How to win over a parent - Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

A couple weeks ago I spent an amazing mini vacation in Maryland visiting the guy I've been dating. Long story short he moved back to his hometown from California, and me being totally, creepily obsessed with him of course I had to fly out for a visit. Before coming out I knew I had to win his mom over by baking her into oblivion, surrounding her with so many delicious baked goods she'd have no choice but to love me. Unfortunately we did so much running around I rarely had time to make anything and show off the way I had envisioned. There was one night I got spoiled rotten with an amazing meal so I decided to whip up something for dessert as collateral. After much food blog scouring I decided on a strawberry rhubarb pie mainly because strawberries are universally amazing, I've never had rhubarb, and everyone loves pie. It's always good to expand your horizons a little bit and rhubarb did that for me! To my surprise it added the perfect touch of sourness that I love in almost everything.

When making the pie crust I opted for the lazy ass food processor method using a mini food prep. Surprisingly enough it worked out perfectly, I made the dough in two batches which turned in to the bottom crust and a lattice for the top (my first lattice ever!). I usually check my recipe about 5,000 times in my anal, paranoid fashion and even while doing this I still managed to fuck up and put both dough rounds into the freezer thinking "the dough is going to be super flaky!". When it was time for the dough to be rolled out I had to beat the living hell out of it with a rolling pin, which actually turned out fine. From there it was smooth sailing and the pie came out perfect, especially after chilling in the fridge for a few hours to let the filling thicken to the right consistency. The recipe I used is perfect as a make ahead dessert since it comes out of the oven super runny and needs the rest time to come together. The crust is flaky and buttery and the filling provides a sweet and subtle sour jammy mixture. So so good, I will definitely add this to my keeper file. Might I add, his mom just so happens to love strawberry rhubarb pie! I seriously lucked out. Too jazzed that she loved the pie and even wanted to bake one with me. I wish we had gotten the chance to. Maybe next time though wink, wink.

These pictures aren't the most beautiful but I was working with my surroundings...aka camera phone, sue me.

 Strawberry rhubarb filling waiting to be mixed

Filling in rolled pie crust

Lattice being constructed. Under, over, under, over...

Not too shabby lattice with crimped edges

A juicy hot pie only a mother could love, fresh out of the oven. Begging to cool on the counter and not be cut open. Was definitely cut, couldn't help it!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Perfect Pie Crust: Recipe adapted from The Baker Chick

Ingredients:

 Pie Crust

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

1/4-1/2 cups ice water

Filling

3 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
3 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup tapioca flour (used as thickening agent, cornstarch may be substituted- different texture)
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces
heavy cream for brushing on top of crust
raw sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Crust

1. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and process for a few seconds to combine. 
2.  Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds.
3.  With the machine running, add the ice water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube, just until the dough holds together. Do not process for more than 30 seconds. 
4.  Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Divide in two. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap. 
5.  Flatten, and form two discs. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.

Pie

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a well-floured counter, roll half of pie dough into a 12-inch circle and transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. (I roll the crust over my rolling pin to help me move it to the pie dish.) 
2.  In a large bowl, combine the berries, rhubarb, sugars, lemon salt and tapioca flour. Pour the filling into the bottom crust. Dot with butter pieces. Roll out the top crust into a 12 inch circle, and either proceed with a lattice top, or a simple double crust. Seal the edges and crimp decoratively as desired. Brush the crust with the heavy cream and sprinkle with raw sugar. 
3.  Bake for 20 minutes at 400 and then reduce temp to 350 for another 25 minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly. 
4.  Let pie cool for several hours before cutting, the filling will only thicken as it cools. (hard to be patient I know.) To speed up the process a bit pop it in fridge for a couple hours. The pie can also be baked the night before serving.