Free Bobby Flay's Throwdown! by Bobby Flay Page A

our car. Janet and Ally were shocked by my Throwdown challenge (not so shocked that they didn’t make me try on a pie hat, though), but quickly regained their composure. The next thing you knew, those two sweet ladies turned into killer competition, stealing my flour and making fun of my pie-rolling technique. They told me that my pie was good, but they couldn’t see waking up in the middle of the night to eat it.
    Rockland’s Mayor Brian Harden and Melanie Omlor, the owner of Helen’s Restaurant, which is famous for its pies, judged our pies on presentation, overall taste, and crust. They thought our filling was thickened to just the right consistency and that both the top and bottom crusts were perfectly baked through. The mayor and Melanie loved the look of the Pie Moms’ pie, and while they thought that the filling was sweetened perfectly, it wasn’t thick enough and ran all over the plate. The winner of this Throwdown? Uh-oh, it was me.
    The first thing I thought after winning was “My mother is going to kill me,” and sure enough, I got an earful from her when the episode aired. I’m not sure how I did it, but I do know that I’d eat one of Janet and Ally’s fine pies any day.
     

     

Bobby Flay’s
Peach-Blackberry Pie
    MAKES 1 (9-INCH) PIE
    Crust
    2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
    2 tablespoons granulated sugar
    ½ teaspoon fine salt
    10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, cold
    ½ cup solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces, cold
    Filling
    1 pint fresh blackberries
    2 tablespoons blackberry liqueur
    5 cups peeled, pitted, and (½-inch-thick) sliced ripe peaches (about 8)
    ⅓ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
    ⅓ cup granulated sugar
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1 teaspoon ground ginger
    ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    3 tablespoons peach brandy
    ¼ cup cornstarch or tapioca
    2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, cold
    ¼ cup heavy cream
    3 tablespoons turbinado sugar, such as Sugar in the Raw
    1.
To make the crust,
put the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter and shortening on top, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ¼ cup ice-cold water and pulse until the dough just comes together. (You can add up to 3 tablespoons additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed.) Remove the dough from the machine and lightly knead it on a lightly floured flat surface until it just comes together. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
    2. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
    3.
To make the filling,
put the blackberries in a small bowl, add the blackberry liqueur, and toss gently to coat. Let sit for 5 minutes.
    4. Combine the peaches, both sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, peach brandy, and cornstarch in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Let sit for 10 minutes. Fold in the blackberries just before adding the filling to the pie.
    5. Divide the dough in half and roll each half out on a lightly floured surface to a 13- to 14-inch round. Transfer one of the rounds to a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Using a slotted spoon, spoon the fruit mixture into the crust. Add some of the juices that have accumulated in the bowl. Scatter the butter over the filling. Roll up the remaining dough on your rolling pin, and unroll it atop the fruit mixture. Trim the edges of both crusts to a ¾-inch overhang. Fold the edges over, pressing to seal. Crimp the edges. Cut 6 slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush the top of the pie with the cream, and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.
    6. Put the pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake on the bottom rack of the oven until the crust is golden and the juices are bubbling thickly through the slits, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. (Cover the edges of the crust with foil if browning too quickly.)
    7. Let the pie cool for at least 3 hours before serving.
     

     
Janet and