County Fair Recap
In very exciting news, two of my pies won! The Caramelized Onion Gruyere tart won 3rd place and my Coconut Cream Pie won 1st place! That two of my pies won was truly a surprise. While I tried hard to look at what went right with my pies, I am very critical of what I bake. Of course, seeing some of the flaws of the final pies, I just assumed that I wasn’t going to win. And, when we went to check the results and see if my pies were on display, the savory tart did have a 3rd place sticker on the label in the display case, so I knew that one had placed. But, the cream pie had been removed and the label was blank. I was a little surprised that it didn’t win anything because I did think it was the best of the three, but okay. Then, I went to pick up the judges’ comments and the guy came back and handed me a 1st place ribbon. Sure enough, the Coconut Cream Pie had won!
Pie Results
Here are the judges’ comments and also my thoughts on the pies:
Spiced Plum Pie
Appearance: Superior
Crust: Average
Filling: Good
Judge’s Comments: Crust is a little overdone on the edges. Bottom crust is more on the raw side, but it still tastes good. Filling is very good not too sweet. Flavors go well together. Beautiful presentation.
My Comments: I was disappointed this pie didn’t win anything because it’s probably one of the best fruit pies I’ve ever tasted, but I knew that a couple of things went wrong here, so this wasn’t too surprising. I think that I overfilled this one, leading to it needing to bake for a long time. Obviously, that resulted in edges that were slightly overdone. I’m a little surprised they found the bottom crust underdone because I parbaked it for a bit longer than usual. I know what went wrong here and would definitely submit it again next year.
Caramelized Onion Gruyere Tart
Appearance: Good
Crust: Good
Filling: Superior
Judge’s Comments: Great blend of flavors. Blends well together. Nothing overpowering. Please continue to enter great items.
My Comments: I agree with the judge. I think the crust would have been superior, but the edges were a little brown. I haven’t mastered the pie crust in the tart pan yet. This is such a good tart; I’m not surprised that it placed. It’s been a huge hit with everyone I have made it for.
Coconut Cream Pie
Appearance: Superior
Crust: Superior
Filling: Good
Judge’s Comments: Crust is perfect, taste like puff pastry. The coconut flavor is not overpowering. This is amazing.
My comments: I wish the judge had said something about why the filling was good but not superior. I will refrain from channeling my inner Sookie and tracking down the judge to find out what she was thinking or bring her an updated filling (Gilmore Girls fans get it). This is just an amazing classic pie and I had never even had Coconut Cream pie before I made it for Mother’s Day and, if you read my entry post, it was totally a last-minute decision to enter it. The only reason I did is because after making it for Mother’s Day, my stepmom asked me to make it for another family gathering. Everyone who had it at both raved about it and my sister-in-law (who loves coconut cream pie) told me I should enter it. Also, the comment about the crust is extremely high praise.
Credit Where Credit is Due
As I have said previously, I am not a recipe developer. I love finding recipes that speak to me and making them. If you want to make any of these, here’s where you can find the recipes:
All three crusts are Erin Jeanne McDowell’s All Buttah Pie Dough
Spiced Plum Pie - Erin Jeanne McDowell’s Book on Pie
It’s made almost exactly as written, but I did put a grate of fresh nutmeg in the filling.
Caramelized Onion Gruyere Tart - Erin Jeanne McDowell’s Savory Baking
I made a few tweaks to the recipe. In the onions, I just used oil, no butter and used sherry vinegar instead of apple brandy. This is a combination of Alton Brown and Erin’s caramelized onions methods and recipes. In the custard, I added a tablespoon of dijon mustard.
Coconut Cream Pie - Serious Eats
I made the filling exactly as written. A tiny deviation is that I used shredded coconut on the top instead of flakes. This is because I prefer the texture and think it’s prettier.
Up Next
I have two recipes that I can’t get out of my head, so I think I need to make them, one is a pie and one is a cookie.
And of course, if you happen to be somewhere that I bring the coconut cream pie or the savory tart, I will hereafter refer to those as my award-winning pies.