
90 grams lard (1/5 of a one pound block)
1/2 tsp salt (about 5 grams if you're weighing everything)
5 Tbsp very cold water (I didn't weigh the water -- sorry)

The first batch I mixed the lard into the flour and salt with a pastry
cutter. Then added the water and mixed with a spoon until it came
together, then finished mixing and forming in a ball with my fingers. It
worked OK.

On the second batch I cut the lard in with the pastry cutter just a little,
then finished mixing in the lard with my fingertips by kind of pinching it
into the flour. (then mixed in the ice water.) This seemed to work a lot
better and I made all the subsequent dough this way. I think mixing in the
lard by hand coated *all* the flour with fat, and the dough behaved better
without trying to get tough when I kneaded it into a ball.

Best regards,
Bob

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 14:32:34 GMT, "Felice Friese"
wrote:


"Boron Elgar" wrote in message
.. .
Last night I made double batches of pie pastry...my usual Cook's
Illustrated recipe and also an all lard recipe from the lard package.

I made extra, too, because the kids like Pie Crust Cookies (pastry
sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar) for breakfast on Thanksgiving.
but the CI recipe retains its title in this household.

snip

Oh, it's so nice to hear that someone else's kids enjoy Pie Crust Cookies!
Ours used to roll and shape them by themselves. The cookies were pretty
grubby by the time they hit the oven, but the kids loved them.

When my mother made piecrust, she re-rolled the scraps, spread with
peanut butter, rolled up and cut into 'pinwheels' to bake.

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 21:11:42 -0600, zxcvbob
wrote:



On the second batch I cut the lard in with the pastry cutter just a little,
then finished mixing in the lard with my fingertips by kind of pinching it
into the flour. (then mixed in the ice water.) This seemed to work a lot
better and I made all the subsequent dough this way. I think mixing in the
lard by hand coated *all* the flour with fat, and the dough behaved better
without trying to get tough when I kneaded it into a ball.


My arthritic hands prevent me using the pastry blender much. I start
out in the food processor with quick, short pulses. I even add the
water in that way, too. When it forms a ball, I take it out and tuck
it all together by hand.

Alas, I cannot compare my recipe amounts with yours, as I threw out
the box the lard came in.

Boron

Boron Elgar wrote:

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 21:11:42 -0600, zxcvbob
wrote:



On the second batch I cut the lard in with the pastry cutter just a little,
then finished mixing in the lard with my fingertips by kind of pinching it
into the flour. (then mixed in the ice water.) This seemed to work a lot
better and I made all the subsequent dough this way. I think mixing in the
lard by hand coated *all* the flour with fat, and the dough behaved better
without trying to get tough when I kneaded it into a ball.



My arthritic hands prevent me using the pastry blender much. I start
out in the food processor with quick, short pulses. I even add the
water in that way, too. When it forms a ball, I take it out and tuck
it all together by hand.

Alas, I cannot compare my recipe amounts with yours, as I threw out
the box the lard came in.

Boron


If you know exactly how much water you'll need, try mixing the fat, salt,
and water first until it is mixed as good as it will, then dump in the
flour all at once and pulse until it just comes together in a ball. It
works well. I mix it by hand the old fashioned way because I hate cleaning
the food processor.

Bob

Boron Elgar wrote:
:: On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 16:42:58 GMT, "Scott"
:: wrote:
::
::: Boron Elgar wrote:
::::: Last night I made double batches of pie pastry...my usual Cook's
::::: Illustrated recipe and also an all lard recipe from the lard
::::: package.
:::::
::::: I made extra, too, because the kids like Pie Crust Cookies
::::: (pastry sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar) for breakfast on
::::: Thanksgiving.
:::::
::::: Though the lard crust is incredibly flaky, the CI one edges it
::::: out in familial statistically unreliable taste tests. This may
::::: have been due to the fact that the CI recipe calls for a bit of
::::: sugar & so the pasty was sweeter. Four to one for the CI....one
::::: of the kids has a cold & said he couldn't taste any difference at
::::: all.
:::::
::::: Believe me, nothing was "wrong" with the lard crust at all...it is
::::: great, but the CI recipe retains its title in this household.
:::::
::::: Boron
:::
:::
:::
::: Care to share the recipe with us? Or let me know what issue it was
::: in, I don't remember seeing it.
::
:: I will go one better and offer up the web site from which I lifted
:: it. This page has not only the CI recipe (1994), but several other
:: crust recipes, too. So far, not a bad one in the bunch.
:: http://labellecuisine.com/archives/p...st_recipes.htm
:: The BEST Pie Dough
::
:: (9-inch single pie shell)
::
:: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
:: 1/2 teaspoon salt
:: 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
:: 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
:: 4 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening
:: 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
::
:: Mix flour, salt and sugar in bowl of food processor fitted with steel
:: blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour. Cut butter into flour with
:: five 1-second pulses. Add shortening and continue pulsing until flour
:: is pale yellow and resembles coarse corn meal, with butter bits no
:: larger than small peas, about 4 more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture
:: into medium bowl. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons ice water over mixture. With
:: blade of a rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on
:: dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding
:: up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if dough will not come together.
:: Shape dough into ball with your hands, then flatten into a
:: 4-inch-wide disk. Dust lightly with flour and wrap in plastic.
:: Refrigerate 30 minutes before rolling.
:: For 10-inch regular or 9-inch deep dish: add 1/4 cup flour and 2
:: tablespoons butter
:: For double crust 10-inch or deep dish: 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon
:: salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, 13 tablespoons butter, 7 tablespoons
:: shortening, 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water
::
::
::
::: Thanks...and happy holidays,
::
:: You are most welcome. May your day be filled with fine friends, fine
:: family and fine food.
::
:: Boron

Thanks Boron....all went well......

On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 11:21:34 -0600, zxcvbob
wrote:

Boron Elgar wrote:

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 21:11:42 -0600, zxcvbob
wrote:



On the second batch I cut the lard in with the pastry cutter just a little,
then finished mixing in the lard with my fingertips by kind of pinching it
into the flour. (then mixed in the ice water.) This seemed to work a lot
better and I made all the subsequent dough this way. I think mixing in the
lard by hand coated *all* the flour with fat, and the dough behaved better
without trying to get tough when I kneaded it into a ball.



My arthritic hands prevent me using the pastry blender much. I start
out in the food processor with quick, short pulses. I even add the
water in that way, too. When it forms a ball, I take it out and tuck
it all together by hand.

Alas, I cannot compare my recipe amounts with yours, as I threw out
the box the lard came in.

Boron


If you know exactly how much water you'll need, try mixing the fat, salt,
and water first until it is mixed as good as it will, then dump in the
flour all at once and pulse until it just comes together in a ball. It
works well. I mix it by hand the old fashioned way because I hate cleaning
the food processor.

Bob

Oh...all you need is a husband...or a dishwasher.

Boron

Boron Elgar wrote:

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 21:11:42 -0600, zxcvbob
wrote:


On the second batch I cut the lard in with the pastry cutter just a little,
then finished mixing in the lard with my fingertips by kind of pinching it
into the flour. (then mixed in the ice water.) This seemed to work a lot
better and I made all the subsequent dough this way. I think mixing in the
lard by hand coated *all* the flour with fat, and the dough behaved better
without trying to get tough when I kneaded it into a ball.


My arthritic hands prevent me using the pastry blender much. I start
out in the food processor with quick, short pulses. I even add the
water in that way, too. When it forms a ball, I take it out and tuck
it all together by hand.

Alas, I cannot compare my recipe amounts with yours, as I threw out
the box the lard came in.

Boron


Buy some Evening Primrose Oil gelcaps and take at least 1,000 mg. twice
per day for a couple of months...

Daddums pain is being controlled pretty much by using this, and it works
better than Celebrex. ;-)

No side effects and it's a natural anti-inflammatory.

K.

--
^,,^ Cats-haven Hobby Farm ^,,^ ^,,^

"There are millions of intelligent species in the universe, and they are
all owned by cats" -- Asimov

Custom handcrafts, Sterling silver beaded jewelry
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