One of life’s selfish pleasures, for me at least, is rescuing that last lonely piece of pie, (a leftover from the night before), grabbing a fork and with a fresh cup of coffee, calling it Breakfast.

BLUEBERRY – NECTARINE PIE

This week’s TWD/BWJ recipe choice was Blueberry-Nectarine Pie, a big-buxom double-crusted dessert brimming with seasonal fruits. As for the morning-after pastry?  Never happened. Gone. Nada.

One-half the fruit filling with sugar, flour and lemon zest added is brought to a soft boil over medium heat on your stove top. 

This recipe, which Julia baked at the elbow of Leslie Mackie, a California Culinary Academy-trained baker of some repute, is all about the fruit. Because the filling is cooked briefly on the stove top, you can adjust the fruits’ flavor combinations before the pie goes into the oven.

As Dorie explains it, that’s “a good idea and guarantee of success from pie to pie, no matter the sweetness, or lack thereof, of a particular bunch of fruit.”

Time to chill-out and take a nap in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. 

Hilary and Liz hosted this week’s Tuesday with Dorie/Baking with Julia so check their amazing blogs for the complete recipe. Then I suggest you make these changes:

1.  After combining the softly cooked fruit mixture with the uncooked half and cooling it to room temperature, strain the released juices/liquid into a small bowl.

2.  If this is an “adult-only” pie, add 1/8 to 1/4 cup of Licor 43 (Cuarenta Y Tres) to the liquid.  I met this light-bodied, sweet liqueur through food blogger Susan Lester who suggests it as a subtle punch to baked goods. Made from citrus and fruit juices, it’s flavored with vanilla and other aromatic herbs and spices, in total 43 different ingredients.

3.  Return half to three-quarters of the liquid (with or without alcohol addition) to the fruit mixture. Save the remaining liquid for a smoothie (I could become addicted to Licor 43 Smoothies but that’s another Blog Post story.)

In the oven, lookin’ happy.

I used my tried-and-true crust recipe from my food processor pamphlet and baked this pie for 50 minutes until the crust was golden and fruit bubbling.  Let the pie sit for an hour or two before cutting so both crusts have a chance to set.

 

Hold your breath. Cut the first slice. Smile broadly.

 

If you have a slice or two left, be sure to cover it tightly and stick it in the refrigerator. Fat chance of that happening…………….

 

Although there was juice seepage, my crusts never were soggy and each slice was intact for presentation. I think reducing the liquid by one-half was key to my pie’s success. This will depend upon the fruit used, however.

 

To see how our happy band of bakers from around the world handled this week’s tasty chore, go to Tuesdays with Dorie|Baking with Julia.