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Santa Barbara, CA, United States
I enjoy creating original wine-pairing recipes that are healthful and delicious. I work for Touring & Tasting a Santa Barbara based wine club and national magazine as Food Editor. However, I am not paid for this blog and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own. I received my Personal Chef Skills Competency Award from the SBCC's School Of Culinary Arts. In 2012, I started Inside Wine - Santa Barbara with pal Lila Brown which features wine tastings with winery owners and winemakers. I also serve on the Board of the Santa Barbara Culinary Arts group, which had Julia Child as one of the founding members and funds scholarships for SBCC culinary students in her name.

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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Can You Bake A Cherry Pie, Billy Boy? Easy Pie Crust!

After years of furiously snipping cold butter into bits and chilling all my implements and ingredients to roll out a good pie crust, I tasted a thin, delightfully crisp crust at my friend Doreen's house which she made with oil and no fuss. It's not flaky and buttery, but rather a wafer-thin encapsulation of the filling without the excess carbs and calories. The filling was easy, too: two pounds of pitted bing cherries, about a cup and a half of sugar (add to taste), a teaspoon each of cinnamon and clove, all simmered for about half an hour, then thickened with three tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with a couple tablespoons of water. I put a "G" on it for my daughter, then baked it at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes until golden brown and served it with whipped cream...yum!

DOREEN'S PIE CRUST:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Measure the vegetable oil and the milk into the same liquid measuring cup but do not stir. Add to the flour/salt mixture; mix briskly to combine until the dough comes together into a ball.
Divide the dough in half. Roll out each half to 1/8 inch thick between 2 sheets of wax paper.
NOTE: Because this pastry dough is made with oil, it must be used right away. After a day in the refrigerator, the oil will start to separate and seep out.

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