Pies and Prejudice (35 page)

Ella Mae read the message, but the word was foreign to her. She didn’t even know how to pronounce it, let alone decipher its meaning.

“Draíocht.”
The rest of the women spoke in unison, their voices hushed and reverent.

Ella Mae searched their faces, noticing how timeless they suddenly appeared and how the sun had formed soft halos around the crowns of their heads. “What does it mean?”

“It’s the Gaelic word for magic,” her mother replied, taking her daughter’s hand. “That is what you are, Ella Mae. You are Other. You are magical.”

On the ground, the butterflies were trembling and Ella Mae no longer wished to make them prisoners of her desire. She glanced over her shoulder at Verena, Dee, Sissy, and Reba, noting the flush of pride and happiness reflected in their eyes. She didn’t need magic to know that they’d been waiting for this moment for years.

Dozens of other questions fought one another in her
mind, but Ella Mae shoved them aside. She inhaled, drawing the signature of roses and sunshine into her body and spread her arms wide.

Something had broken free inside of her and she felt a giddy sense of elation. Her gaze rose to the blue hills beyond the lake and the part of her that had just been awakened yearned to seek the heart of the forest, but there would be time for that later.

For now, she wanted to celebrate. Standing in an ocean of blooms, encircled by the love of five extraordinary women, Ella Mae believed she was the luckiest girl in Georgia. She felt reborn. The magic that had been lying dormant inside of her until the past few weeks now sang through her blood. Every sense was heightened. It was like no feeling she’d ever known and she could not stop smiling with the joy of it.

Ella Mae looked down at the butterflies, glistening like jewels at her feet.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her heart rising as the insects began to flutter their wings. “Now fly.”

En masse, the butterflies rocketed into the summer sky and hung suspended for several seconds—a rainbow of sparkling confetti. Ella Mae watched them, knowing that her future was much like the swirl of colorful creatures. Fragile. Unpredictable. And utterly amazing.

Charmed Piecrust

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal and you have pea-sized pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture begins to clump together. Put some dough between your fingers. If it holds together, it’s ready. If it falls apart, you need a little more water. You’ll see bits of butter in the dough. This is a good thing, as it will give you a nice, flaky crust.

Mound dough and place on a clean surface. Gently shape into 2 discs of equal size. Do not overknead. Sprinkle a little flour around the discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Remove first crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes or until soft enough to roll. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle (Ella Mae uses a pie mat to help with measurements). Gently transfer into a 9-inch pie plate. Carefully press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Use kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish.

Roll out second disk of dough and place on top of the pie filling. Pinch top and bottom of dough firmly together. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving about an inch of overhang. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough, pressing together. Flute edges by pinching with thumb and forefinger. Remember to score the center of the top crust with a few small cuts so that steam can escape.

Charmed Egg Wash

To achieve a golden brown color for your crust, brush the surface with this egg wash before placing pie in oven.

Note—if you’re short on time and decide to use the premade piecrusts found in your grocery store’s dairy section, then use the egg wash on the crusts to give them a homemade flavor.

Charmed Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

(makes two pies)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool slightly. In a large bowl blend eggs, bourbon, and vanilla. Mix well. Slowly pour sugar mixture into egg mixture, whisking constantly. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Pour mixture into pie shells. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until you spot a lovely golden bark.

Charmed Banana Puddin’ Pie

Transfer dough to a 9-inch pie dish. Trim and flute the edge. Using a fork, pierce the dough several times, then line with aluminum foil and freeze for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place the dough-lined pan on a baking sheet and fill the foil with pie weights. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool and then remove the foil and weights.

Pour cold water into a small bowl and add gelatin. Let gelatin firm up for about 10 minutes. Next, pour milk into a medium saucepan and warm over low-medium heat until hot (about 10 minutes) but don’t allow it to boil. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar. Add cornstarch and salt and blend until there are no lumps. Gradually add the hot milk to the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Add the gelatin to the mix and blend thoroughly. Return entire mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and immediately add vanilla.

Line the banana slices along the cooled piecrust and then spread the custard on top. Put a piece of plastic wrap directly
onto the surface of the filling, piercing the plastic a few times with a knife. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.

To make the whipped topping, place a large stainless steel bowl and blender beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes. Remove from freezer and add cream, rum, vanilla, and sugar into chilled bowl. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Spread the topping over chilled pie and garnish with chocolate shavings.

Sandra Gregoire’s Charmed “Customer of the Week” Lime Pie

Whisk together the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and lime juice. Add food coloring, if desired. Pour into crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. When cool, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Place a large stainless steel bowl and blender beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes. Beat whipping cream in chilled bowl at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. (Note: Start slowly and increase speed in increments over several seconds.)

Gradually add sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Spread whipped cream over well-chilled pie or pipe on with a cake decorator. Garnish with fresh or candied lime slices.

Charmed Shoofly Pie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Make Charmed Piecrust. Roll out crust and place on bottom of 9-inch pie dish (Ella Mae recommends a glass pie dish for this pie). Trim off extra dough and pinch sides of dough.

Mix together first three ingredients until butter is integrated (using the pulse button on a food processor works nicely). Reserve ½ cup of crumb mixture.

Add molasses, beaten egg, and baking soda into mixture. Then add boiling water and mix well. Pour the filling into pie dish. Scatter reserved crumb mixture evenly atop pie.

Bake for 18 minutes, then lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 20 minutes until the crust is golden and center of pie is only a bit wobbly. Cool for 1 hour.
This pie is very rich and Ella Mae recommends that you serve it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Charmed Pancetta and Gruyère Tart

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan.

Place piecrust in the tart pan. Carefully press crust into the bottom and sides of the pan. Trim excess crust using kitchen scissors. With the tines of a fork, prick the pastry a few times. Using a pastry brush, coat the crust with Charmed Egg Wash. Put the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until the egg wash has set. Allow the crust to cool.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil. Add the pancetta and cook until brown and crispy (like regular bacon). This will take 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate covered with a layer of paper towels. Let drain.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the beaten eggs, mascarpone cheese, Gruyère cheese, green onions, pepper, and pancetta. Mix gently. Pour filling into the piecrust and bake until the mixture has set and the top has a nice, golden bark—18 to 20 minutes. Cool tart for 15 minutes before removing from tart pan.