Blueberry Pie

Apparently the cooking gods wanted me to play with blueberries this weekend.

First, Chef taught us about mini blueberry tarts at last week's class at Let's Cook, then one of C's co-workers sent him home with a gallon size ziplock bag filled to the top of fresh picked berries.

Don't you love when a plan comes together.

Prepped and ready for the oven...


Ingredients:
Homemade or pre-packaged pie dough (top & bottom crust)

Filling:
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
dash vanilla extract
6 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

Topping:
Milk or half & half
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Served a la mode. We couldn't wait for the pie to fully cool to dive in, so the juices didn't have time to thicken. Who can wait?


INSTRUCTIONS

Prep Pan -- Line a 9 inch pie pan with the bottom pastry. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate pie shell until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Prepare Filling:
In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg; stir to combine. Add the blueberries and toss to coat them with the sugar mixture. Let the filling sit for 5 to 10 minutes to let the berry juice develop and the cornstarch dissolve.

Assemble Pie:
Spoon the blueberry mixture into the chilled pie shell, mounding the berries slightly in the center. Add top crust, cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes to chill.

While pie is refrigerating, preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Remove pie from refrigerator. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the pie rim and stars with milk or half and half cream. Sprinkle with sugar.

Line a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Place pie on the baking sheet and transfer to the oven.

Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 degrees F. Bake an additional 40 to 50 minutes, or until the juices are thick and bubbling and the crust is a golden brown.