Queen of Pies’ Strawberry Rhubarb

One true statement: My mom can bake. Cakes, cookies, bread and especially pie. Awesome pie. As mentioned on numerous occasions, Dom is a bonafide pie fanatic and connoisseur making him distinctly qualified to dub Lou (my mom) the “Queen of Pies.” Much to Dom’s chagrin, I did not inherit Lou’s innate talent for fruit-filled crusts. Knowing this, my mom has always had pie on hand when we visit and one in hand when she came to our home; blackberry-raspberry in June, blueberry in July, apple in September, pumpkin in October, lemon meringue in January, and strawberry-rhubarb in April.

With Lou now living in Iowa, Dom’s pie consumption has fallen dramatically. With uber-fresh rhubarb and just-picked strawberries it was imperative to work in a pie tutorial (and subsequent “testing”) while she was in-town. So following the queen’s meticulous instructions, I duplicated her tart-sweet creation which apparently passed muster as it was wolfed down in record time. (Sonny, who has inherited Dom’s penchant for pie, had a slice for breakfast lunch and after dinner!)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3 cups rhubarb, chopped
• 3 cups strawberries, cleaned and macerated (or frozen in syrup)
• 1 deep dish pie crust

If you are using fresh strawberries these will need to be hulled, cut and macerated (with an additional cup of sugar.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Rinse and trim the rhubarb stalks and chop into ¼-inch pieces like you would celery. Place the chopped rhubarb in a large mixing bowl and add sugar and flour and toss to fully coat. Add the macerated strawberries and toss gently to combine.

Pour rhubarb-strawberries mixture into the deep dish pie shell. Top with a lattice crust and crimp the edges together. Put pie on a foil-lined baking sheet to prevent drips and place in the preheated oven. Bake for one hour. Remove pie from oven and allow to cool before serving. The juices will retreat and thicken as the pie cools.