email this pageIt may make absolutely no sense to some people, but whenever we plan a meal, we start with dessert. Instead of focusing on the main dish, the usual place to begin putting a menu together, we decide how we’d like the meal to end and then move on to the rest of the food.
Happily, for our Fourth of July bash, we aren’t faced with entertaining a city like Baltimore, where bakers whipped together a 35-ton birthday cake to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial in 1976. We knew we could come up with something just as festive and decided anything made with blueberries would not only be patriotic, it would be a perfect ending to a summer meal. Blueberries, after all, have been growing in this country for a long time. By the time the colonists arrived, Native Americans had been eating berries year round. According to historians, it was the cooking tips and sun-dried berries Native Americans gave the colonists that helped them make it through their first winter.
Blueberry pie was the first thing that came to mind. We took the idea a step further and decided a homemade pie, topped with a lattice crust to show off the berries, would have the effect of a culinary Roman candle. We couldn’t let the party go by without ice cream, so the second dessert, also with blueberries, was sundaes with berries and cantaloupe. Since food has always been a feature of Fourth of July celebrations and it’s practically impossible to overdo it, we decided to add plates of brownies and peanut butter cookies to the dessert table. Once our grand finale was in place, settling on the rest of the menu was easy.
Blueberry Lattice Pie
Printer Friendly Version
Do you like to print recipes and add them to your collection? You're in luck. Use our printer friendly version of this recipe.
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
5 cups blueberries
1 egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water
2. On floured surface, roll half of pie dough into a 12-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch pie plate.
3. In a large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and lemon rind. Add blueberries and mix gently. Spoon into pie plate. Roll remaining pastry into a 10-inch circle. Cut into 8 strips. Arrange strips in lattice pattern over fruit. Press edges of dough together and fold under. Brush pastry with egg mixture (some will be leftover.) Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375F and bake 30 minutes or until pastry is nicely glazed and fruit is bubbling. Cool on wire rack. Sift confectioners’ sugar over top before serving. Serves 8.
Recipe by Jean Kressy, Special Summer Issue 2006 and Relish the Season, "Fresh from the Market," May 2008.
Related Stories
If you enjoyed reading this story, A Culinary Roman Candle, then you might enjoy these other stories.- Berries of the Season
- The Kids' Meal, Redefined
- Upgrade Your Meal
- Old-Fashioned Dessert
- Queen of Desserts
Share This Story With Others:
There are no current discussions for this article. Why not be the first?
