Fabulous Fresh Peach Pie

Pin It Or: How I Drove My Husband to a Heart Attack.

(Yes. I kid.)

Don't judge me.

I know you are.

Who could blame you? I judge myself!

The Transgression in Question: you know you can click to make this bigger, right?

Yesterday, at the follow-up appointment with the cardiac surgeon, after looking at my husband's diet, and all his health numbers, we were told that the one factor that worked most against my dear husband's health was his genetic heritage. Thanks, Dad! :-D (Merely a jest: we realize, of course, that they were passed onto him by HIS Dad, and so forth...) And, unfortunately, that's a factor that we simply can't control.

We were also told by the cardiac surgeon himself, that for the first four to six weeks, my husband could eat anything he wanted. What's most important is that patients recovering from cardiac surgery get the calories their bodies need to recover from that event, and their appetites tend to wane significantly following surgery. It's been four weeks today.

We're still legal.

And, we were told by the dietician that one treat once a month was perfectly allowable. I refuse to mention the barbecue dinner that we may or may not have indulged in.

Honestly, they really did tell us to start with one change at a time, to keep it doable.

And, oh, my goodness: it's summer. Peach Pie is almost sacred around here. I have won two pie contests and a ribbon from the State Fair for my pies. What is a skilled pie maker to do?

This recipe is not heart healthy. It has the baddest of the bad in it: vegetable shortening in the crust, and butter in the pie filling. Go ahead. Judge me. But if you do, I won't offer you a slice.

Think of this as the last hurrah of my pie recipes. And they are legion: just check out the recipe section! Strawberry, pecan, blueberry, apple, all of them, BLISS. But honestly, I probably only make 5 or 6 pies a year, so I think that even falls well within the dietician's guidelines of one cheat every 4-6 weeks.


We call it Pelican, or Peach Pelican. The origin of that term is lost in the mystery of our family lore. Translation: no one remembers how in the WORLD that name evolved, but we all sing a little song that goes to the tune of La Cucaracha: "A Peach-a Pel-i-can, A Peach-a Pelican, la la la la la la la, A Peach-a Pelican, A Peach-a Pelican, la la la la la la la". This is our celebratory pie song, or the song sung to prompt Mommy to get busy and make the pelican. And now, if you're weird enough, it can be yours.

So, here's the recipe that I got from the Southern Living Cookbook, my old standby for certain recipes, which apparently, has really gone up in value, after checking the Amazon link! It's been a faithful friend throughout my marriage, and I really, really recommend it. But you might want to look up the recipe under Pie. Rather than Pelican. I'm not really sure our moniker has caught on nationwide, yet.

I did change two ingredients from the original recipe. I have found that already ground nutmeg in cans or jars at the store can taste similar to cigarette ashes, so I insist on grating my own, fresh, and you should, too. You can buy whole nutmeg at most grocery stores now, and definitely at health food stores. I use my Microplane grater/zester to grate mine, and I love, love, love my Microplane grater. I also reduced the amount of sugar called for from 1 1/3c. to about 2/3 c. sugar. I found their version to be almost overpoweringly sweet. But you should always taste your peaches, and vary your amount according to how sweet they are. If your peaches are less ripe, you may want to add more sugar.

Fresh Peach Pie

6 cups peeled, sliced fresh peaches

2/3 cup sugar (adjust to sweetness of your peaches)

1/4 cup flour

1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg

3/4 t. vanilla extract

3 T. butter

Pie crust pastry for a double crust pie (recipe follows)

Combine peaches, sugar, flour, and nutmeg in a saucepan; set aside until syrup forms. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to low, and cook 10 minutes or until peaches are tender, stirring often. Remove from heat; add vanilla, and butter, blending well. 

Roll out pastry to 1/8" thickness on a lightly floured surface. Place pastry in a 9" pie plate; trim off excess pastry along edges Spoon peach filling into pastry shell. Roll remaining pastry to 1/8" thickness. Transfer to top of pie. Trim off excess pastry along edges. Fold edges under and flute. Cut slits in top of crust for steam to escape. Brush top of pastry with about 1t. of half and half, and sprinkle with about 1t. of sugar. Bate at 425º for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º, and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until crust is browned.

See that slice in the background? It could be yours...

DOUBLE-CRUST PASTRY

2 c. all purpose flour
1 t. salt
2/3 c. plus 2 T. shortening (I use those sticks from Crisco - no mess measuring!)
4 to 5 T. cold water
(I use ICE water - and sometimes I only need 3 T. water, especially if it's humid.)

Combine flour and salt; cut in shortening with pastry blender (use two forks if you don't have a pastry blender) until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle cold water (1 T. at a time) evenly over surface; stir with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Shape into two discs and wrap each in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour.


If you are afraid of pie crusts, but have always wanted to try one, I have a pie crust tutorial over on The Fun Girls. 
Honestly: it's worth it, and YOU CAN DO IT!!!


"And lead us not into temptation...."
(Am I going to be in trouble for this someday?)