Bird in a Pie

Today I tried 3 new things in one pie. I tried a new, supposedly low fat pie crust, I tried my new pretty green pie plate and I tried my new pie bird.

First the pie crust. I’m not sure how it could be low fat because it is made with butter and cream cheese instead of shortening. It was hard to work with until I added a lot more water than it called for. But the taste wasn’t bad. I prefer the texture of a shortening crust because it’s more flaky than crumbly, but for a crumbly crust, it was passable. I may try this again and tweak the recipe. Here is the original from Health magazine (November 2010) for your testing pleasure:

Low Fat Pie Crust  
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons block-style, reduced-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup very cold water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Second, the pie plate. I am maxed out on space in my kitchen.  But when I saw this pretty dish, I knew I could make room for one more pie pan. 

Third, the pie bird.  When I first heard of pie birds, I was browsing a Country Living magazine. They had a selection of several pretty birds.  It took me awhile to understand that the birds are a method for releasing steam from a double crust pie and that when they do, they make a whistling sound. I ordered the cheapest one I could find and tried it out. My mistake (which forces me to try again) was not sealing the crust sufficiently so the steam came out in many places, not just the bird’s yellow beak. But, amazingly enough, I heard a whistle! I must try this again. Here is a link to the site where I bought my sweet black bird:  http://www.cheftools.com/Norpro-Ceramic-Pie-Bird/productinfo/02-3218/

-Quenta