10 Weeks ~ 10 Pies ~ 10 People ~ 10 Virtues

There’s no sweeter way to honor those who have impacted my life with virtue than by baking pie.  For the next 10 weeks, I will be spotlighting a pie each week that represents a special person in my life that has passed on one of life’s important virtues to me.

Week Six

Father’s Day has always been my least favorite day of the year for a couple of reasons.  First, it’s a day that I have to share my birthday with every 5-6 years depending on leap year, and secondly, I’ve lived the majority of my life without my father.  It’s a sad day for me, like knowing your friends are at a party that you didn’t get invited to.  There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss having my dad in my life, but on days like this it’s extra hard. 

Losing my father at 5 years old initiated the development of compassion, which is considered among the greatest of virtues.  More powerful than empathy, compassion is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering or pain of another.  Dean Koontz said, “Without the experience of pain or loss, one cannot have compassion for others.”  This is the very reason I chose the path of my current profession.  Helping others has always been a strong value of mine and is the reason I get up and go to work every morning.  I have something to give to others and in return I get a feeling of satisfaction that I’ve made a small difference in someone else’s life.

I’m sure you’ve heard the parable of the Good Samaritan which exemplifies the teaching that there is a mutual obligation among all of mankind, that “we must not live for ourselves but for our neighbors”.  If you aren’t familiar, it goes a little something like this:

“A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’ Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?” He said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”  Luke 10:30-37

Showing compassion comes naturally to some and is less apparent in others.  There is some debate whether this altruistic virtue is innate or learned.  I believe that there are components of both.  Humans are born with a capacity for compassion yet if there is no experience of pain or loss, it may never develop.  This theory leads me to hypothesize that those who have experienced the most suffering have the greatest gift to give to another.

If you could use some practice in offering compassion to others, here are some easy-to-remember tips from www.ehow.com:

1)  Open your heart.
2)  Take the time to listen.
3)  Do not judge or criticize others.
4)  Manifest your love.  It is not enough to feel it, you must act on it.

Rainier Cherries Photograph by Andrea Karapas

I’m honoring my father today on Father’s Day with his favorite kind of pie…Cherry.  This Rainier Cherry Pie with a Grated Top Crust is as special as my dad was.  Made with the most premium variety of cherry, the Rainier, it represents the few precious memories I have of my dad.  These sweet cherries sell for $6/lb in the U.S. and as much as a dollar each in Japan.  With 5 cups of cherries, this pie weighs in as the most expensive pie in my series.  With the amount of time put into pitting every

Rainier Cherry Pie with Grated Top Photograph by Andrea Karapas

cherry that goes into this pie, it takes the title of most labor intensive pie as well.  Instead of a traditional top crust, the pastry for the top crust is grated (with a box grater) onto the fruit.  This grated top crust represents the tears I’ve shed both for my father and those who have crossed my path needing compassion from me at their own time of despair.

Father’s Day is taking on a new appreciation for me this year because I’ve found a sweet and creative way to honor my father.  He’d be proud of me and when Father’s Day rolls around to my birthday again, I’ll be proud to share my birthday with his day and continue to honor the 5 short years I was blessed to have him as my dad.  Happy Father’s Day!

Rainier Cherry Pie with a Grated Top Crust Photograph by Andrea Karapas

Rainier Cherry Pie with a Grated Top Crust
Ingredients for filling:
5 cups fresh Rainier cherries, stemmed and pitted
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
Glaze:
About 1 tablespoon course sugar or granulated sugar
Instructions:
If you haven’t already, prepare the pastry.  Shape the smaller half into a block rather than a disk.  Refrigerate the larger half until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour, and place the other half-the block- in the freezer until firm but not frozen.
On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the larger half of the pastry into a 13-inch circle with a floured rolling pin.  Invert the pastry over a 9 ½-inch deep-dish pie pan, center and peel off the paper.  Tuck the pastry into the pan, without stretching it, and sculpt the edge into an upstanding ridge.  Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 400° F.
In a large bowl, combine the cherries, 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar, the lemon juice, and vanilla.  Mix well, then set aside for 10 minutes to juice.  Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and the cornstarch in a small bowl, then stir the mixture into the fruit.  Turn the filling into the chilled pie shell and smooth the top of the fruit with your hands or a spoon.
Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the other half of the pastry over the top of the fruit, as if it were a block of cheese, covering the filling more or less evenly.  Sprinkle the coarse sugar evenly over the pastry.
Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake for 30 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 375° F and rotate the pie 180 degrees, so that the part that faced the back of the oven now faces forward.  Just in case, slide the large aluminum foil-lined baking sheet onto the rack below to catch any spills.  Continue to bake until the top is golden brown and the juices bubble thickly around the edge, 25 to 30 minutes.
Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

Basic Flaky Pie Pastry
Ingredients for a double crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/2 cup cold water
Instructions:
Put the flour, sugar, and salt in the food processor.  Pulse several times to mix.  Scatter the butter over the dry ingredients and pulse the machine 5 or 6 times to cut in.  Fluff the mixture with a fork, lifting it up from the bottom of the bowl.  Scatter the shortening over the flour and pulse 5 or 6 times.  Fluff the mixture again.  Drizzle half of the water over the flour mixture and pulse 5 or 6 times.  Fluff the mixture and sprinkle on the the remaining water.  Pulse 5 or 6 times more, until the dough starts to form clumps.  Overall, it will look like coarse crumbs.  Dump the contents of the processor bowl into a large bowl.  Test the pastry by squeezing some of it between your fingers.  If it seems a little dry and not quite packable, drizzle a teaspoon or so of cold water over the pastry and work it with your fingertips.
Using your hands, pack the pastry into 2 balls  as you would pack a snowball.  Make one ball slightly larger than the other; this will be your bottom crust.  Knead the ball once or twice, then flatten the ball into a 3/4-inch-thick disk on a floured work surface.  Wrap the disk in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight before rolling.

Recipes from:  Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie    By~ Ken Haedrich