As patriotic as can be!

I have long claimed to be more of a cake person, but this may be the year that I turn over (turnover!) to the pie side. Over two weeks’ time, I made a batch of rhubarb hand pies and a stone fruit crostata that were so amazing that it’s really surprising that I didn’t eat the whole batch or pie myself. Pictured above is the crostata that I made at Mom’s place while we were there for the July 4 holiday. This “Spiced Crostata with Pluots” recipe, as presented by Sunset magazine, was excellent. That said, the crust on the Rhubarb Hand Pies (from Smitten Kitchen) that Becky and I made in late June (pictured here), which benefited from some buttermilk, tasted a little better and was a little easier to handle (which is good because hand pies involve … handling).

Perhaps the fruit desserts were so good because both dishes were made with friends and family? Local fruit in season helped, as well.  Continue reading →