sunday sweets {strawberry-rhubarb lattice pie}

This was my first attempt at making pie crust from scratch. I read the recipe and I thought it sounded pretty easy, and even when I was making it I was thinking to myself "why does everyone talk about how hard this is?" Well, I soon found out. After making my Pate Brisee and allowing it to sit in the fridge for an hour, I rolled out one disk and fit it into the pie pan for the bottom layer. I then began rolling out the top and cut it into 15 strips. Easy enough, I thought, Samantha Huba can do anything Martha can do, right? Wrong. As soon as I started moving the dough to the pie for the lattice, the strips began to fall apart.

SO after some "un-Martha like" words came out of my mouth and Jacob and I had a silly couples fight about how I didn't move fast enough and the dough was ruined, the lattice top was made out of store bought dough. The pie ended up being delicious despite the pillsbury topping, and I was able to compare the home made with the store bought, different but not THAT different.

Anyway, this is the perfect spring/summer dessert. The tartness of the rhubarb balances the sweetness of the strawberries to create a lovely, not too sweet, end to a meal.

Ingredients:

For the filling:

1 3/4 pounds rhubarb, cut into 3/4 inch thick pieces

6 ounces strawberries

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest, plus 1 tablespoon orange juice

Coarse salt

For the Crust:

2 disks pate brisee {I will include this recipe in case you want to brave your own crust}

All-purpos flour, for surface

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 large egg, lightly beaten for egg wash

Sanding Sugar for sprinkling

For the Pate Brisee:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

salt

2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 to 2/3 cup ice water

Pate Brisee:

1. Pulse flour, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Drizzle 1/3 cup ice water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture holds together when pressed between 2 fingers but is not too wet or sticky. If dough is too dry, add some water, 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse.

2. Shape dough into 2 disks, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Pie:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Make the filling. Mix together rhubarb, strawberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, zest and juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

2. Make the crust: Roll out 1 disk pate brisee to a 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Fit dough into a 9 inch pie plate. Pour in filling, dot top with butter. Refrigerate while making top crust.

3. Roll remaining disk pate brisee to a 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. cut into at least fifteen 1/2 inch wide strips using a fluted pastry cutter.

4. Lay 8 strips across pie. Fold back every other strip, and lay a horizontal strip across the center of the pie. Unfold folded strips, then fold back remaining strips. Lay another horizontal strip across pie. Repeat folding and unfolding strips to weave a lattice pattern. Repeat on remaining side.

5. Trim bottom and top crusts to a 1 inch overhang using kitchen shears, and press together to seal around edges. Fold edges under and crimp as desired. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

6. Brush crust with egg wash, and sprinkle generously with sanding sugar. Bake pie on middle rack, with a foil lined baking sheet on bottom rack to catch juices, until vigorously bubbling in center and bottom crust is golden, about 1 1/2 hours. Loosely tent with foil after 1 hour if crust is browning too quickly. Transfer pie to a wire rack and let cool for at least 2 hours before serving.