Recipe: Concord Grape Pie, Tea Room Pastry, Grape Chiffon Pie

Concord Grape Pie, Tea Room Pastry, Grape Chiffon Pie
rec.food.cooking/Katie E. Green (1995)

This is a State Fair winner from the Los Angeles County Fair. The conversion for the chiffon pie follows.

CONCORD GRAPE PIE
Recipe by: Ramona G. Ashburn

5 cups concord grapes, rinsed and stemmed (2 pounds)
1 cup sugar
dash cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
2 pieces Tea Room Pastry (follows)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon sugar

Squeeze grapes from skins into large saucepan. Place skins in large bowl and set aside. Bring pulp to simmer over medium heat; cook 5 minutes while stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and sieve to remove seeds. Combine pulp with skins. Stir in next 4 ingredients. Prepare pastry. Preheat oven to 425F. Roll out pastry to fit a 9-inch pie (11 inches). Leave 1/2-inch overhang. Roll remaining dough to 10-inch circle. Fold in half; cut slits for steam.

Pour grape mixture into pastry lined pie. Dot with butter; cover with top crust; seal and flute edges. Brush with milk; sprinkle with sugar. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until lightly browned. If edges brown too much, cover with foil. Cool before serving.

Tea Room Pastry:

5 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups lard
2 egg yolks
cold water

Combine first 4 ingredients in bowl; cut in lard until mixture is crumbly like peas. Beat egg yolks in measuring cup and add enough water to measure 1 cup liquid. Pour into flour/lard mixture and stir with fork until mixture forms a ball and cleans the side of the bowl. Divide into 4 equal parts. Roll out between a piece of to fit pie pan. Be sure lard is fresh with mild flavor.

Makes crust for 2 double-crust (8 inch pies) or 4 (8 inch) pie shells.

GRAPE CHIFFON PIE:

1 cup prepared grape puree/pulp
1 tablespoon gelatin
1/4 cup water
4 eggs separated
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Prepare prebaked pie shell. Soak gelatin in 1/4-cup cold water for 5 minutes. Beat egg yolks slightly, adding 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice and salt. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly until of custard consistency. Add softened gelatin, stirring to mix and dissolve thoroughly. Add grape puree/pulp and cool. When mixture starts to congeal, carefully fold in egg whites, which have been stiffly beaten with the remaining 1/4-cup sugar. Fill pie shell, mounding carefully in center. May be served with whipped cream piped on top and finely dusted with 1 tablespoon grape Jell-O or Kool Aid/sugar mixture.