Smitten Kitchen blogger Deb Perelman recently followed up her bestselling first cookbook with a second volume of recipes. At this appearance, the food personality discusses her approach with Sally Swift of the Splendid Table radio show/podcast, but we asked Perelman for some additional tips as we head into the holiday season. Here are three quick ideas for improving your pie game.
1. Round Is for Squares
Instead, make a “slab” pie using a rectangular sheet pan, which will give it a distinctive look—and produce a whole lot more pieces. “It just doesn’t cut it to have a little pie with only eight slices,” Perelman says. “No leftover pie for breakfast the next day? Absolutely not.”
2. Go Nuts
But make sure you prep them correctly. “I may sound like a crazy person, but you just have to toast your nuts. I want you to go a shade darker than seems okay—they get much crunchier and will hold their texture better.”
3. A Splash, Not a Glug
Of booze, that is. Perelman is especially fond of adding bourbon to her pecan-pie filling. “If you add a glug, it will overwhelm the pie. A tablespoon and a half is the perfect amount. You get the suggestion of it, but it’s not, like, a bourbon pie.”
Deb Perelman speaks at Sixth & I on November 2.
This article appears in the November 2017 issue of Washingtonian.
Former editorial fellow Erica Sloan is now an editorial assistant at Martha Stewart Weddings and Martha Stewart Living.
