I made this today for a evening gathering. I used rhubarb from my garden as well as the strawberries and also put a layer of blueberries over the entire pie shell so that each piece had a variety of fruit. I waited until about 20 minutes before the pie was done and applied the stars and stripes. Most of the bubbling was done at that point and no staining of the appliques occurred. I was able to adjust the pieces to fit exactly by laying them on the filling and trimming. I used the crust recipe you recommended but I couldn't help using my go-to pie crust trick as well - I substitute 2 tablespoons of vodka for an equal amount of the ice water. Seems to make the crust flakier and more tender. Everyone was very impressed with the pie and several took pictures of it. I gave everyone your web address so they could explore for themselves! This will likely become an annual addition to our 4th of July gathering.

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