More Good Pie!
That’s a motto to live by, isn’t it? And we had GOOD PIE on PI DAY last week!
Several of us spent a whole evening at John and Bianca’s home, with laughter and pie coaching in abundance. John honed his pie skills while Bianca made her very first pie ever! Yay!
John made a blueberry peach pie, after making homemade crust for the first time. He's already known for making pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkins, and now he can claim success with making the flaky crust, as well!
Beth, an experienced baker, made her favorite: custard pie. She added a piece de resistance, freshly grated nutmeg, to the top of the pie just before baking.
Havens, also an experienced baker, made a sour cherry pie and brought it to share. We had three to sample: the cherry, blueberry peach and custard! Check these out in the attached photo.
Bianca and John were coached by yours truly, someone who finds great joy in sharing the how-to of pie. They were very good sports! They learned the chemistry of crust: the “keep it cold” rule, how to cut in the shortening in two batches using a pastry blender, and how to judge the consistency of the dough and to add just enough water (which varies from one day to the next, depending on humidity and such). They managed to roll the dough and get it into the pie plate without excessive cursing, and created a crust edge to seal in the juices and look pretty. Now they can make great pie crust any time!
Bianca made a beautiful first-ever pie, a traditional apple pie in an all-butter crust. It came out late at night, so we didn’t get to try it, but I’m quite sure it was fabulous.
Special thanks to Janet for being our taster extraordinaire!
If you, too, want to have the confidence to make perfect crust every time, you can learn everything you need to know with “Pie Crust 101,” a DVD with all of the tips and tricks and a recipe, created by me with the help of my film friends, “Film Feed.” You can find it in the Pie Pals Pie Shop, where you'll also find aprons either made by a microentrepreneur or printed in a union shop. Made in the USA, of course!
Happy baking to all, and here’s to more good pie bakers!
Rebecca
Pie Advocate
