The pie that beat out 18 contenders. Photo by Kimberly McKittrick
Pham-Duy Nguyen (prounounced fam-ZWEE win) baked her first pie in 1996, when she hosted her first Thanksgiving dinner. Her annual pie output is six — usually two pecan, two pumpkin, and two apple pies — all produced in a three-day flurry of baking for the November feast. She lives on the east side of Queen Anne Hill with her son, Geddy, a kindergartner at John Hay, her five-month daughter Zenobie, her obliging husband Rob, and her wonderful parents Hao and Chu.
Pham-Duy Nguyen and son Geddy admire her ribbon. Photo by Kimberly McKittrick
Why 3 a.m.? Why Black Strap? Why Peaches?
“A new friend I met at the QA Farmers Market suggested I re-name the pie 3 a.m. because that’s when I woke up to bake the pie Thursday morning (I work New York hours and had to be at my desk by 5 a.m.) I used Black Strap rum for its molasses flavor and paired it with a lime instead of a lemon because it conjures up my favorite drink – a rum and Coke. Many thanks to the nice lady at Tiny’s Organics, who chose my peaches for me.”
INGREDIENTS
Pie Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and frozen
6-10 tablespoons ice water
Pie Filling:
3-4 pounds peaches
2/3 to 1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon Black Strap rum
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Cream and turbinado sugar (optional)
PREPARATION
For crust: Put 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in food processor and give it a whir. Add 10 tablespoons of butter and pulse until granules form. Pour in 3 to 5 tablespoons of ice water and process until the dough comes together. Flatten dough into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make top crust.
For filling: Bring a pot of water to boil. Set aside a bowl of ice water. Score the peaches at the bottom and drop two to three peaches at a time into boiling water. Cook peaches for a minute and then plunge them into ice water. Using a paring knife, skin the peaches. Cut each peach into eight wedges. Add brown sugar, salt, lime juice, and rum and let peaches macerate for 20 minutes. In a saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. When butter ceases to foam, add the peaches only. Save the juice for later. Saute peaches for three minutes and then add the juice. Stew peaches for 15 to 20 minutes or until almost all of the juices have evaporated. Mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into a spoon of juice and then stir the mixture into the peach stew. Cool and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll out the bottom crust and press into a pie pan. Refrigerate bottom crust while rolling out remaining dough to make a lattice top. Spread filling into pie, form lattice, brush top with cream and sprinkle a bit of turbinado sugar if you wish. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn oven down to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow the pie to cool for at least 3 hours before indulging.
The winning slice. Photo by Kimberly McKittrick
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