Gilmore Girls Inspired "Pizza Pie"

6:13 PM

The Gilmore Girls reboot is going to be on Netflix in just a few days, if you're a 90s kid like myself, you're probably really excited for this! I remember watching Gilmore Girl's on my sick days home from school, and since Netflix picked up Gilmore Girls I'm not ashamed to say I've binge watched a bit...
The inspiration for this dish is a whole lot of Sookie, some of Luke's Diner, and the girls love of junk food. Bring all of that together to create a to die for "pizza pie!"

Although Josh isn't a fan of Gilmore Girls, he did not complain once while we ate our pizza pie, and played Gilmore Girls in the background, (I'm pretty sure that's a sign that the food was good!)

So you can either buy a crust, a puff pastry would probably do best, or make one. Here's how I made mine, I recommend making your own, because you don't want to miss out on the flakey goodness of a pie crust. This is a simple pie crust, but keep in mind that you'll need to put it in the freezer for at least an hour.

What You'll Need:

-3 Cups All-Purpose Flour

-1 tsp Salt

-1/2 Cup Vegetable Shortening

-1/2 Cup Butter

-8 to 10 Tbsp Ice Cold Water

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the butter and shortening using either a dough cutter, or 2 forks/knives, until the mixture kind of resembles a course, grainy mixture.

2. Add in the ice water, one Tbsp at a time, mixing with your hands until dough forms.

3. Separate the dough into two almost equal parts. It's important that one half is slightly larger so that it spreads enough to cover the entire base of the pie pan.

4. Place each dough ball onto plastic wrap covered in flour, flour the top of the dough ball and place another large piece of plastic wrap on top. Do this with both dough balls. Roll out the dough until it is large enough to take on the shape of the pie pan, the other dough ball just has to be large enough to cover the top.

5. Place the larger pie crust, while still wrapped, into a pie pan and into the freezer. Make sure the top crust is left on a flat surface, and placed in the freezer. Leave these in there for an hour, and you can store it in there for up to 24 hours.

When you've gotten to the point where you are ready to make your pie, make sure you pre-bake the crust in a 375º F oven for about 10 minutes, or until the edges start to brown. Take a fork to the pie crust and poke some holes in the bottom before you cook it, this insures that it will cook evenly. If there are any bubbles in the crust, pop them.

Cut in the flour, and shortening until a grainy mixture has formed. (Pictured below!)

Make sure to flour the plastic wrap before you

place the dough on it.

Freeze the dough for at least 1 hour before making the pie.

Moving on to the filling for the "pizza pie!"

What You'll Need:

-1/2 Cup Fresh Basil, chiffonade

-3 Cups Tomatoes, seeded and diced into 1/2" cubes

-2 Cups Mozzarella, diced into 1/2" cubes

-1/2 tsp Pepper

-1/4 tsp Salt

-1 1/2 tsp Olive Oil

-2 Cloves Garlic

-1 1/2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

-1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese

-Crushed Red Pepper, to taste (optional)

-1 Egg White for egg wash, 1/4 tsp water

1. Chop the basil, mozzarella, and tomato, add everything into one bowl. Add in the salt, pepper, garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, parmesan, and crushed red pepper (if you so choose,) and mix all of the ingredients together until everything is evenly coated.

2. Spoon in all of the ingredients into the base of of the pie crust. (Make sure that you've pre cooked the pie crust if you've followed my pie crust recipe.)

3. Take the top half of the crust, and cover the pie. Fold the crust under itself and press it to the bottom crust. Cut the top crust a few times, and make a quick egg was and brush the top of the pie.

4. Bake the "pizza pie" at 375º F for about 50 minutes to a little over an hour, make sure the crust becomes slightly browned. Allow the pie to sit for at least 20 minutes before diving in.