Cynthia who used to blog over at Feeding Big and ran our Fill the Cookie Jar group has decided to take a sabbatical from blogging. Blogging can be very time consuming. When it becomes more of a chore than a pleasure or when life is busy enough without the added stress of worrying about posts it is time to set it aside and just BREATHE. I am glad Cynthia is taking this time for herself but we will miss her here in the blogging community.
My friend Sue of
Palatable Pastime considered taking over the FTCJ group but then took a poll and decided to change it up a bit and just make it a baking group. She asked for a co-host to this group and I agreed to give her a hand when the need should arise. Running a group can create a lot of paperwork. We dubbed our new group #BakingBloggers and decided that we would post a themed baked good on the 2nd Monday of each month.
Today is our first day of posting and the theme chosen was pies. Perfect during this month when many of our readers are looking for an alternative or an addition to the Pumpkin Pie traditionally served this time of year. Of course, not all pies are sweet so I'm sure we will find at least one savory pie to add to our repertoire this month.
My pie, however, is sweet. Very sweet and very delicious but a little goes a long way. The reason my pie was so sweet was because the fruit I used was so deliciously ripe. All this planning was going on in early September. I had taken Little Miss Melody to my friend, Kim's house, to pick pumpkins from her garden Kim said that she and Kurt had made all of the grape juice and grape jelly that they needed for the winter and their vines were still full. She told me to help myself to all the concord grapes I wanted. I grabbed a bucket and started picking.
Concord grape pie is not hard but it is a little time consuming. First you need to peel the grapes. This isn't as hard as it sound. You simply hold the grapes over a bowl and squeeze. The fruit pops right out and you are left with the skins. Don't discard them, the skins are used in this recipe. They are what gives those grapes the lovely purple color.
The next step is removing all the seeds. This too is easy if you have the right equipment. I use my food mill and it makes fast work of it.
Mix together the pulp and skins with sugar and lemon juice and it is ready to go into a pie shell. Make sure you use a deep dish pan and that you place your pan on a parchment or silicone covered baking pan. This pie has a tendency to drip and make a mess.
Sprinkle it with the crumb topping and it is ready to go into the oven. When it is done, cool completely and then refrigerate. This pie is best eaten the following day cold from the refrigerator. If you try to cut the pie warm and don't give it time to set you will be having concord grape soup.
This pie is like eating a grape jam sandwich with sugar on top. It is very decadent and rich. It is a once a year treat that you will look forward to each time the grapes are ready for harvest. I adapted my recipe from one found on Allrecipes.com. The first time I made this I used the measurements as written and a regular pie shell. Luckily, I had used a baking pan because there was more filling out of the pie than in.
The next time, I used a deep dish pan and there was still way too much filling. This time I used a deep dish and reduced the recipe. It was better but still overflowed quite a bit. I am writing the recipe as I will make it next time, reducing the ingredients of the filling even more.
Concord Grape Crumb Pie
3 c. Concord Grapes
2/3 c. sugar
2 T. flour
1 t. lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 (9") deep dish pie shell
1/2 c. quick cooking oats
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. cold butter, cut into pats
Squeeze the end of each grape, opposite the stem, removing the skins from the pulp and dropping them into a bowl. Reserve the skins in another container. Place the pulp into a saucepan over med high heat and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring for a minute or two. Pour pulp into a food mill set over a large bowl. Run through the mill releasing juice into the bowl and capturing the seeds in the mill.
Add the reserved grape skins, sugar, flour, lemon and salt to the grape juice and pour into the pie shell.
Place the oats, brown sugar, flour and butter into a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Sprinkle over the grape filling.
Place the pie onto a baking sheet that has been covered with a silicone mat or parchment paper and put into a preheated 425* oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, cover and refrigerate overnight before serving.
Print Recipe
Pies a Plenty
