Midwestern pleasures: Sour Cherry Pie

dievca went home to make cherry pies for her parents. (amongst doing other things…) 
Her Dad is doing well and she has combed through her Mom’s closets to set-up outfits for easy dressing.

Why?

Because as you get older, you don’t care…but if you are put together and you get a compliment –
you feel so good.
dievca wants to make her Mom feel so good without having to work too hard.
(anyways, her Mom is a lot better looking than dievca is, so it doesn’t take much. XO )

Might as well look good going to the Doctor’s office, right?

An aside: dievca has a good friend who is an Internal Medicine Doctor and they had a full conversation about underwear. There is a good chance your Doctor may notice…

By-the-way? Hanky Panky is a top leader for panty popularity and a clean pair is always appreciated… (dievca thought you should know…)

And so, dievca sets out outfits for her Mother. Nine of them for whatever mood strikes. With jewelry.

As dievca’s Mother got older, she became more enamored with jewelry…like a magpie. Anything shiny.

In honor of the sour cherry pies dievca baked, she found some fun jewelry for her Mother.

Erickson Beamon Cherry Pie Ring, Earrings and Cuff!

And a cherry pie recipe to send you on your way:

DOOR COUNTY CHERRY PIE
By Chef Terri Milligan

A cherry tree produces an average of 7,000 cherries each season. It takes about 250 cherries to make an 9-inch pie. So when you look at the cherry tree, you will be seeing enough cherries for about 28 pies!
Makes one 9-inch double crusted pie

Your favorite pie crust recipe – enough for a double crusted pie

5 to 6 cups fresh or slightly thawed frozen tart cherries
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
1 whole egg combined with 2 tablespoons whole milk or half and half
1 tablespoon sugar, to sprinkle on top of the pie

If using fresh cherries, remove pits. Save juice that is extracted from the pitting process.

If using frozen cherries, thaw the cherries slightly, again, keeping the juice.

Place the cherries and juice in a large sauce pot and place on medium low heat. As the cherries warm, more juice will come out of the cherries.

Combine the sugar and 4 tablespoons of cornstarch. Add mixture to the cherries. Put back on medium low heat and cook until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and stir in the extract. Let cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using your favorite pie dough recipe, roll out dough large enough to fit into a 9-inch pie pan, with about 1 inch of dough hanging over the edge. Place cooled filling into the lined pie pan.

Combine the egg with the milk/half and half. Brush lightly around the edges of the lined pie crust. Roll out the remaining piece of dough into a 10-inch round and place on top of the pie. Trim the dough and crimp. Using a small paring knife make three ½-inch slits on the top of the pie to release steam during baking.

Brush the top of the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Place the pie on a baking pan (if it bubbles over). Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until nicely browned. Let pie cool for at least one hour before serving.