Sitting in class at our final class on Driftwood Sculpture, we started talking about pies, then to Marie Callender's Fresh Peach Pie. (Sorry no picture available). My new found friend Peggy agreed with me when I mentioned how much I loved it, and how my husband and I literally feast on it in one sitting. I tell you it's that great. She had the same wonderful experience.
Living in Sequim, WA is almost like moving to a foreign country when it comes to finding a Marie Callender's. So, every summer I get into a "trying to see if I can make a fresh peach pie a la Marie Callender". Searched on the internet for a recipe each year, and couldn't find one just right. I tell you, I feel like a pregnant woman every summer time craving for this pie.
When removing the skin off the peaches, the first step is to put the whole peach in hot water for a few minutes so the skin will easily peel off. But that process softens the peaches causing it to ooze juice. Nothing like Marie's where the peaches are firm but ripe, glistening under the glaze.
There's also the pie crust. How do you keep the crust from getting soggy with this juicy peach? Recipes all over the place on to how to cook the pie to achieve this result. But,that's just the problem. You have to cook the pie with various things such as cornstarch, flour, tapioca, arrowroot powder, etc. Definitely not like Marie's.
Back to the internet looking for a solution and followed this thread:
Heavenly Peach Galette. Rose Levy Beranbaum wrote an extensive instructional recipe with a lot of favorable comments from her followers. The result is not anywhere close to Marie's. But the favorable comments and the idea of a galette appealed to me (I make my Pear Frangipane Galette this way too, recipe courtesy of Food Network).
After several tries, it turned out great. Here's how Rose's galette look like:
Here's my finished product:
Anytime I try a different recipe, I end up with disappointing results. Guess I'll adopt Rose's recipe for my peach pie recipe until Marie Callender responds to my request for a recipe. Better yet, like my friend Peggy said, submit it to America's Test Kitchen and see if they can do it. I just might do that.
P. S. America's Test Kitchen responded and this is what they recommend:
Do not blanch the peaches. Just use the peeler designed for peeling thin skinned fruits like tomatoes, peaches, etc. Also, blind bake the crust.
We'll see how this works next summer.
3 comments:
LOL - Glad to know I am not the only one obsessed with this pie! It's such a cruelty that it is only available for such a short season, as I invariably never think about it until October rolls around and then it's too late. My fixation began with a mini-pie single serving size, like a tart almost, that someone gave me for my birthday, and I have been hooked through the bag ever since. If I remember early enough to make it to a Marie's when they first come out, the employees are always curious by the third trip if I like any OTHER kind of pie, but sadly, I have to tell them I am a seasonal profit boon only!
I dunno what they put in that thing, but it really is a tiny bit of heaven in a pie crust... =)
GOOD LUCK!
In the 1970's, I worked for Martha Ann Pies on PCH, in Torrance, CA. It was a fierce competitor of Martha, so much so, they'd send spies. I remember peeling peaches and coring strawberries every weekend morning for the days pie. The crust was far superior to Marie Calendar's, had a slight sweetness that Marie didn't have. I worked there just shy of a year (hey I was 16...10 more cents an hour was worth quitting for). My one and only regret was I didn't copy the recipe's! Whe didn't I, I ask myself. I think after a year I was sick of pie, so left without sneaking any secret, not for peach or strawberry (by the way each pie was weighed to make sure it had the exact weight for each pie and no one got cheated). The German Chocolate pie was to kill for... another miss opportunity for sure. Ted and Margaret (owners) I think of you every summer!
I worked at Martha Ann's in the late '60s. At that time it was owned by a guy named Jasper and his wife (don't remember more than that)
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