Looking for Unique Pie

[ravenshadow13]

I'm on the hunt for a really unique and tasty pie recipe. I'm leaning more towards sweet than savory and there aren't many parameters. They are:

No nuts of any kind (super bummer, I was going to make a sweet potato pecan pie BUT I didn't learn about the no nuts thing until today, so I'm in a scramble)

No ice cream- must be able to stand out at room temperature for an hour or so.

The more challenging and unique, the better!

Thank you!!! I'm sure some of you have awesome pie recipes. Please share them with me!

[Dave Hatfield]

Depends upon your definition of pie I guess.

But if you want something that's both unusual and delicious try a tart tatin.

You don't see a lot of them in the states yet they're easy to make once you master the technique and they meet your other criteria.

[John DePaula]

I second the recommendation for Tarte Tatin. It's a lot of "bang for the buck" and who can resist caramelized apples and flaky pastry.

But you could still do a Sweet Potato Pie without nuts - that's how I usually make it.

See here ->Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie . It's a simple pie but extraordinarily satisfying.

[gfron1]

How about a Dulce de Leche pie.

[ravenshadow13]

I like the tarte tatin and dulce de leche pie ideas! I've never even heard of the dulce de leche one before. I guess I could still do a sweet potato pie but I was going to make Paul Prudhomme's recipe and I feel kind of let down, haha. I will need to find another occasion to make that, I think.

The whole thing is for "Pi Day" at my school. I will also need to incorporate the Pi symbol somehow but it shouldn't be too hard. With the pecans I was going to make a basic symbol design with the coated nuts and then place the rest in a swirl around the design, but I'm sure I can think of a modification of whatever recipe I decide on. I want to stray away from the typical recipes (blueberry, cherry, pumpkin, tollhouse). Those ideas are super good. I also read somewhere about avocado pie... has anyone had any luck with that? (I'd probably be too afraid to try it, haha)

[melamed]

most unique pie I can think of is passion fruit, but not sure how easy it is to get passion fruit, especially in the middle of winter.

[gfron1]

ahhhh....Pi Day....why didn't you say so! I don't know if the students have read Life of Pi, but you could make a Tiger Pie...probably a sweet potato pie with black dyed wavy crust strips on the top to make it look like a tiger. But if they haven't read that book, then the reference would be lost.

[andiesenji]

If you want something really different, unusual and one that few people have ever encountered (outside of a few rural areas in KY and TN) consider a Green Tomato Pie

Actually one does not have to use green tomatoes, very firm or even hard, tomatoes that are already red, any variety but the ones with more flesh and less seeds work best.

It is a sweet, lemony flavor that has a marmalade texture. I have yet to serve one that was not consumed immediately, although sometimes I had to convince people to try the first bite.

Although I posted the recipe for a two-crust pie, it is even prettier with a lattice top or with little cutouts of leaf or other shapes.

Edited March 9, 2009 by andiesenji (log)

[ravenshadow13]

melamed- You're probably right, it would be hard to find... and probably super expensive.

gfron- Haha I think 90% of students in my school have not read it, so the reference would be lost. I suppose if I did do a lattice over a sweet potato pie it wouldn't be -too- boring haha

andiesenji- I've -never- tried tomato pie before. How sweet does it end up coming out, it's more of a dessert thing? So interesting. I'm a tad scared! It has a marmalade texture? Does it hold well when cut? Would it be better to just seed the tomatoes?

I have a feeling that two pies will be in order... there are so many options and I hate picking one recipe over another!

[rickster]

It is a sweet, lemony flavor that has a marmalade texture. I have yet to serve one that was not consumed immediately, although sometimes I had to convince people to try the first bite.

This makes me think of a shaker lemon pie as well as an option.

[ravenshadow13]

This makes me think of a shaker lemon pie as well as an option.

←

Shaker lemon pie? Like this: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/04/shaker-lemon-pie/ ?

I never knew how pie deprived I was until this thread. Ahh!!!

[Lindacakes]

I've always wanted to make an avocado pie.

Last night I made a macademia cream pie and I screwed up somehow, because I think it was the single most inedible thing I have ever produced.

With beautiful macademias that I'd brought home from Hawaii, no less.

[ravenshadow13]

Haha, that is a bummer. =(

But it happens to me ALL the time. So no worries.

I found a recipe for avocado pie and some for variations with pineapple. But IMO it can either go really well or really wrong, and even though I won't be eating the pie... I'm not super big on avocados (mom is, same with tomatoes) but I feel like I should be able to taste it and be okay with it, haha.

Not have to scramble something out Friday morning (the day it's due).

I kind of feel the same way about grape pie. I've never tried it, it's probably really good, but I'd be terrified to make it.

I was terrified to make other stuff though and I guess the best thing to do is suck it up and try it.

[patris]

Persimmon pie is different (and delicious!) - not sure if you can find a recipe that doesn't use nuts, but it's worth a shot.

[ravenshadow13]

Persimmon pie is different (and delicious!) - not sure if you can find a recipe that doesn't use nuts, but it's worth a shot.

←

http://www.texascooking.com/recipes/persimmonpie.htm

Does that recipe look okay? I maybe have half a chance of finding some persimmons in the market. I will look when I go out later today! I also found a pumpkin-persimmon pie recipe. I wonder if the flavors work well together.

[Mayhaw Man]

I'm on the hunt for a really unique and tasty pie recipe. I'm leaning more towards sweet than savory and there aren't many parameters. They are:

No nuts of any kind (super bummer, I was going to make a sweet potato pecan pie BUT I didn't learn about the no nuts thing until today, so I'm in a scramble)

No ice cream- must be able to stand out at room temperature for an hour or so.

The more challenging and unique, the better!

Thank you!!! I'm sure some of you have awesome pie recipes. Please share them with me!

←

Delta Chess Pie. Delicious, fun to make, keeps great (though it won't be around for long, at least not in my experience).

Chess pie thread

[Lisa Shock]

In defense of savory pie, Pizza Rustica, at least the Sicilian version (the term means different things in different parts of Italy) is good and unknown to many Americans. I won the grand prize at a pie competition in culinary school with one of these.

You can do a fairly uniform ricotta cheese/egg filling, or do layers of veggies, meats, sauce, etc. a bit like lasagna without noodles. The main trick is to keep the filling fairly dry to protect the crust. Thinly sliced mozzarella can help keep the layers separate.

I have seen a lot of variations on the crust, all presented as authentic. One version is raw pasta dough, another was bread dough. My favorite is to simply use my regular pie crust pastry dough.

***

As for sweet pies, honestly I prefer to serve individual tarts. My favorite is the basic fruit tart: sucre dough, pastry cream, fresh fruit, glaze. I know that some supermarkets sell these, but most cheat on the crust and filling, and just don't taste the same as the real thing.

Chocolate chiffon tarts can be enhanced by adding flavors to the mix, like orange or raspberry.

[ravenshadow13]

This is clearly going to take some intense consideration... I just found a recipe for samosa pie, so I am thinking I will do one savory and one sweet, that being my savory. For sweet, I really like the tarte tatin or the sugar cream/dulce de leche/chess/lemon pie... something traditional but simple. (I'm located in New England and I think that 1) tropical fruit would cost me an arm and a leg this time of year and 2) green tomato pie, although I WILL be trying it the next time my boyfriend comes to visit, will probably scare the pants off the general population here.

I'm still googling away, though. And Joy of Cooking had some good recipes too, I think.

I'm so mad about the nuts =( I keep finding awesome pie recipes that call for nuts. I can't even do mincemeat or anything. So sad.

[andiesenji]

Green tomato pie is a sweet, dessert pie and is a staple at church socials in the area in western Kentucky where I was raised.

[JeanneCake]

I love all the suggestions so far .... you could use passion fruit juice from Goya if that's available in your area and make a passion curd to fill a pie shell

I was going to suggest Shoefly pie - Maida Heatter has a delicious one in her Great American Desserts book. It's a molasses pie but that description doesn't do it justice. It's really good, and around here in New England, very unusual.

Good luck!

Edited March 9, 2009 by JeanneCake (log)

[ravenshadow13]

Here's a question (since my pie experiences are limited):

Are pies like sugar pie, shoo fly pie, and sugar cream pie/chess/dulce de leche pie too sweet? And by that I mean sweet enough that it's hard to swallow a large piece? I think I may be leaning towards one of those.

I'm leaning away from the tart tatin for this because I would rather make it with the round of pastry dough underneath than a full crust.

[mkayahara]

The most unusual pie recipe I've ever made is watermelon chiffon pie. Not something you'd want to do often, but tasty and really interesting!

[gfron1]

Here's a question (since my pie experiences are limited):

Are pies like sugar pie, shoo fly pie, and sugar cream pie/chess/dulce de leche pie too sweet? And by that I mean sweet enough that it's hard to swallow a large piece? I think I may be leaning towards one of those.

←

That sure is a subjective question. The reason I created the dulce de leche was because sugar cream was a bit over the top for most people, so the sweetness was tempered some.

[ravenshadow13]

Ohhh okay. That's kind of what I wanted to hear *thumbs up*

Thanks!!

Now here's the hundred dollar question: How do I get a Pi symbol shape on top of a dulce de leche pie?

Edited March 10, 2009 by ravenshadow13 (log)

[ravenshadow13]

I actually just saw a recipe for a chess pie topped with meringue...

Way too many options for me. But I'm definitely doing the samosa pie. Recipe is here: http://www.recipezaar.com/Samosa-Pie-122717

That should be good.