Seasonal Pantry: A real peach and her pie

There’s a new girl in town and what a treasure she is, a real peach, you might say if you were from the south.

I first came across Stephanie Rosenbaum when she was a restaurant critic for the San Francisco Bay Guardian. I was reviewing restaurants at the time and felt a resonance, a kinship, with her. I still do. Her reviews made me laugh out loud, and the memory of them still makes me smile.

We eventually met, and when her book “Honey From Flower To Table” (Chronicle Books, 2002) was published, she was a guest on my radio show.

She has since written five more books and has returned to the show on several occasions.

Rosenbaum is a talented and engaging writer, an editor, a great baker and cook, and her way with pie has gotten her the casual title of Pie Queen. She writes for “Bay Area Bites,” a blog at kqed.org, and she has an adorable collection of vintage aprons, which she is not afraid to wear.

This spring, Rosenbaum married Tom Klassen, a winemaker who lives in Windsor, and moved north from San Francisco. You can read the tale of their brief courtship, City Hall wedding and Zuni Cafe reception in the New York Times; search for “Finding Each Other, Midlife” (March 21, 2014).

Now she is ours, at least a bit. She travels to San Francisco several times a week, where she works with a group of professional writers, but you’ll see her at several local farmers markets each week.

A couple of weeks ago, she was at Shed in Healdsburg, demonstrating her mother’s spiced peach pie and offering samples.

The demonstration was just in time for local peach season. Dry Creek Peach and Produce’s season is in full swing. The farm store, located at 2179 Yoakim Bridge Road, Healdsburg, is open from noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday through mid-September. They are currently in the midst of Arctic Gem’s season; it is the single most delicious peach I have ever tasted. For more information, visit drycreekpeach.com or call 433-8121. (For peach recipes from the Seasonal Pantry archives, visit “Eat This Now” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.)

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Peaches for this pie should be ripe but not mushy or slushy; they should be firm enough to slice evenly. A ripe peach will be easy to peel simply by tugging at the skin, though if the peaches are organic, it is not necessary to do so; it is up to you. Stephanie’s favorite peaches are from, you guessed it, Dry Creek Peach and Produce.

Stephanie Rosenbaum Klassen’s Spiced Peach Pie

Makes 1

For the crust

2½ cups all-purpose flour or whole-wheat pastry flour, such as Bolero soft-wheat flour

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt

8 ounce butter, preferably “European style” high-butterfat, very cold (see Note below)

6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

For the filling

3½ pounds ripe peaches, pitted and sliced (½-inch thick)

½ cup raisins

2 tablespoons instant tapioca, such as Minute brand

½ cup sugar, preferably raw

½ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 tablespoon amaretto, optional

To finish

1 tablespoon milk or cream

2 teaspoon sugar

To make crust, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate very cold butter into flour mixture. Stop every so often and toss the grated butter with the flour mixture, coating it with flour to prevent clumping. When all the butter is grated, toss lightly and break up any clumps with your fingers.

Add 4 tablespoons water (no ice!) and mix lightly with a fork. Continue to add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing very quickly and lightly, until a handful of dough will just hold together when you squeeze it. Stop before dough gets gummy or wet; it’s better to leave it a little dry, as the flour will continue to hydrate as it rests. Divide dough into 2 rounds. Wrap tightly in wax paper or plastic wrap or seal in a resealable plastic bag. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (or 375 degrees for a convection oven). Set a baking sheet on the lowest rack in the oven.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out a round of dough into a circle just a couple inches larger than your pie pan. After every few rolls, gently lift the dough to make sure it’s not sticking. Use an metal spatula to loosen the dough if necessary. Drape dough over the pie pan and press in gently. Trim edges and cover with waxed paper or plastic wrap. Chill while you make the filling and roll out top crust.

Put the sliced peaches into a large bowl, add the tapioca and set aside.

Roll out the second piece of dough as described above. Use a knife or a pastry wheel to cut long strips 1- to ½-inches wide.

Working quickly, stir the sugar, allspice, clove and amaretto, if using, into the peaches. Taste and correct for balance; you want to just taste the spices without overwhelming the flavor of the sweet peaches.

Spoon filling into the bottom crust.

To weave your lattice, lay the longest of the strips vertically across the center of the pie. Lay another long strip horizontally across it. Lay another long strip to the right of the first vertical strip. Lay down another horizontal strip, weaving it under the center vertical strip. Continue to alternate vertical and horizontal strips, lifting strips as necessary to weave strips in an under-and-over pattern. When the lattice is complete, trim any excess overhang. Pinch the edges of the top and bottom crust together to seal.

Using a pastry brush, brush top crust lightly with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar.

Set the pie on the baking sheet and cook until the pastry is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbly.

Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 2 hours before serving. If you try to cut a very hot pie, all the juices will rush out and you’ll burn your tongue and be disappointed by the wet mess on your plate. Letting it cool allows the bubbling juices to calm down, thicken and settle back into the fruit.

Serve warm or at room temperature, neat or with vanilla or caramel ice cream.

Note: For the best results, use Straus Family Creamery Organic European-style Butter, McClelland Dairy Organic Butter or a similar local butter. To keep it from melting while you grate it, put it into the freezer for 10 minutes immediately before using it.

Michele Anna Jordan has written 17 books to date, including “Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings.” You’ll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. Email Jordan at michele@saladdresser.com.