CHERRY-BERRY PIE the perfect summer dessert

     I think of myself as a French tart aficionado.  I love making them, I love looking at them, I love eating them.  I have drawers full of French tart tins.  They spill over from my kitchen into my dining room.  It's what I make.

                                              I think that just changed...

     With sweet cherries and berries now in abundance, this recipe for Cherry-Berry Pie caught my eye.  I pulled the only "pie plate" I own from my cupboard and got to work.  Similar to a French tart pastry that uses all butter, this pie dough also has red wine vinegar as an ingredient -- making it reminiscent of an old-fashioned American pie crust.  The vinegar's acidity works beautifully against the sweetened fruit.  I'm hooked!  I can't make another Cherry-Berry Pie soon enough.

     Besides a limited pie plate inventory in my kitchen, I also do not own a pastry wheel; a tool that is helpful in making a lattice-crust pie.  My solution?  Cut out pieces of dough from the top crust with different-sizes of round cookie cutters.

     One more thing... make sure you have plenty of purchased or homemade vanilla bean ice cream to scoop atop the warm pie wedges.  As my daughter would say... it's dreamy!

                                         Cherry-BerryPie
                              from Food & Wine Magazine | recipe by Paula Haney

crust:
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, frozen
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch cubes -- 9 tablespoons frozen, 5 tablespoons chilled
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar mixed with 6 tablespoons ice water
filling:
• 1 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups pitted sweet cherries
• 3/4 pound raspberries
• 1/2 pound blueberries
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

1. MAKE THE CRUST In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt. Add the chilled butter and pulse until it's the size of small peas. Add the frozen butter and pulse until it's the size of small peas. Drizzle the vinegar mixture over the flour mixture. Pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently to form a smooth dough. Divide the dough in half and flatten into 2 disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to a 12-inch round, 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a 10-inch metal pie plate and freeze for 20 minutes. Roll out the remaining dough 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes.
3. MAKE THE FILLING In a small bowl, whisk 1 cup of sugar with the tapioca and salt. In another bowl, toss the cherries with the raspberries and blueberries. Sprinkle with the sugar mixture and toss gently.
4. Mix the flour and the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar. Sprinkle in the crust; tap out the excess. Spoon the filling into the crust.
5. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut the remaining dough into 3/4-inch-wide strips. Arrange the strips across the pie in a lattice pattern. Trim the overhanging strips to 1/2 inch and press them to the crust. Pinch the rim between your fingers to flute it. Freeze the pie for 1 hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 400°. Brush the cream over the lattice crust and rim and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 1 hour, or until the crust is richly browned and the filling starts to bubble. If necessary, cover the pie with foil for the last 10 minutes of baking. Let cool on a rack until warm before serving.

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