Diner-Style Strawberry Pie

What great thing can you make with vodka and strawberries?

Well, Diner-Style Strawberry Pie, of course! This recipe comes from the June/July 09 edition of Cook's Country Magazine. If you haven't seen this magazine, now is the time to pick one up. With all the fresh farm strawberries around, I am always looking for another good recipe using strawberries. This one took a while to make... not difficult, just time consuming!... but, it was definitely worth the work. I will be making this recipe every year at least once or twice. So, on to the pics!

The vodka goes into the crust to keep it super tender, keeping gluten strands from forming. For this pie the crust was up to the reader and I used this crust recipe from the Cook's Illustrated November & December edition for Better Pumpkin Pie. That is another pie I suggest everyone try at least once. The flavor is amazing! The crust is super simple to make, but very wet and must chill for an hour our more and then again between each time it is handled. I suggest making it the day or evening before.

But, back to the pie! Pretty simple, really. Frozen strawberries are simmered down to a jam like consisitency for about 30 minutes or so. Then add in the lemon juice, water and unflavored gelatin. Then add the sugar and salt and simmer till it is all smooth.

This cools as you slice up more fresh strawberries to fold into the mix. Then put them into the pre-baked (blind-baked) pie shell of choice and let it cool for 4+ hours. With the gelatin I was worried about weeping, but 24 hours later it was still holding strong. Give yourself plenty of time to chill this so it sets up properly. I think we cut into it at 4 hours and it might have needed another hour or two. Then top this beauty with a mixture of cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and heavy cream. Yum!