The Blueberry Crow's Nest: when the crust flies south

The Blueberry Crow's Nest was inspired by a recipe I came across in a vintage cookbook, The Lilly Wallace New American Cookbook, published in 1945.  When I was looking through it, I found something called an Apple Crow's Nest.  After reading the recipe, I realized it was an apple cobbler that had been flipped upside down after baking.  I decided to try it with blueberries instead, adding lemon juice and cornstarch.  For the crust, I decided to adapt a cornmeal biscuit recipe I found in a cookbook titled Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson.  To adapt their crust, I just omitted the turbinado sugar and installed the dough differently.  I love flipping the cobbler upside down to serve because the berries are so dark, shiny, and beautiful.  You wouldn't be able to admire them if they were under a crust!  

This was also how I used the blueberries from Taylor's Market and I was looking for something I could make and submit to a contest on Food52.  Making the Blueberry Crow's Nest is easier than you might think and it was delicious.  Great summertime dessert when blueberries are in season.  

Blueberry Crow's Nest

Filling

3 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice


Crust/Nest

1 1/4 cup all-purpose unbleached flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 cup cold heavy cream

2 tsp. sugar for sprinkling

Fresh whipping cream or ice cream and cinnamon-sugar for serving.

Preheat your oven to 375℉ and place top rack in the middle.  Grease an 8 1/2 to 9 inch pie pan with butter (I used a metal pie pan which worked great).  Make the filling first.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and sea salt.  Add the berries and using your hands, toss until coated.  Add the lemon juice and stir it in.  Pour the filling into the prepared pie pan and set aside.

For the crust:  combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and sea salt in a medium bowl and whisk together.  Cut up the butter and add it to the mixture.  Then, using a pastry blender, a fork, or your fingers, cut the butter into the mix working until the butter cubes are mixed in and broken down into a pea size.  Pour in the cream and stir until it's absorbed into the dough and the dough is sticking together.

It's easier to work with this sticky dough in small amounts.  Pick up hand-fulls of the dough and flatten them into a biscuit or patty shape and lay them on top of the berry filling in the pie pan.  As you lay each disk of dough onto the berries, spread it out a bit.  The idea is to top the filling with the dough and spread it around so there are no gaps.  You don't need the biscuit shapes to remain after you've laid them on.  Once your dough is covering all the berries, sprinkle with the extra 2 tsp. of sugar.

Place the pie pan onto the top rack in the oven with a baking sheet on the rack below to catch the drips. Bake for about 45 min., but start checking it when there are about 5 min. to go.  The crust should be golden brown and the juice from the filling is going to be bubbling up from below.  When it's ready, take it out and set on a rack to cool for about 10 minutes.

I like to top it with fresh whipped cream, so I would use this time as it's cooling to make the cream or you could serve it with vanilla ice cream.  After about 10 min. have gone by, find a serving platter bigger than the pie pan for turning the cobbler upside down.  Place the platter upside down over the cobbler and center it.  With both hands securely holding the two together, flip them around so the pie pan is now upside down on top of your serving platter.  Using a large serving spoon, tap the bottom of the pie pan to loosen the pan from the cobbler and also run the spoon along the crust edge sticking out from under the pie pan.  Ease the pie pan off of the cobbler which has now been transformed into a beautiful blueberry crow's nest!  Serve warm with the whipping cream or ice cream and sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar.

Caw!

Ramble Map: Always Brake for Open Air Markets

 

 

 

Headed to a demolition derby nearly five counties away, I cruised down the road with one hand as plum juice ran down the other.  I was taking bites from the fruit I'd just bought and thinking about the art of driving unconventional routes.  There's an art to driving fast and furious in races, there's an art to driving with efficiency from point A to point B, there's an art to driving with one hand while you have a plum in the other, and there's most certainly an art to driving slowly with wild abandon for the least direct route.

At that moment, I was savoring the art of driving slowly as an explorer of uncharted waters of the least possible direct route.  If I'd been another drone on the interstate, I'd never have found that plum.  If I hadn't been a slow cruiser with no plan other than eventually getting to the Mercer County Fairgrounds, I also might not have found that juicy plum.  You see, I'd already made a turn from a county road onto a four lane highway without noticing at the stop sign that there was a beautiful open air produce stand on my left. As I slowly rambled onto the highway amidst zipping cars, I happened to look over and I saw what I'd just absent-mindley passed.  Of course I turned the Ford Escort right back around and had a look-see.

Taylor's Market has been around since 1980 and carries a variety of Midwestern produce, along with a small selection of preserves.  Listening in to conversation, I overheard the woman at the counter talking about her father who owned the market.  She said he was getting older and there was some question or concern for who would want to take over.  The woman was hoping her son might be interested, but wasn't sure.  She herself had been working there for more than 20 years.  Businesses in need of someone to take over was a recurring theme in this jaunt as I found out later at the country's oldest Tastee Freez.  Hopefully someone will step in to carry on these local legacies.

Why in the Sam Hill was I headed to a demolition derby five counties away?  My cousin's husband was making a big come-back in demolition driving and I didn't want to miss it.  I may share some pics from the derby/county fair a bit later and I'll also have to share about Lenny and the oldest Tastee Freez in the United States.  

So, it wasn't just a plum that came out of the Taylor's Market stop.  I also bought two pints of Michigan blueberries, a brown bag of red potatoes, a nectarine, a banana pepper, and a jar of sorghum molasses. The berries are amazing...big, plump, full of flavor, and much cheaper than in any store.  The molasses I'll save for some fall/winter baking.

Note: Taylor's Market is located right off of Highway 61 between Muscatine and Davenport, IA.

This is what I made with some of the potatoes.  Slice them and toss in a skillet with olive oil, fresh ground pepper, and kosher salt.  Let them cook until brown and add sliced mushrooms, green pepper, onion, and fresh parsley.  Zip it up with some hot sauce if you like.  Easy and tasty.