I think the Peach Raspberry might be my new favorite. I love that the peaches maintain their structural integrity, and they work so well with the tart raspberries. The pecan crumble is easily the best I've ever had.

shorty wrote:Paula Haney has released a new cookbook: The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie: Recipes, Techniques, and Wisdom from the Hoosier Mama Pie Company.

Love Hoosier Mama, love Paula Haney's just released The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie

G Wiv wrote:

shorty wrote:Paula Haney has released a new cookbook: The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie: Recipes, Techniques, and Wisdom from the Hoosier Mama Pie Company.

Love Hoosier Mama, love Paula Haney's just released The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie

I tried the pie crust recipe from this book, as it was re-printed in the Tribune. The method was interesting, and used the food processor-- first, cold butter is pulsed into the flour (sugar, salt) until it looks like coarse meal. Then, frozen butter is pulsed in until it is in pea-sized hunks. I haven't seen another recipe with the two-stage incorporation of the fat. In my hands, it worked very well.

The liquid is cold water with a dash of red wine vinegar, as the acid inhibits gluten formation. It's a good recipe-- the dough is easy to handle and the baked crust is tender and flaky, with good butter flavor. I found the baked crust a bit soft, but very tasty. Not sure how it compares to the pies in the shop, as I am too cheap to buy pies! I'll make this crust again-- maybe with some lard next time, and definitely with better butter (all I had on hand was Costco house brand).

Based on this recipe, the cookbook should be a winner (and I'm not too cheap to buy a good cookbook!). The instructions (even as excerpted) were thorough and informative.

Cheers, Jen

Pie-love wrote:

G Wiv wrote:

shorty wrote:Paula Haney has released a new cookbook: The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie: Recipes, Techniques, and Wisdom from the Hoosier Mama Pie Company.

Love Hoosier Mama, love Paula Haney's just released The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie

I tried the pie crust recipe from this book, as it was re-printed in the Tribune. The method was interesting, and used the food processor-- first, cold butter is pulsed into the flour (sugar, salt) until it looks like coarse meal. Then, frozen butter is pulsed in until it is in pea-sized hunks. I haven't seen another recipe with the two-stage incorporation of the fat. In my hands, it worked very well.

The liquid is cold water with a dash of red wine vinegar, as the acid inhibits gluten formation. It's a good recipe-- the dough is easy to handle and the baked crust is tender and flaky, with good butter flavor. I found the baked crust a bit soft, but very tasty. Not sure how it compares to the pies in the shop, as I am too cheap to buy pies! I'll make this crust again-- maybe with some lard next time, and definitely with better butter (all I had on hand was Costco house brand).

Based on this recipe, the cookbook should be a winner (and I'm not too cheap to buy a good cookbook!). The instructions (even as excerpted) were thorough and informative.

Cheers, Jen

The recipe, including the two different treatments of the butter, is extremely close to the recipe/technique suggested by Rose Levy Beranbaum in The Pie and Pastry Bible.

BR wrote:The recipe, including the two different treatments of the butter, is extremely close to the recipe/technique suggested by Rose Levy Beranbaum in The Pie and Pastry Bible.

Thanks, I had forgotten that RLB used that technique-- credit where credit's due!

Jen

I went to her demo at the GCM, and she talked about the dough will set differently based on things like the ambient temperature and humidity, and the importance of resting before baking. I'm a terrible baker who's long ago given up on making dough, but it was fun watching her enumerate, unprompted, just about every single thing I've ever gotten wrong while trying to make a pie crust.

She's also super nice and recognized me from the shop when I went to get a book signed. Which is really awesome, but also a clear indicator that I'm eating way too much pie.

Her book is beautiful. Something I already feel like gifting to every baker friend I know.

Any intel on when they are taking Thanksgiving orders? Tomorrow? I'm getting nervous already. My only job for Thanksgiving this year is HMPC pies. I already see that they don't have the little sausage pies by the dozen on the website any more.

nicinchic wrote:Any intel on when they are taking Thanksgiving orders? Tomorrow? I'm getting nervous already. My only job for Thanksgiving this year is HMPC pies. I already see that they don't have the little sausage pies by the dozen on the website any more.

For the Chicago store, you are correct, October 1st. They will not take orders for the Evanston store until they are open. I asked Paula last Saturday after her awesome lecture and demonstration and pie sampling by Culinary Historians at Kendall.

Yippee! Pies ordered. They wouldn't let me pay for them, so that made me nervous, with no confirmation number, hopefully they send me an email. Also, the sausage hand pies are not on the website, but they do have them. In fact, the website isn't working correctly, and you do need to call. Some of the pies listed, such as blueberry are not available next month.

Paula's cranberry pie was a big hit with my 10 year old today. I was afraid it might be too sophisticated for him, with the cranberries being accented with what I would describe as Christmas spices or mulling spices. But I think when the elements come together as well as those of this pie do, sweets lovers of any age can recognize the genius behind it.

Maybe this is better suited to the events page, but I thought I'd mention it here - Paula Haney will be doing a book signing at the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest this Sunday. The contest is held at Holstein Park (2200 N. Oakley Ave.) and runs from 2 to 5 p.m. Just a little heads up for all you Haney-acs out there (oh, I just made that up and the world is better for it).

So for those of you already in pie mode like me, here's Paula Haney on Chicago Tonight a few weeks ago.

Ordered my Thanksgiving pies, but as a North Shore resident, I greatly prefer to order them from the Evanston store. There are probably others in my situation. Unfortunately, I emailed them about this and got no response.

Jonah

Jonah wrote:Ordered my Thanksgiving pies, but as a North Shore resident, I greatly prefer to order them from the Evanston store. There are probably others in my situation. Unfortunately, I emailed them about this and got no response.

Jonah

Pretty sure Evanston isn't open yet but why not just call them? Would seem to be a better option than just being disgruntled...

I'm not disgruntled. An email was as much effort as I'll make during the work day. I'll just wait and see if Evanston opens and then check the situation out. No big deal. I posted only to provide others with a similar interest the knowledge (or lack of knowledge) that I had obtained.

Evanston has been open as of last Saturday.

Can confirm pies are delicious.

Thanks.

749 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, Illinois
(312) 243-4846

Stopped by the Evanston location yesterday evening after a family Chinese dinner at Pine Yard. The excitement of finding it open at 7:00 on a Sunday was quickly deflated as they were out of...pie (sweet ones, at least, there was a slice or two of quiche and some savory hand pies).

Still it's a beautiful space and love that it has evening hours. We'll be back.

Dave148 wrote:749 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, Illinois
(312) 243-4846

was at the Evanston location today, picked up a coconut cream pie. Of course upon arriving back home I had to perform a quality taste test. Oh yeah, I think this pie will work just fine tonight after dinner. Only critique I can make is I personally would have liked more coconut flavor present in the cream.

I had not been to Hoosier Mama until 3 weeks ago. I have now been four times. I have never been a pie fan - the filling has always been fine, but I always found the crust to be boring, dry, and sad.

Count me a convert. I actually fight my wife for the crust pieces, and find myself daydreaming about pie while I'm at work. Such an unassuming little shop that is changing lives, one slice at a time.

They opened up a branch in Evanston last November, and I am really glad it is not in my neighborhood. I love their pie, but I have genetic cholesterol problems, and so I don't go there that often.

I told a friend of mine that likes to bake, and lives in the neighborhood about the place when they opened up, and the first time she went there, they were out of pie ay 4:00. She ended up getting a sandwich, which she enjoyed, and went back for pie the following week and loved it. Another friend of mine that lives in the neighborhood has only been there once, and only went for coffee. I told her that the pie was much better than the coffee. She won a $25 gift certificate to Hoosier Mama at the Evanston library the beginning of this summer, but last time I saw her, she had not gotten around to using it.

jordanhojo wrote:I had not been to Hoosier Mama until 3 weeks ago. I have now been four times. I have never been a pie fan - the filling has always been fine, but I always found the crust to be boring, dry, and sad.

See point #3.

NFriday wrote:They opened up a branch in Evanston last November, and I am really glad it is not in my neighborhood. I love their pie, but I have genetic cholesterol problems, and so I don't go there that often.

You have my sympathies - I was a Hoosier Mama regular until I clocked my cholesterol over 270, and had a small MI. After that, my dietician made me divorce pastry and pie... with one exception.

Once a year, I am allowed a single Hoosier Mama pie. I save it for the very best dessert I've ever tasted - Paula Haney's apricot blueberry crumb crust pie. I finished my annual pie last week, and it was worth every minute of extra exercise I had to do, and every other source of fat in my diet that I removed for the week, just to taste that perfect pie.

It really hurts that the Evanston location is less than 10 minutes from my house, and it may sound strange, but I really feel guilty that I cannot support Paula Haney and her staff with more business.

To those of you who can indulge, these are the finest pies in Chicagoland, well worth the prices.

Hi- Actually I did not have insurance for a while, and when I tried to get it again, I got turned down by Blue Cross. When I finally got it again in January, and when I went to see my doctor in March, she found out my cholesterol was 341. I had quit taking my meds while I did not have insurance, because I thought another med. that I was on was causing my cholesterol problems. Apparently that is not the case I found out. After I freaked out, and got back on lipitor and started exercising and being paranoid about my diet, my cholesterol went back down to 186. February was the last time I had a slice of Hoosier Mama pie. I extoll the virtues of the pie to everybody though, and I tell people it is not cheap, but it is worth it. I've still had people tell me that they won't pay $5 for a slice of pie.

I had a slice of Hoosier Mama's mushroom-gruyere quiche from Metropolis Coffee today. Declined the offer to have them heat it as I was taking it to go. When I got home, it was perfectly delicious at room temperature. First time having the quiche. Won't be the last.

The GP wrote:I had a slice of Hoosier Mama's mushroom-gruyere quiche from Metropolis Coffee today. Declined the offer to have them heat it as I was taking it to go. When I got home, it was perfectly delicious at room temperature. First time having the quiche. Won't be the last.

At last weekend's dessert exchange LauraS served Hoosier Mama's quiche that she made from the cook book. The asparagus with lemon and ricotta was a fantastic bite of spring.

pairs4life wrote:At last weekend's dessert exchange LauraS served Hoosier Mama's quiche that she made from the cook book. The asparagus with lemong and ricotta was a fantastic bite of spring.

Ooh, that does sound good!

There's a baked lemon-ricotta that's imported from Italy that's fantastic. Found it in a cramped alley in Siena (Pinocchio's home town) and kept it on my windowsill to keep cool. Kept going back everyday for more. I've seen it here in the States on ocassion.

Hoosier Mama Pies Expanding: Adding Savory Pies and Espresso Bar

http://chicago.eater.com/2017/4/14/1530 ... -expansion