Mushroom Pie With Painted Crust

Mmm, pies... Whether its sweet, savory, or mathematical you can't go wrong (though I prefer the kind of pie that's edible...)! In this Instructable, go crazy and be a fungi with mushroom, mushroom pie! With a savory mushroom filling comforting to eat in any season, and getting to express your inner artiste with a painted crust! Keep calm and pie on!

For the Crust:

1. 2 1/2 Cups of flour
2. 16 Tablespoons of butter
3. A pinch of salt
4. 3/4 Cup of buttermilk
5. 1/3 Cup parmesan (optional)
6. Up to 1/4 cup water.

For the Filling:

1. 2 Tablespoons olive oil
2. One small onion (or half a large onion)
3. 3 cloves of garlic
4. 2 pounds (or about five cups) of mixed mushroom. (I used portobello and baby bella)
5. 3/4 cup of carrots
6. 1 tablespoon (divided) of poultry blend fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage.)
7. 1 cup of peas
8. A splash of white wine (optional)
9. Salt and pepper to taste
10. 2 eggs
11. 1/2 cup heavy cream
12. 1/2 cup flour
13. 1/3 cup parmesan cheese (optional)

For the Decoration:

1. Food dye
2. An egg
3. Water or milk
4. a paintbrush

Begin by making the dough! Add flour to a large bowl. Cube your cold butter into small pieces so that it will be easier to incorporate. Add to the bowl, and using your hands, pinch and rub together the mixture until it resembles fine to pea sized crumbs. Put the bowl with the mixture into either the fridge for 30 minutes or freezer for 15.

After taking out the mixture, add in the salt and parmesan if using. Lightly mix together with a fork. Then, gradually add the buttermilk in. I found it easiest to use my hands to combine, but a spatula would also work. Bring the mixture together to form a dough ball. If it is too raggedy add some water. Split into two discs and return to the fridge for an hour.

While the dough is in the fridge, move on to preparing the filling! Begin by dicing the onion, mincing the garlic, and chopping the carrots into quarters. Heat the olive oil up in a pot, putting the onions on to begin sautéing. Add the carrots to the onions to soften them. After about two minutes, add the garlic and 1/2 tablespoon of the herbs, possibly adding more olive oil and using a wooden spoon to make sure nothing sticks.

While the onion, carrots, and garlic is heating up, roughly chop the mushrooms. I sliced the baby bella and chopped the portobello. When the hot mixture is fragrant, add the mushrooms. There will initially be a lot in the pot, so just make sure to turn them over as they will shrink down! When they are nearly all the way cooked, stir in the peas (mine were frozen that I thawed in the microwave!) and the optional splash of wine, leaving on the heat for about one to two minutes longer.

Transfer the vegetable mixture to a different bowl to give it a chance to cool and thicken slightly, pouring any extra juices the mushrooms may have released out as you do so (to ensure it doesn't make the pie crust soggy!) In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, heavy cream, cheese, and remaining herbs. Combine with the mushroom mixture.

Start preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If you left your dough in the fridge longer than an hour, you may need to let it soften until room temperature. If not, take the bigger of the two discs and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Take a pie dish and set on top, making sure the dough goes at least an inch beyond the edge of the dish. If the dough does, put it in the dish.

Once the dough is in the pie dish, spoon out the filling onto the dough. With the remaining disk, roll out to about 4mm thick. There are two choices now: cover the pie with the dough as it is and cut vents, or make lattice and decorate. I chose the latter. If doing lattice, take a knife and cut the dough into even strips with your desired width. Mine were roughly 1.5 inches wide. Then, lay three of the pieces horizontal across the pie. With the two others, lay vertical, weaving it above and under the vertical strips. Cut the excess dough off and crimp to the crust.

Congrats, you've reached the most fun part: decoration! With the excess pie dough you cut off earlier, combine it into a ball, then once again roll out. You can cut out any shapes you desire, or use cookie cutters. As I made a mushroom pie, I decided to decorate with mushrooms and a few flowers! Using a knife, draw the shape into the dough to cut it out and place atop the pie. If making mushrooms, make sure to keep a bit of extra dough for the mushroom dots later on. To make the roses, cut out three circles - a big, medium, and small. Overlap the ends of each, pressing your finger in to make them stick. Make sure the tops align. Then, starting from the smallest circle, roll to the biggest circle and seal with a bit of water! Place these decorations anywhere you wish on the pie.

Okay, actually, this may be the best part...painting! Crack an egg and a tablespoon of milk together into something that can be easily poured. Whisk with a fork. Take out a few small ceramics for however many colors you would like to use. Pour a small amount of egg mixture into each, and using food dye, color the separate ceramics of egg to your desired color. I did pink, red, green, and yellow. Using a paintbrush (either new or thoroughly washed), dip into your "paints" and paint away on the pie dough! If it is too watery/not enough color, use the dye itself to paint the dough.

Once you're happy with the results, use the remaining egg wash and brush over the rest of the pie to give it a nice golden crust after it has been in the oven.

With your oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, your pie is ready to go into the oven! Leave it in for about an hour and ten minutes until the crust is golden or it has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. (If not ready to eat and bake, leave in the fridge to allow the filling to thicken and the butter in the dough to stay cool.)

When your pie is out of the oven and has had a chance to cool down a bit, it is ready to feast! Enjoy with any side you desire, whether its mashed potatoes, peas, a salad, or just the pie! Pie hope you enjoy :)