Pie Lady -- Some People Flourish In The Kitchen; She Does It With Real Crust

NOW YOU'VE DONE IT. Swept up in sentiment, visions of fabulous family feasts dancing in your head, you've agreed to bring the dessert to this year's Yuletide gathering.

Never mind that you still have six presents to buy, that Aunt Hilda is arriving tomorrow, that your house looks more like something out of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" than "It's a Wonderful Life."

Never mind that you haven't baked anything in a year, or that each loved one has filled your head with a different idea of what would make the perfect holiday treat.

You're stuck now. Strung up on a tinsel noose of your own making.

What to do?

Come to the Pie Lady, of course.

While they're not a large breed, there are plenty of pie ladies around. They're the ones who inevitably show up at dinner parties bearing some scrumptious-looking concoction guaranteed to make your mouth water and your thighs expand. They're also the ones who tell all their disbelieving friends that anybody, absolutely anybody, can make a good crust.

More on that in a minute. Suffice it to say for now that, in my circle of family and friends, I'm the reigning Pie Lady.

Actually, I'm heir to the title. The rightful queen is my mother, Marian, who taught me most of what I know, and helped me appreciate the fun of cooking up something that everyone enjoys.

So when I agreed to write about holiday foods, the first thing I did was call up MY Pie Lady and ask her advice.

Pretty quickly, we decided that what you'd want from us is a couple of ideas for fixing something that's quick, easy, and sure to make you look like the party genius you know you really are.

We searched our rather vast files and came up with two desserts we think will get you what you need. They'll even work for you Pie Ladies and Pie Guys out there who are feeling trapped in a tradition. (Ever since college, I've been expected to bring banana cream. When I showed up at a friend's with a lovely peanut-butter pie one night, I nearly got sent home to do it over.)

We start with a few words about the dreaded crust. I say "dreaded" because the simple mixing of a bit of flour, shortening and water seems to terrify more good cooks than any other thing. Some of the best cooks I know - people who can even make something hard, like good bernaise - insist they just can't get a crust to turn out flaky. I understand the fear. I've eaten a lot of soggy crusts, and even more leaden ones. But really, it isn't hard to do it right. Realizing, though, that nothing I can say will completely convince you, I'll just offer a few tips and a couple of recipes that come as close to fool-proof as I can get.

First, the tips:

- Always use ice-cold water, and as little as possible, in mixing your dough.

- After you've added the water, handle the dough just enough to get it into a ball. The more you fool with it, the tougher it'll get.

- Chill the dough for at least 15 minutes before you roll it out.

- To keep the dough from sticking to your rolling pin, cover it with a sleeve of cheesecloth, lightly dusted with flour.

- Don't worry about creating a perfect circle that hangs smoothly together as you put it in the pan. Roll the dough only as much as is necessary to make a nice edge (about 2 inches wider than your pan); fold it in half to transfer it; and if it falls apart in the process, just pick up the pieces and lightly tap them back into place. Remember: The secret to flaky crust is to be generous with the shortening and stingy with the fussing.

- Once the dough is in the pan, press your pointer fingers all the way around the sides to create an even, fluted edge. Or, cheat and use a pan that has fluted sides.

As for the recipes, the first is pretty basic stuff, with a built-in advantage-booster: enough butter to virtually guarantee a crust that is as flaky as it is flavorful. The second - made primarily of almonds - is for those who are either too scared to make a regular crust or too bored to keep making the same thing.

The fillings also offer a choice: one rather traditional holiday pie - the pecan - and one not so traditional - the lemony cream-cheese.

Both should come with a warning label: They're way too rich to serve in normal pie-slices. A sliver will do nicely - and stretch well for bigger crowds. Both will easily serve eight.

Both pies are also special to me. The pecan, because it's a family thing: My mom found the recipe, and it comes from Ohio, where my husband grew up. The cheesecake, because it's my thing: I combined features from a couple of recipes to create something unique.

Now, it's your turn. And who knows? This just could be the start of another tradition.

Kathleen Triesch Saul is an editor at The Seattle Times. Barry Wong is a Times photographer.

----------------------------------------- LEMONY CREAM-CHEESE PIE WITH ALMOND CRUST ----------------------------------------- 8 servings

CRUST: 2 cups almonds, finely ground. 1/3 cup sugar. 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. scant 1/3 cup butter, melted.

FILLING: 14 ounces cream cheese, softened. 1 cup sour cream. 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (this makes a tart filling; use less if you prefer). 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted. 1 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced, for garnish. 1/2 cup pitted cherries, raspberries or strawberries, rinsed and drained, for garnish.

1. To prepare crust: Combine all ingredients and pat into 9-inch pie pan. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 8 minutes, or until the shell is lightly browned. (If the top edges are brown, but the rest isn't quite there, lightly cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil and continue baking a few more minutes.) Set aside and cool. The shell can be made ahead, but be sure to cover it thoroughly until you fill it. When filled and ready for chilling, the pie should be carefully wrapped to keep out refrigerator odors and prevent the crust from becoming soggy. 2. To prepare filling: Beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, lemon peel and juice and powdered sugar with a mixer, until smooth. 3. Pour into cooled pie shell, chill at least two hours before serving. Garnish with slices of kiwi fruit and your favorite berries, rinsed and well drained. Note: If you don't like nuts, or are allergic to them, you can put this filling in a baked buttery crust, or even a standard graham-cracker crust. Serving suggestion: Before garnishing with fruit, cover the filling with a thin layer of heavy cream, whipped with 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. (Idea from "The Joy of Eating" by Renny Darling.)

----------------------------- PECAN CHOCOLATE-CHIP MELT PIE ----------------------------- 8 servings

CRUST: 2 cups flour. 1/2 teaspoon salt. 1 1/2 sticks ( 3/4 cup) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into tablespoon-size pieces. 3 tablespoons shortening or margarine, chilled. 1/4 cup ice water.

FILLING: 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips. 3/4 cup chopped pecans (walnuts or macadamia nuts work well, too). 3 large eggs, beaten. 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar. 3/4 cup granulated sugar. 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted. 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. 1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell.

1. To prepare the crust: In a large bowl, sift the flour and salt. Add the chilled butter and shortening bits to the flour. With a pastry blender or two knives, work the flour and shortening together until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water little by little, pressing the pastry together in a ball. Wrap and chill for 1 hour before rolling out on a floured board. 2. To prepare the filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 3. In a large bowl, mix together the chocolate chips, nuts and eggs. Add the sugars, butter and flour. Stir in the vanilla. 4. Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell and place the pie on a baking sheet. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned and the filling is slightly bubbling. Serving suggestion: Serve warm, with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. (Crust from "Entertaining" by Mary Stuart. Filling from "Mary Emmerling's American Country Cooking.")