If you haven’t been to the Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governor’s Island, go. Hosted by Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra, it’s a flashback to the 1920s with beautiful jazz, flapper dresses, lovely St. Germain cocktails and a rather competitive amateur pie contest.
You may remember that my very first blog post was about this event. Specifically, it was my Peach Pie Cupcake recipe that won the “Bandleader’s Choice” category at the Jazz Age Lawn Party in 2010.
I’m excited to report that I took home another blue ribbon this year! My Strawberry Rhubarb Pride Pie won first place in the “Hobo’s Choice” category, which according to the pie judges, means it’s “so yummy that a hobo would want to steal it while it was cooling on a windowsill.”
I love rhubarb and this event was perfectly timed with rhubarb season. The secret to this pie is double baking the crust. It keeps the bottom from getting soggy and is a great crust for any fruit or berry pie.
This was also my first time using tapioca in a pie, which works well for fruit that is particularly watery, such as strawberries. One tip when using tapioca – grind the already small granules in a coffee grinder in advance to make them as invisible as possible in the pie.
The Jazz Age Lawn Party was also one day after the Marriage Equality Act passed in New York, hence the beautiful hearts. This is my pride pie!
Enjoy this recipe when you can find rhubarb in at your local market. In the meantime, pack a picnic and head to the next Jazz Age Lawn Party August 20-21 on Governor’s Island.
Twice-Baked Fluffy Pie Crust
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Yields one double layer pie crust
Ingredients
1 cup very cold water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
Instructions
Fill a cup with water and a few ice cubes. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt until combined. Sprinkle the small pieces of chilled butter over the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender (or two forks), work the butter into the flour mixture until all of the butter pieces are the size of small peas and the mixture is combined and crumbly. It’s ok if the mixture is slightly uneven.
Drizzle 1/2 cup cold water over the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gather the dough together. Add more water, one tablespoon at a time, if needed, to bring the dough together. Gather the mixture together with your hands into one neat mound.
Divide the dough into two even mounds and form each mound into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours (or up to one week).
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place one dough disk on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 12 inch circle, about 3/8-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie place. Line dough with foil and weigh it down with pie weights, dry rice or dry beans. Bake until crust is light golden brown, approximately 20-25 minutes. While crust is baking, prepare the pie filling.
Prize-Winning Strawberry Rhubarb Pride Pie
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Yields 8-10 servings
Ingredients
1 Twice-Baked Fluffy Pie Crust recipe
3 1/2 cups (about 1 1/2 pounds, untrimmed) rhubarb, in 1/2-inch thick slices
3 1/2 cups (about 1 pound) strawberries, hulled and sliced if big, halved if tiny
1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top of pie
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugars, lemon juice, salt and tapioca. Set aside until crust is out of the oven.
Remove the crust from the oven and change the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the foil and pie weights and mound the filling on top of the bottom pie crust. Dot with bits of unsalted butter.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the second pie disk into an 11 inch circle and place on top of pie filling. Cut several decorate slits in it to release air while it cooks. Tuck rim of dough underneath itself and crimp it decoratively. Alternatively, use a cookie cutter to create shapes of dough and place them strategically on topic of the filling.
Transfer pie to a baking sheet. Combine egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of water and brush mixture over dough. Bake for 20 minutes then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until the pie is golden and the juices bubble visibly.
Transfer pie to wire rack to cool completely before eating.
[…] Comments « Prize-winning strawberry rhubarb pride pie […]
It definitely looked like fun and I almost didn’t recognize Olivia! Beautiful pics of both Olivia and that pie!
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