This weekend is the Taste North Fork Festival Weekend, the ultimate foodie event on the North Fork of Long Island. Ride free Hampton Jitney shuttles and hop on and off buses to and from the vineyards, farms, farm stands, and restaurants, and enjoy the day buying wine for your holidays, fillings for your Thanksgiving pies, and other additions for your holiday table.
Try one of my favorite simple, quick pie crust recipes. While you are out on the North Fork this weekend, you can shop for your fillings with a glass of North Fork wine in hand!
Perfect Pie Crust Recipe, for savory or sweet pies
Makes 2 9-inch pie crusts
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter (or shortening of choice), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg
1/3 cup ice water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Sift flours with salt into a large bowl and blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with small butter lumps. Beat together egg, water, and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated.
Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to bring dough together (careful to not overknead).
Form dough into a flat rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour.
Grease your pie pans. Cut the ball of dough in half and sprinkle flour on the counter and roll out with rolling pin to nine-inch, or slightly bigger, disks. If you are using this for a fruit pie with a top crust, you will only need one pie pan. If for pumpkin pie or pie without lid, you will have two disks. Slide each disk into a pie pan and crimp the edges. Brush with egg wash and blind bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from rack and allow to cool prior to adding filling and baking to completion, (as per the filling you have selected).
This pie crust is also good for savory pies, such as chicken or turkey pot pie.
Taste North Fork Festival Weekend is here! Start your weekend off right on Friday with a specialty fall cocktail or a glass of local wine, as well as a delicious farm-to-table meal at Cuvee Seafood and Grille. Then, head out to see the Jon Divello Band perform at Lieb Cellars from 6-9pm, or enjoy wine, cheese, and the sunset at Shinn Estate Vineyards late-night tasting room, open until 8pm.
On Saturday, November 8th, the Taste North Fork shuttles begin! Three connecting shuttle loops will be running all over the North Fork from 12-5:30pm. Clovis Point, Jamesport Vineyards, Osprey’s Dominion, Martha Clara, and Baiting Hollow Vineyard are all offering live music, and all participating vineyards will be featuring special offers. Be sure to head out to the Riverhead Farmers Market while it’s open, from 10am-2pm.
On Sunday, November 9th, Raphael Vineyards joins the list of participating vineyards, and brings with it the musical stylings of Mambo Loco, Playing live from 1-4pm. Tired of wine? The Greenport Harbor Brewing Company is offering on-the-hour tours 1-4pm, and LI Spirits will be doing cocktail demos and tastings all weekend long. Don’t forget to take advantage of all the special offers and sales at the North Fork shops!
Pick up the best wines for your turkey dinner! Great wines for poultry should have a balance of fruit and acidity along with a subtle floral nose. Try North Fork stainless steel Chardonnays, dry Rieslings and Gewurztraminers, or a Viognier. For reds, include a light bodied wine like a Pinot Noir from McCall or a light red blend like Bedell First Crush Red; reminiscent of a Brouilly, you could even serve it slightly chilled. If you enjoy rose, try the salmon-colored Sparkling Pointe Topaz or the bright and luscious Shinn Estate Rose.
Procure fresh Thanksgiving ingredients! Order your thanksgiving turkey from Miloski’s Poultry Farm and pies from Briermier Farms. Buy fresh scallops or local oysters for the best stuffing–they freeze perfectly! Uncarved pumpkins will keep for at least a month, so buy a whole pumpkin or two to make pumpkin pie or pumpkin scones with fresh pumpkin meat. Be sure to pick up apples from Wickham’s Fruit Farm to make apple pies, then stop by Woodside Orchards for fresh apple cider. Use them to try out our perfect pie crust recipe.
