Bon Appetit really hit one out of the park with their June 2009 issue, particularly with the feature called “Very Berry Desserts”. I’m all about the berry desserts and have already tried the Blueberry Shortcakes with Lemon Thyme Biscuits — I still need to work on the texture of the gluten free version of the biscuits to get them just right before I post about them here.

However, I made a gluten free version of the Brown Butter Raspberry Tart, also featured in the Bon Appetit article, and boy was it tasty. I used my go to tart crust instead of attempting to de-gluten the one in the recipe, and the tart was great. The texture is very nice, and the flavor subtle and nutty (thank you, brown butter), with the raspberries acting as little spots of sweet fruity bursts in your mouth. I’ve already put this one on my list of “will definitely make again” recipes.

Alright, so I had my hands on the elusive Concord grapes, and my mother-in-law had emailed the recipe weeks ago, when I first told her of my quest for Concord grapes. I wished that I didn’t live 500+ miles away, because she sounded quite wistful about the grape pie (as wistful as one can sound in an email), and I thought that it would be nice to give her a piece or make her a grape pie of her very own as a thank you. I also thought it would be great if some other grape pie fans lived nearby, so I could give them the remains of what I was sure would be a disastrous dessert without having to feel guilty for throwing it in the trash. Can you feel the optimism?

I will warn you that this pie will require some manual labor. Concord grapes have seeds, which may explain why they aren’t found in supermarkets around here (less mass appeal?), and you not only have to squeeze the pulp out of the skins (slip-skin grapes are neato!), but you also have to sieve the pulp to remove the seeds. I actually didn’t mind getting a little sticky and pulpy, and I had to say that the scent of the grapes was starting to appeal to me. However, I was still very concerned about the texture of the finished pie, as I didn’t want to think about biting into slimy, chewy grape skins. The mere thought of it gave me chills. So, I devised a plan. I would use my handy stick blender to pulverize some of the skins and to break up the remainder.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the blending not only broke up the skins, but they also released a lovely purply hue that colored the filling. This definitely looked much more appealing than the slime green pulp with dark purple skins floating in it. I poured the mixture into a par-baked pie crust, sprinkled the crumble on top, shoved it into the oven, and hoped for the best.

I had to admit (rather proudly, I might add) that the pie came out of the oven looking wonderful. Bubbly, purple-magenta filling peeked out from beneath the golden brown crumble, and it smelled incredible. But I was still unsure about how this was going to taste. Goodness knows that I’d made my share of baked goods that smelled great but tasted like…well, we’re not going to go there.

After the pie had cooled, I whipped up some cream for the top and had to hold B back from digging right into the pie with his hands. As I held the dessert plate which contained the smallest sliver of pie that I could cut, I began to dread taking the first bite. A third party might have thought that I was about to eat monkey brains or goat eyeball, a delicacy in some parts of the world but completely unappealing to me, from the grimace on my face. But I had to take the first bite sometime, especially since B was waiting for my reaction before he took his first bite. Chomp…

Oh. My. Goodness. This pie was heaven. The rich, sweet flavor filled my mouth as my eyes bugged out, and a huge smile came to B’s face because he knew. He knew that I was in love with this wonderful pie, and he knew that I would go out of my way to find the elusive Concord grapes every year because this pie is that good. The texture didn’t bother me at all. Skins? What skins? The only thing that bothered me was the thought that I needed to finish this sliver of pie as quickly as possible so I could get another, and another, and another. To this day, I apologize to B for ever having a doubt about grape pie.

When I decided to go gluten and sugar free about a year ago, I was so sad because I thought that I may never get to enjoy this wonderful pie again, and I think that I may have shed a tear or two of joy when, this year, I successfully made a xylitol-sweetened version with a gluten free tart crust. B actually said that he liked this version better than the original! My sugar free, gluten free version is below, but you can simply substitute the xylitol with sugar and use the pie or tart crust of your choice to make your version of the pie that rocked my world.

Once upon a time, I asked B what his favorite dessert was. I knew that he was more of an “ice cream man” than a “pastry guy”, but I was curious about whether he actually had a favorite non-ice cream dessert, and it was one of those days where I was looking for something new to try. Little did I know the can of worms that I was about to open.

Here’s how the conversation basically went:

K: Hey, B, what’s your favorite dessert?

B (pauses to think for a few seconds): Ice cream.

K: Well, I knew that. What’s your favorite non-ice cream dessert?

B: Hmm…I’m not sure.

K: C’mon, you have to have a favorite dessert that’s not ice cream.

B (thinks for a minute or so, eyes start to glaze over, stares wistfully into the distance): I know. Grape pie. (makes the Homer Simpson drooling sound)

K: What?!

B: Grape pie.

K (imagines eating a pie full of eyeballs): That sounds disgusting. What kind of grapes are in this pie?

B: Concord grapes.

K: The kind in jelly?

B: Yeah, they used to grow on vines in the backyard at my parents’ house, and my mom would make Concord grape pie during years when there were enough grapes on the vines.

K (who has lived in town her whole life and has never had a yard with anything but grass): Hmm…I don’t know about this grape pie.

B: You have to make one! But the grapes are only available for a few weeks in the fall.

K (glad that she asked this question in a season other than fall): I don’t know. It’s a very strange sounding dessert.

B: Well, you asked, so now you have to make me a grape pie!

K (thinks that she will never, ever make grape pie): Maybe.

I thought that was it, that B would forget all about the grape pie conversation and happily go on eating ice cream and fruit crumbles without giving a second thought to grape pie. Fast forward to fall:

B: You know what you should make?

K: What?

B (with a wistful look in his eyes): Grape pie.

K (uh oh): Eww, I don’t think so!

And this was the conversation for the following couple of seasons, until 2005, when I decided to give in:

B: You know what you should make?

K: I know, I know. Grape pie.

B (with a look in his eyes that I can’t resist): Will you?

K: Okay, I’ll make you a grape pie, but don’t expect me to eat any of it.

B: That’s okay. I’ll eat it all.

K: Alright, so where do I find Concord grapes?

B: Well, I’ve never looked for them since they grew in the backyard. Maybe the grocery store?

Two weeks later, after looking at multiple grocery stores and visiting a farmer’s market:

K: I can’t find the grapes, B.

B (looks sad): There’s got to be someplace around that has them.

K: Maybe Trader Joe’s?

And so it was that I made my first ever trip to Trader Joe’s, which I’d been meaning to visit anyway. As I walked over to the produce case at the front of the store, I saw them. Concord grapes. So, I grabbed four packages and guarded them closely, knowing how precious they were but still thinking that this pie was going to be awful. The checkout guy had his opinion about the grapes, too:

Checkout guy (gets a wistful look in his eyes as he catches a whiff of the grapes): I love Concord grapes. (picks up a carton and sniffs it) They used to grow in my parents’ backyard when I was a kid, and my brothers and I would look forward to eating them every year. (stares wistfully into the distance) I love them.

K (wonders if she was the only kid who didn’t have Concord grapes growing in the backyard): My fiancee loves them, too.

Fearing that my grapes would be stolen by some other Concord grape-loving guy, I hurried back home and put them safely in the fridge, which quickly began to smell faintly of Concord grapes. Maybe there was something to this grape pie thing?

Continued story and recipe next time…

I have turned into a strawberry fiend lately. I’ve always liked strawberries, but since they’ve started appearing en masse at the grocery in the past month or so, I feel like a “strawberry love” switch has been turned on in my brain. It doesn’t hurt that the first couple of pounds that I bought were some of the best strawberries I’ve had in my life. So, naturally, I had to make this strawberry galette pretty much as soon as I saw the picture in the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living.

This recipe also turned out to be the perfect place for me to try out my new spelt flour. High in fiber, b vitamins, and protein, spelt flour has been growing in popularity in the U.S. recently as more people look for nutritious and tasty alternatives to wheat flour. Since I’ve been trying to use more whole grains in my baking, I thought I’d give it a try. I’m very glad that I did, as the crust turned out very nicely. It wasn’t as flaky as pie crusts that I’ve made using all purpose flour, but I may have overmixed given that it was my first time using spelt. The taste was the thing that most surprised me. It was very nutty and yummy, though I think that the taste of the whole spelt flour (as opposed to white spelt flour, which has a milder flavor) may have overpowered the strawberries just a bit. All in all, a very tasty galette, and the orange whipped cream was quite good, too.