Something I have loved about Villa Tronco is the avoidance of waste. We always save egg yolks when making our egg wash from egg whites because the yolks are used in parmiagiana. We always save the butts of fresh mozzarella because we can grind it up later and use it in, say, ravioli filling or on a special, etc. There are always uses for everything and rarely is something thrown in the garbage (even containers).
So in the spirit of Villa Tronco, and of trying to learn to throw out less in my own house, I am making a pie out of Blackberry Compote that I saved from the Masters. Traditionally, compotes are fruit preserves canned in a liquor. Nowadays, "compote" can refer to any 'ol jam or preserve made with a brandy or other liqueur. I rolled out a pie crust, filled it with compote, and cut strips of my second sheet of pie crust to make a lattice top. My only problem: I don't own a pie plate. We'll be cutting slices out of a cake pan!
Chef Tim's Blackberry Compote
Fresh blackberries
Sugar
a little lemon juice
Brandy
Boil berries, sugar, brandy and lemon until thickened! Serve with belgian waffles, or toast, or hey! make a pie.
No Shortening Pie Crust (click link)
I did brush some sugar & vanilla water on the crust because it had been sitting in my fridge for 2 days and it tasted a little bland. We will see what happens!
My dear friend Emily had this apron made for me (as well as one for my roommate) out of some of her favorite fabric she picked out while living in Rwanda the last 3 months. Em, this pic is for you! You can read about her heart and her adventures in Rwanda here.
