So, what kind of awful pie recipe must the health-conscious White House chefs use to punish the First Family? Mike Nizza of Bloomberg Politics tweets:
https://twitter.com/mikenizza/status/537677860484702208
What?!?
Not only is it butter, but foreign butter.
Jobs American cows won’t do, Mr. President? There’s only one choice, America, to right this wrong:
#IMPEACH RT @mikenizza: The Key to the White House Thanksgiving Pie recipe is European butter http://t.co/9tyweAogdo
— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) November 26, 2014
We joke, we joke. European butter is preferred in baking because of it higher fat content and better taste:
@TheStalwart @mikenizza The key to dairy generally is to avoid American products when possible. American butter and cheese is garbage.
— Nick (@LimeyN) November 26, 2014
Nizza is linking to this Bloomberg piece by Sara Pepitone where she interviews outgoing White House chef Bill Yosses. An excerpt:
As for the rumor that Yosses sometimes chafed at the East Wing’s eat-healthy directives? “It is an honor and privilege to serve the First Family,” Yosses said. “If they had asked for cakes shaped like dinosaurs that walked down Pennsylvania Avenue I would have found a way to make it.”
One thing he happily made: Thanksgiving pies. For the holiday, Yosses often made as many as half a dozen types of pie, a well-known presidential weakness. “I can say that I am proud of getting his favorite dessert right,” Yosses said. “A person deserves a good dessert once in a while–especially someone who works as hard as he does.”
And here’s his pie crust recipe, including the higher fat, better tasting “European butter.” It sounds delicious. Now, if only Yosses would help Michelle Obama jazz up those school lunches of hers…
Recommended
CRUST
Time: 15 minutes, plus one hour chilling
Yield: One 9-inch single pie crust
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (4oz) unsalted butter, preferably a high-fat, European-style butter like Plugra, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces keep cold
1 tablespoon (2oz) lard
2 to 5 tablespoons ice water
Method:
In a food processor, briefly pulse together the flour and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture forms chickpea-size pieces (3 to 5 one-second pulses). Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, and pulse until mixture is just moist enough to hold together.
Form dough into a ball, wrap with plastic and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling out and baking.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie crust to a 12-inch circle. Transfer crust to a 9-inch pie plate. Fold over any excess dough, then crimp edges. Prick crust all over with a fork. If you have time, freeze crust for 15 to 30 minutes; otherwise skip this step.
Cover pie with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights, rice or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes; remove foil and weights and bake until pale golden, 15 minutes more. Cool on rack until needed.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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