Strawberry-Nectarine Pie

As I mentioned on Monday, Eric specifically asked for a pie to be baked to celebrate his birthday. His only real request was that the pie could be served "a la mode," which, technically, could be any kind of pie. But I thought a nice summertime fruit pie would be perfect topped with a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream. Eric is a fan of nectarines, so I took that as a jumping-off point.Our fridge is always stocked with strawberries - a fruit I eat nearly every day and never get tired of - so I figured, nectarines and strawberries? The perfect pair for a birthday pie.

Mixed with sugar, cinnamon and a little lemon juice, this sweet-tart filling had my mouth watering before I even filled the crust. But the additional dusting of cinnamon-sugar atop the butter-brushed top crust really set it over the top.

Before I put the pie in the oven, I wrapped aluminum foil around the edges of the crust to protect it from burning while baking.

That little tip worked wonders, as after about 35 minutes the pie came out perfectly golden brown all over.

Naturally, I had to sit it by the windowsill to cool. Ideally the pie should have cooled in the refrigerator overnight to let the fruit juices set up, but I was dealing with a pie-hungry birthday boy who could barely let it sit 10 minutes before cutting in.

The verdict? He loved it! Although a little sloppy (again, it should have sat a little longer to set), it tasted great! So great, Eric went back for a second big slice.

After both slices, he went so far as to lick the plate clean. He was so furious in lapping up everything on his plate, all I could catch was this super-creepy blurred image of him in action behind the flowers.

I think that image speaks for itself. This pie is a winner!

Strawberry-Nectarine Pie

(adapted from Rainy Day Gal)

Makes one 9" pie

Ingredients:

4 cups strawberries, washed, hulled and halved

4 medium nectarines, sliced

1/2 c sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

juice from half a lemon

4 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

your favorite pie crust

1.5 tbsp butter, melted

cinnamon sugar (or sugar) for dusting

1. Place strawberries and nectarines in a large bowl. Add sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and cornstarch, stirring mixture to coat.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Press bottom crust into pie plate. Pour in fruit mixture. Cover with top crust and pinch edges together with moist fingers to form outside crust. Cut slits in the top crust for venting, brush with melted butter and dust with cinnamon sugar. Wrap edge of crust in aluminum foil to protect from getting burnt while baking.

3. Bake according to crust directions (around about 35-45 minutes). Let cool completely (if you can, let cool overnight to help thicken juices). Top with ice cream if desired!