The days before Thanksgiving are calibrated by shopping lists and baking times, a checklist universe clicking down to a shared meal of thanks and camaraderie. And if your universe is populated with children, that checklist becomes even more important — especially if you’re taking your feast on the road.
Deciding on a portable course that involves the under-12 demographic is pretty easy: dessert. A selection of homey pies will involve them in the preparation and hold their attention — both in the baking process and during feast-time, as the kids can take charge of serving the meal’s finale. (Let’s play restaurant!)
Kids and pies
Pies are fun, easy to make, feature seasonal ingredients and are as much a Thanksgiving sine qua non as the turkey. You can also make them the day before, a crucial element to feast-planning — especially if your nascent pastry chefs need breaks for meals, play, bedtime.
As pie is to the dinner menu, so the crust is to a good pie. This is my perfect pie crust recipe, lifted from cookbook author Deborah Madison and suitable for pretty much any filling. You can stick to the basic recipe, or substitute whole-wheat flour for some of the all-purpose, add grated lemon or orange zest to the dough, or a teaspoon of cinnamon or other spice, depending on what’s ending up inside.
Have your kids help with the mixing and the rolling; just be sure to refrigerate after mixing and again after rolling out the pie shell.
These built-in increments of time are actually very useful, as you can pace yourself and your helpers. Fill in the gaps with lunch for them, coffee for you, assembling the various fillings and making the garnishes — and with a bit of pie decorating.
Divide the dough into two parts, one slightly larger than the other. After the dough has chilled, roll out the larger piece, line a 9-inch pie plate with it and return it to the refrigerator. The second bit of dough — which will form the top crust — is where things get interesting.
Roll out (or have your helpers roll out) the dough, then take a cookie cutter or a kid-friendly knife and cut out leaves or apples or dots, whatever your kids decide. My kids, with Halloween jack-o’-lanterns still in their minds, cut out the top crust in the shape of a pumpkin, then used the bits of dough to form eyes, a nose, a mouth.
If you want to get fancy, roll out the top crust, cut it to fit and use the scraps to form leaves and berries, even a pear. Put the dough on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate (with the pie shell) while you start on the fillings.
A classic pumpkin pie is standard, but if you’re on pie duty, you can think out of the box — or pie plate — a little too.
Mix ripe pear slices with a handful of blackberries. Use frozen blackberries this time of year, as they’re available, cheaper and actually cook up better than fresh — they won’t break apart when you stir them in with the other ingredients.
Add some lemon zest, a dash of cardamom, and an unexpected grind of black pepper for an interesting spin that brings out the qualities of the fruit.
While the oven is heating, put a sauce pan of more frozen blackberries and a small amount of sugar on the stove to thaw. When they’ve thawed out, press the berries and their juices through a fine mesh sieve, add some lemon juice and check for sweetness and you have a fantastic, easy blackberry sauce to go with the pie.
