Blue and Blackberry Pie

So I'm hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year with the help of some family members and friends, but I'm making the turkey, stuffing, pie, and biscuits. Let's start with the pie...I know I have a picture of a berry pie here (because I had my berries in the freezer, of course), but I think I'm going to make the traditional deep dish apple pie. In my opinion it's all about the crust, and if you can't get the crust right you might as well just make an apple cobbler or fill a bucket with water and throw some apples in there for bobbing.

It's just like making biscuits, really, except your ingredients have to be F-CKING cold. Dice your butter and put in the freezer. Use a Cuisinart to coarsely chop the also frozen shortening and butter into the flour so as not to heat up the ingredients with your hands. Or if you don't own a Cuisinart use 2 knives or a pastry blender. And of course, when adding the ice water, DO NOT OVERMIX. Pulse, pulse, STOP. I promise you it'll come together, even though it may look like coarse sand.

In making this double crusted blueberry pie I added pulverized tapioca pearls to the blueberries to thicken the juices. It's nice because it doesn't add any noticeable flavor to the berries, like cornstarch or flour might. Try it and see, or use potato starch if you can find it!

Oh, and for my apple pie, just a little sugar, a couple pats of butter, a tiny bit of cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, allspice, lemon zest and juice and that's it. Let the apples speak for themselves, and let the crust do its thing.

Pics to follow on the big Day. Also, to brine or not to brine--that is the question...

Wish you could have a blueberry bite,
Foodsnob