Here’s a video where I show you my no-fail pie crust recipe, and my very special method of pitting cherries. Oh, and the oven almost explodes, too. Good times.

Hope you enjoy the video, and please — if you make the pie, comment here and let me know how it turned out! I’ll be watching the blog all weekend, so if you have questions, post them here. Happy Fourth!

After the jump, the recipes for No-Fail Pie Crust and Sour Cherry Pie.

No-Fail Pie Crust
Adapted from Saveur magazine, which said it was their adaptation of a pie from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “The Pie and Pastry Bible” (Scribner, 1998).
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
9 tablespoons cold cream cheese
12 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons ice water
1 egg
Splash of milk
Sugar for sprinkling

Cut butter into 1/2-inch pieces and put on a plate. Put the plate in the fridge. Place flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Use your fingers to pull chunks of cream cheese from the bar and throw into flour mixture. Pulse a couple of times until the mixture begins to resemble coarse meal. Add the cold butter to the bowl of the processor. Pulse until mixture is flecked with pea-sized pieces of butter. Sprinkle in vinegar and ice water, pulse a couple of more times. Pinch the mixture to see that it holds together. Dump the mixture onto a lightly floured surface. It will not have come completely together yet. Quickly knead dough until smooth. Divide dough into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other, flatten each into a disk and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.

Roll larger dish onto a lightly floured surface into an 11-inch round, then ease into a 9-inch pie pan. Stir filling, then transfer to pastry. Roll remaining dough out into a 10-inch round. You may either cut into lattice or bake as a top crust. Beat egg with milk and brush over the top crust. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Sour Cherry Pie

1 recipe pie crust
4 cups sour cherries, washed, stemmed and pitted
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon butter, optional

Make the pie crust. Line a 9-inch pie pan with it.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine cherries, sugar, flour, almond extract, vanilla extract and vinegar in a bowl. Dot with butter, if you like. (I never do.)
Cover with a top crust and seal edges. Cut slits in the center to allow steam to escape. Brush it with the egg-milk mixture, if you like.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until pie filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown.
Yield: 1 pie.

I don’t know who I’m rooting for more…. they’re both talented and both hilarious. You can really tell from this video Heather and I put together to accompany this story, too. Kudos to videographer and editor Tania Savayan, too. Of course, the real stars are Michael and Brett. Take a look:

Also in the food section today:
Cool wines for a hot summer.
BBQ books to fire up the grill.
How to improvise a vinaigrette.

Also check out our video player on LoHud.com/food. I teamed up with other newspapers to put together a nice package of Great Grilling Ideas, including quick tips, recipes and more. Just hit the thumbnails under the player to browse. Enjoy!

Woody’s:

Tavern:

Recipe here.

Recipes in the story here.

Here’s the first of six cooking videos we’re doing this holiday season to make cooking and entertaining easy — but fun! I have asked chefs to share their favorite dishes – but also asked them to simplify the recipes so you and I can make them in our own kitchens.

And just to be sure – the chefs did just that: they came to my tiny kitchen in Nyack and we cooked together.

Here. chef Jon Pratt of Peter Pratt’s Inn in Yorktown and Umami Cafe in Croton shows me how he makes his chestnut-squash soup. The recipe, after the jump.

Chestnut-Squash Soup

In the video, chef Jon Pratt and food editor Liz Johnson garnished this dish with some duck confit, which you can order from Hudson Valley Foie Gras (hudsonvalleyfoiegras.com) or D’Artagnan (dartagnan.com). The duck is not necessary; this soup tastes just as good ungarnished, or with a dollop of whipped cream.

2 medium Kabocha squash

1 large sweet onion, rough chopped

4 ounces unsalted butter

3 big sprigs of fresh thyme, tied in a bundle with string

1 quart chicken stock, plus extra for adjustments

1 cup cooked chestnuts from a jar, rough chopped

Maple syrup to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut squash in half. Roast squash with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour until you can pierce the skin with a fork. Let cool and remove from skin. You should have 1 packed quart of squash.

In a large pot over medium heat, heat butter until melted, add onion and tied thyme. Stir and simmer until onions are translucent and beginning to caramelize, about 6 minutes.

Add stock, chestnuts and squash, bring back to simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, remove thyme and puree soup with stick blender until smooth. (If it’s too thick add more stock or water until desired consistency.)

Add pinch black pepper. Start with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon maple then salt and maple syrup to taste.

Garnish with shreds of duck confit and a dollop of whipped cream.

Serves 6 to 8.

MP3 LOADING….

(Photo by Steve Schmitt/TJN)

(Watch it on full screen if you can. Joe Larese did an amazing job editing.)