By Sierra French Myerson

There are many things that I'm proud of in my life, but one of the greatest is my immense group of very close friends.  For ages, we have been celebrating the 4th of July at the Farrar's in Malibu.  The "grown-up Farrar's" (Sam's parents), that is.  We've gone from being debaucherous 20 year olds to the grown-ups themselves.  The house has been host to many great parties and monumental moments over the years for all of us.  Granted, the parties do look different now.  There are bouncy houses and juice boxes replacing the glory days of our 20's.  But, one thing has maintained over time, all of the faces are the same.  The unwieldy strength of "the bros" is a true force with which to be reckoned.  You Can't Stop Us remains our battle cry (thank you Uniform Circa!).  

Casa de Farrar has really been a cornerstone for French & Farrar.  Steph and I have cooked, cleaned, and played together there, on many occasions,  in the beautiful kitchen with a view.  We've done formal dinners (an epic New Year's eve weekend), Steph's first roast chicken, lots of hot dogs and burgers, and many of my pies.  In fact, I think I may have single handedly created a baking dish collection for the house with all of the pies I've brought to the parties.  They're nothing fancy...Just good crust, whatever ripe fruit the season has delivered, and not too much sugar.

Steph's and my culinary fun is really just another reason to bring all of our dear friends together.  We might be different, but we are identical in believing that food + friends = happiness.  But, beware!  If you're ever lucky enough to be invited to Steph's in-laws for their annual 4th of July party, bring a different dessert or be prepared to have Sam's mom hide the berry pie all to herself.  I'll be sure to make two next year…one for Pearlie and one for the bros.

Mixed Berry Pie

*For the crust, use your favorite Pate Brisee recipe.  And, look forward to my ultimate one in a future post.

What you'll need:

• 2 large disks of your favorite pie dough

• 2 pints fresh blueberries

• 1 pint fresh blackberries

• 1 pint fresh raspberries

• Juice from 2 juicy lemons, approx. 1/4 cup

• Pinch of salt

• 1 cup of sugar plus a bit extra for sprinkling

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 2 Tb milk, cream, or water)

Directions:

Generously flour your work surface.  Roll out one disk of dough, and press into the bottom and up the sides of a standard pie pan.  Place in refrigerator while you make the filling.

Stir together the berries, lemon juice, cornstarch, sugar, and a pinch of salt.  Fill the pie shell with the filling.

Roll out the second disk of dough, and cover the filled pie.  Use your creativity here…a traditional covered pie, a rustic lattice, cut-out stars, etc.  Refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Brush top of pie with egg wash, and sprinkle with extra sugar.  Place on a baking sheet (I usually line mine with parchment paper or tin foil for easier clean-up).  Bake for 45 minutes.  Let cool.