Pear Pie

This was destined to be a 'miss' from the get-go. I learned something interesting about myself as I made this pie. I love pie, and even more, I love a good pie crust. But I absolutely detest, abhor, despise, fill in your own blank here, making the crust. So I cop out and buy them from the store. They aren't great, but I don't have to make them.
So I start making the pie and the first thing I do is take the store-bought pie crust out of the fridge and start rolling it out. You know what happened, don't you? It completely fell apart...in pieces... And I almost bailed right then and there. Remember what my wife does for a living? Right - she's a baker. So she had me read the instructions on the box - Duh! - and lo and behold, it says right there 'bring to room temperature before rolling out.' Double Duh!
We tried another crust but this time we brought it to room temp. Trouble is, I also learned that these thin pie crusts tend to burn in the oven (and it did), so my wife doubled up the crust for me. She's very good to me. The crust didn't burn too badly, and we saved it a little with some aluminum foil.
At that point, I had decided I was done making pies. Never again. I love them, but I will buy them, because I HATE making them. And then I made this one. And it was good. Very good. So I eat my words, and now claim that I will never make a pie crust, but as long as someone else will make it, roll it, crimp it, and whatever else needs to be done, I will make pies. This pie was a big hit at Easter (yes, I got a lot of 'He made this? Really??) and I think it would be fine any time of year.
Frankly, it felt and nearly tasted like an apple pie. But there was strong hints of pear in the flavor that really set it apart. It ended up being the hit of the day, and even my tiny niece who rarely eats anything had two pieces. So I guess I'll make it again. The pear mixture was easy to make and I used Bartlett pears. There were plenty of others to choose from at the store, but they seemed safe. The mixture ended up being nice and juice, and the cornmeal crumble on top had a nice twist to it - a change from the usual crumble recipe.
All in all, this was a big hit (again, with the caveat of the crust thing). I didn't capture a picture, as I expected this to be a one and done item, but I'm sorry I didn't. I'll post the recipe here (found at Relish Magazine, I think as part of a fall or Thanksgiving menu - who knew it would fit so well at Easter!)
Score:
Hits - 5
Misses - 6
Pear Pie with Cornmeal Crumble
1 9-inch unbaked pie crust
Crumble:
1/2 cup flour
3 Tbs. cornmeal
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Pear Filling:
2 pounds firm pears (I used 5 pears) peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (about 7 cups)
2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbs. cornstarch
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1.5 tsp. grated ginger
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Bake pie crust 10 min. Remove and cool. Note - this nearly burned the store-bought crust and added an extra half hour to my prep time. Plan ahead for this phase, and you might want to undercook this step a bit.
3. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or your finders until large crumbs form.
4. In a different bowl, combine pears, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and ginger. Spoon into pie crust, then top with crumble.
5. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake an additional 35 minutes or until crumbs are golden brown.