Deep Dish Archive

 
05
October
2014

Juicy News from the Pie Contest, NM State Fair (Copy)

People – Pie Pals, specifically – have been asking, “What happened?!” 

Let’s get to the juicy details!

New challenges emerged this year.  There were 17 categories, up from the previous 16.  The Home Arts Division decided that they would eliminate “Dutch Apple” (it was rolled into the “Nontraditional Apple” category) and they added “No Sugar” and “Citrus.”  Hmmmph!  Here I thought I’d won all of the categories (which I had until they changed things) and could just bake for fun.

I worked and worked on creating a great sugar-free pie.  I’m not willing to use those weird artificial sweeteners that often have a bitter after taste, so I focused on more natural ways to make things sweet. First it was the “Nutty Buddy” Pie, based on frozen bananas whirled with unsweetened chocolate, frozen, and topped with chopped peanuts.  Analysis:  terrible texture (icy, frozen shards).  Then it was on to the “Sweet Potato Sweetie Pie,” which used apple juice boiled down to a thick syrup as the sweetener.  I was looking for a soft, custard-like texture and, instead, got what would gag a dog (if I had one).  As one of my favorite pie testers, Jon, said with such understatement, “This doesn’t measure up.”

Ha!  The final entry was an apple pie, double crust, sweetened with raisins and condensed apple cider.  It was quite lovely, thick with apples and raisins, and I really liked the flavor – probably because I’ve cut down on sugar so much in the last few years.  The judge, however, said she was a little confused by the flavor – maybe too much cinnamon?  And she didn’t get that the raisins had been soaked in rum.  So…it didn’t win a ribbon.  But you know what?  I enjoyed it for the next several days!

Meanwhile, they were judging the peach pie category which had an unusually large number of entries this year.  Guess who won?  A Pie Pal, Havens!  Here’s a picture of her gorgeous lattice-top peach pie, and here’s the recipe she used.

Then they judged the nontraditional apple pies.  And guess who won again?  Pie Pal Havens!  I’ll ask her to post the recipe she used along with a picture.

Finally, they got around to judging the “Fruit Pie” category.  It catches everything that doesn’t fit in one of the other fruit groupings.  That’s where I entered my raspberry chocolate creation.  And I say creation because this is a recipe I made up 25 years ago.  That was the first blue ribbon pie I ever made! 

It’s a labor of love, for sure.  The crisp crust holds a thin layer of chocolate buttercream (like dark chocolate butter frosting), then there is a double layer of fresh raspberries covered by a lush, scarlet-red raspberry glaze.  Small chocolate cream swirls around the inside edge of the crust made it all come together. 

So the two judges tasted a sliver of the raspberry pie and also someone’s pineapple pie and all of the others in this category.  As usual, I watched to see if their expressions gave away their impressions.  They did not.  I tried to remember to breathe.  They lifted each of the slices to check the bottom and see if the crust was properly browned.  They pinched off bits of crust to check for flavor and flakiness.  They tasted the fillings each one more time. 

Finally it was time to announce the winners in this category.  One judge took the microphone and started, “Third place goes to…” while the other judge lifted my pie.  My heart sank.  “No, not that one!” the announcer corrected.  Whew.  They discussed and displayed the third place and second place winners.  And then judge #2 held up my pie while judge #1 pronounced it to be “perfection.”  Yay!  A blue ribbon in the “Fruit Pie” category!  I could breathe again.

Near the end of the pie contest, all of the blue ribbon pies (one from each of the 17 categories) compete against each other for “Best of Show.”  All 6 of the judges circle up and compare notes on their favorites among those 17 pies.  They go back and forth, a little more tasting, a lot of kibitzing, and finally one of them takes the mic again.  Guess what?  They agreed on the raspberry pie!! 

So, there you go.  Well, actually, there we went.  We, friends and I, took the remainder of that pie outside and ate it up.  We sat at a shady picnic table on a sunny September afternoon, forks, little plates and bottles of cold water at the ready.  We also ate up most of the peach pie and the Dutch apple and some of the sugar-free apple.  Does life get any better than moments like this? 

Special thanks to Havens, Jon, Patty and Carla for making the day even sweeter than the pie.

Categories: Deep Dish Archive

08
July
2012

Floating on the River

Life, Love, Family

It’s been a time of transitions.  My partner’s mother passed away.  My niece got engaged.  I’m between contracts for work.  We’re visiting family in another state.  The flow continues.

It’s time to be quiet, perhaps drifting on a raft down a wide river, letting the eddies take us into their swirls, releasing us gently back into the largesse of the river.

What does this have to pie?  Temporarily, nothing.  Temporarily, it’s good to be at rest, to breathe the smell of the summer, of the water we’re upon, to listen to the gurgles of the water and the calls of the birds.  To listen to our hearts.

Then we’ll celebrate the new places we find ourselves:  down river, further along in our lives.  We’ll get grounded again and celebrate with summer pies:  fresh fruit spilling out, bubbling through the lattice and cascading over the sides of the crust onto the baking pan.  Ummm, the best, those little puddles of sweetness.

What will your pie celebrate?  And what kind will you make?  I’ll be making peach, fresh peach, with peaches from a friend’s tree or the grower’s market.  With just a touch of almond and a lattice crust.  And I’ll be celebrating another summer of love, work, family, friends and life.  You?

Categories: Deep Dish Categories, Deep Dish Archive, July

27
June
2012

Who's Sewing those Aprons?!

Meet our Microentrepreneur

Our Pie Pals Seamstress:  Duka’s Story

(in Duka’s own words)

I am Duka Subedi.  I was born in Bhutan, the country between India and China. I was evicted from my country when I was seven years old.  I lived in a Bhutanese refugee camp in eastern Nepal from 1992 to 2008 with my parents, two brothers and a sister.

Refugee life is very hard life.  Many times we did not have enough food to eat, no good water to drink, not enough clothes, no proper medical care; problems in all sectors. It was scary place to live for women and young girls. I studied in the refugee camp and then went to college in Nepal.

In May, 2007 I married Hari Subedi. He is a nice person and has helped me in all of my steps of my life. I love him so much. We came to USA in August, 2008, through IOM (International Organization for Migration) and started living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the beginning life was very difficult and very challenging.  We faced many problems but we are working hard and try to improve our life.

In May 2009, my son, Aarpan, was born. He is very nice and is the source of thinking I have to work hard for my baby and make his better life.

I have learned to make different things like aprons, cushions, tote-bags, beading, etc. I learned at the New Mexico Women's Foundation, Sew Rights and other community work places.

Now I started making some money and helping my husband to run my family. I still have lot of problems like languages.  I want to go back to school and learn some things but I don't have another source of income. I am hopeful and hard working, thinking that one day I will reach my goal.

Thank you for supporting my efforts by buying an apron.  I hope you enjoy it.

Duka Subedi

Categories: Deep Dish Categories, Deep Dish Archive, June

28
April
2012

Pie Heaven?

So many pies.

The ballroom opened before us under an arch of red, white and blue balloons:  cool and dark, quiet, looming large, with pistachio green walls.  This was the national pie baking championship? 

Ah!  My eyes adjusted to the light and there in front of us was a long, very long table draped in white, crowned with 425 pies.  Different  pies.  My mind started to warp.  Yes, I’d arrived in pie heaven.  These were the commercially produced pies, where duplicate pies were being judged in the ballroom next door, while the amateurs prepared for their contest.

And sure enough, there around the perimeter of the room were gleaming stainless steel ovens, with tables and bowls and rolling pins and bakers!  Bakers with red hats, bakers with blue aprons, bakers with mixers – mixers they’d traveled with from home – and favorite pie pans.  Dan brought his favorite cast iron pie skillet to bake in, all the way from Flint, Michigan.

Then I knew it was going to be good.  These are pie people, baking their hearts out.  Their stories are the best.  I’ll be reporting on them in the next few weeks, complete with pictures. 

For now, let me assure you that these are characters of the first order.  And they are here to compete!  They work on their recipes, tossing out whole pies that “aren’t good enough,” polishing their “product” until it’s ready to enter here.  They all want to win.  And yet, there’s a sense of community and camaraderie that is palpable.

Pie.  It brings us together.

Written by: Rebecca Jo Dakota Categories: Deep Dish Archive

09
March
2012

Ownership vs. Sharing of Recipes

Pie Pals Share Theirs

How do you feel about sharing your best pie recipe?  Will you ever share it?  With whom,  under what circumstances?

Now I've heard, though I can't say I've had direct experience with this, that people in the South are happy to share their recipes.  It's just that they leave out one of the key ingredients.  Any truth to this?

I'll give my recipes away (as I do on Pie Pals)...to anyone who wants to make good pie, with hopes that they'll enjoy the recipes and quite possibly improve upon them.  After all, most of my recipes started out from a recipe book and then became my own.  No sense in holding back on anything when there's so much good to be shared.

And, that being said, I'm still going to ask for 99 cents for my "best" recipes – the "best of show" ones from the State Fair.  Wonder why?  Because I want to be the pie-wonder broker: connecting you with each other and all that's wonderful about pie.   It's so much more fun to do this than to sit in a corporate office or even to be a consultant for non-profit organizations.  And this Web site does cost a bit to run. 

So let's share and be generous with each other.  The more good pie, the better.

Yours in flakiness,

Rebecca, Your Pie Pal

Categories: March, Deep Dish Archive, 2012

24
August
2011

Are you a pie snob?

I’ve been accused and found guilty:  I am a pie snob.

I adore pie, pie making, pie eating, every little flaky delicate crumb of the crust and luscious drop of filling.  I’ve been known to lick my plate, to shower the baker with kudos, to plead for more.

But pie at a restaurant?  I won’t waste the calories on it.  I can’t stand the heavy crust:  thick, sweet, solid. 

Written by: Rebecca Jo Dakota Categories: December, Deep Dish Archive, 2011

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