Strawberry Pie

Like many food bloggers, I have my parents to thank for my love of cooking. While I've talked about my mothers baking ability, I don't think I've stressed the fact that getting a recipe out of her is sometimes an exercise in futility. She isn't deliberately derailing my attempts to replicate her food, it more seems that she has made things so many times that she doesn't think about it. Hence the reason I have never been able to replicate her "roll-up" which is an annoyingly simple desert consisting of pie crust, "a few pads of" butter, "maybe a half cup" of sugar and "about 2 tablespoons?" of cinnamon. No one has ever been able to make it like she can, and now we know why.

Okay, gushing for moms everywhere aside...here is my favorite of her deserts (that I can replicate). I promise to not say "now its either 1 cup of sugar or 1 cup of water....hmm" like she did the first time she told me this recipe. (Also I wouldn't say that because I cut out a lot of the sugar...the strawberries just don't need it). If you have the time, allow the pie to cool overnight, but it should setup in about 3 hours.

Strawberry Pie

• 1 pre-prepared pie crust
• 3 quarts of strawberries, washed and cored
• 8 oz reduced fat cream cheese
• 3 tbs cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sugar + 2 tbs
• 1 cup water

1. Bake the pie crust per instructions. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
2. In a stand mixer combine the cream cheese and 2 tbs of sugar, mix until incorporated. This will also make it easier to spread the cream cheese
3. Once the crust has cooled, spread the cream cheese on the base and sides of the crust. It's important that you get as far up the sides as you can, the glaze can make the crust soggy. Think of the cream cheese as your pie crust barrier.
4. Take you most impressive strawberries and arrange them, core side down in the pie crust.
5. Take the remaining strawberries and finely chop them. I used a food processor for this once, but I don't recommend it, it tends to liquify the strawberries and you end up with seeds in your glaze.
6. In a large pot, combine the water, 1/2 cup sugar and the strawberries. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Allow to cook at a low boil for about five minutes.
7. Add the cornstarch, don't worry about lumps, you are going to strain it. The sauce should thicken, if it doesn't, add more cornstarch. You will feel the glaze thicken, if you add too much starch it will turn the glaze cloudy, but it will still taste good! If you don't add enough it will run all over your plate once you cut the pie...so when in doubt, add more!
8. Remove from the heat and allow the glaze to cool for a few minutes. Strain the glaze through a fine wire strainer. Pour the glaze over the pie and refrigerate overnight or for at least 3 hours.
   (You don't HAVE to strain it, but I think it makes the pie more impressive. If you don't make sure you mix the cornstarch with a bit of water and work out the lumps before adding it to the strawberries)

 

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