Mixed Berry Pie

The berry season is winding down in these here parts, but I've been stocking up on the Michigan blueberries at the farmer's market the past couple of weeks and supplementing them with some rather lovely berries from the grocery store.

I decided it was time to do something with all those beautiful little pieces of fruit, and so last night I set about making a mixed berry pie.

After a quick online search for a tasty recipe, I settled on Cafe Hon's Mixed Berry Pie, from Food Network.


The result? Ooh la la. I'm in love. I think this crust may be a winner. It's much more flavorful than the last one I tried. I wonder if this is because it has butter in addition to the shortening. Or perhaps it's the fact that it relies on a food processor?

Either way, I made one heck of a mess in the process, as I overloaded the food processor at first. But still the crust came out delicious.

Perhaps the pie bird helped, too. This little black creature arrived at our house last year, a lovely little gift from Georgia given to me by Conservative Mom. I've been meaning to use it since then, but somehow with all the pie baking I do, I haven't remember to find a recipe with a full crust on top so I could try it out.

Until now.

Pie birds are popular with some Southern collectors, but they're also functional. You see, the little black bird has a hole in his mouth. He goes in the center of the pie before you load it with filling (in this case, berries).


Then, while the pie is baking, steam escapes out of that mouth so your crust doesn't get soggy.


How cool is that?

But now, back the pie. You're probably wondering about the berry filling. (I used a combo of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries.) All you really need to know about it is that it's divine.

Even Conservative Hubby said so, more than once. (Although, admittedly, he didn't actually say "divine." I'd hazard to guess that's not a word he's ever used.)

His praise means something, because Conservative Hubby does not heap on unnecessary praise. He's a man of few words, and more often than not says very little by way of compliments. So when he mentions that something is good more than once, it means he likes it.


And when he says he only wants a small piece of pie but then disappears into the kitchen to eat more straight of the pan, you know he really likes it.

If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.