Cranberry and Wild Blueberry Pie

So I decided to go in a different direction from the usual apple, pumpkin or pecan pie for Thanksgiving.  And boy am I glad I made this beauty!  I am not usually a blueberry pie fan but combined with the cranberries this was spot on.  DELICIOUS!  And I made both the crust and the filling the day before so all I had to do Thanksgiving morning was roll out the crust, dump in the fruit and bake it.  Easy as...well...pie.  Sorry.  Couldn't help myself.  So here we go.  

Bon Apetit November 2010

16 ounces frozen organic wild blueberries (do not thaw) (I used Wyman's because I didn't have enough of my own frozen - the Blueberry Bandit at them)

12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw; about 3 cups)

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

2 pie dough disks

heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2 

sugar

nutmeg

Combine all of the ingredients in large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and begins to boil, stirring occasionally, 12 to 14 minutes. Word of advice.  Don't wear white while making this.  You will have molten purple berry splatter.  Continue to boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer berry mixture to glass or ceramic dish and allow to cool completely.  Don't worry if it looks really soupy - I promise it does thicken up perfectly.  If you are going to make the whole pie in one day just make sure to let the filling cool before you pour it into the crust.  You don't want the heat from the berries to start to melt the butter in the crust.  Cover and refrigerate.  You can make this up to three days ahead.  You can also make the crust up to three days ahead.  I'll post the crust separately.  

 

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 400°F.  Roll out one dough disk between two pieces of parchment paper until it will fit in your pie pan, about 12 inches.  Transfer crust to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish trim off any excess crust.   Remove cinnamon sticks from filling, remember that you used TWO, spoon into crust.  Roll out second dough disk, between two pieces of parchment paper, until it is slightly larger than 12 inches.  Cut into 12 strips.

Begin in the center of the pie with the longest strips.  Weave them to form a lattice. Trim off excess dough from strips. Press dough strip ends to adhere to bottom crust edges. Fold edges of bottom crust up over strips, pinching to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Brush edges and lattice lightly with cream or 1/2 and 1/2 if you don't have any cream. Sprinkle lattice strips lightly with nutmeg and sugar.  If making a lattice crust has you a little frightened, and you don't want to fool around with it just go ahead and make this a regular double crust pie - just be sure to cut slits for the steam, or use a fun mini cookie cutter.  My Mum will sometimes use a little heart, star or leaf cookie cutter and then she decorates the top with the cut out pieces of crust.

 Place pie on rimmed baking sheet, to protect your oven from cranberry blueberry lava, and bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling thickly, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Watch your crust edges and if you need to make a foil shield to keep them from burning. Cool pie on rack. 

 The recipe said to make it no more than eight hours in advance.  I found that it was still delicious this morning and that the crust was still nice and crispy.  Warm it up in the oven before serving and don't forget the ice cream!