Pie, again

I warned you, didn't I? The cascade of sugar and butter are still going strong.

Too strong, in fact. The other night we had a fire in the oven, thanks to the pie waxing innocent to your left. It was the frozen blueberries, I think—they're so much juicier than their summer selves.

The pie started out as an experiment. I had leftover dough left over from the pecan pie, and it seemed a shame to let it sit idle in the fridge, especially when there was a party involved.

So I rolled it out, ransacked the house for fruits, and decided on a thawed high bush blueberry and fresh cranberry lattice. I added sugar to taste, a bit more than usual because of the tart fruit, and a handful of flour to hold the berries together (the general rule is 1 tablespoon per cup of fruit, but as the fire proved, with frozen fruit, perhaps it's best to aim for more like 1 and 1/2).

I topped the filling off with lemon and cinnamon, and all seemed well as the pan slid into the oven. It was hardly full, a bit sunken even, so I didn't bother to add a cookie sheet for safety. A half hour later, the room filled suddenly with smoke, the fishmonger cursing and flinging open the doors. I stumbled downstairs, guilty as charged, but luckily, all was saved. He'd scraped the oven, returned the pie to its post, and I even managed to make it to the party on time.

So long as you have a sturdy cookie sheet and a heavy hand with the flour, I highly recommend giving the pie a try.

CRANBERRY-BLUEBERRY HOLIDAY PIE

Makes 1 pie

Roll out a bottom pie crust, drape over 9-inch pan, and let rest. In a large mixing bowl, stir together 2 and 1/2 cups thawed blueberries, 2 and 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups sugar, or to taste, 5 to 7 tablespoons flour, depending on how juicy the berries are, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and a pinch of cinnamon. Mix well and spoon filling into crust. Roll out and weave a lattice top. Bake (over a cookie sheet!) at 425 for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 and bake another 30 minutes, or until crust is golden and filling sets.