So glad I happened upon this blog! And, so glad I read all the comments. Our favorite pie whatever the season is strawberry rhubarb, and it is the one pie I make each year when I host Thanksgiving. I have for a number of years made dough ahead of time to freeze in discs, as you recommend. But last year, for whatever reason, the dough was a failure, and I was stuck at the last minute, making more dough as my out of town guests arrived on Wednesday. Exactly what I did not want to be doing. So when I read your comment about making fruit pies ahead of time and freezing them frozen, I thought I had a great solution. Then , read two cautions - one that one should use metal pie plates (I have none) and second, that rhubarb is not a good candidate for this method because of its tendency to get watery. I start with frozen rhubarb and strawberries both this time of year, so that has been a problem anyway, till I found a hint in an old Farm Journal cookbook to cook the mixture for a bit before putting it in the pan. So that would have solved that problem, but not the lack of metal pans. Okay, back to freezing dough ahead of time. Here's what I did and it worked great. Made the dough, rolled it out to exactly the size I wanted, then covered it top and bottom with plastic wrap. I folded it into quarters before putting it in a large zip loc bag, and it took up no room in the freezer. This morning (trial chicken pie) I unfolded the dough - admittedly, holding my breath for the first piece - and total success. So - thanks!! My latest Thanksgiving tradition.

• Reply