SOL18: Me, oh my, I love Pi(e)

Chocolate Cream Pie

In tribute to the confused little pig holding his fork and looking sadly up at the Pi symbol on my Sandra Boynton’s calendar, today’s slice is not an orange but  pie. Because around my house any excuse will do for baking a homemade pie.

I come from a long line of pie bakers. My grandmother’s wedding present to us in 1974 was a copy of Farm Journal’s Complete Pie Cookbook ©1965. I specify the date because I ordered another copy about 15 years ago for a wedding gift, and what I received was an updated, “modern” pie cookbook filled with recipes calling for all manner of time savers, including pudding mixes and frozen crusts. A travesty.

Only scratch-made pie crusts hold my pies, still proudly made from lard. (Read up on it and you’ll find that the canned shortening my mom swore by is really worse for us than the lard.) Granny would tell you that a pie is only as good as its crust–tender and flaky. She rolled hers out on her baking cabinet that her dad built her using their ancient refrigerator top. It now sits proudly in my kitchen (and also works well for Christmas cookies).

So many pies and so little time. Let’s start with our ABC’s.

Apple Pie

A is for apple, of course. Tart Granny Smith apples peeled and sliced thin. Nestled in a tender, flaky crust and baked in buttery, cinnamon sugar goodness. Maybe a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting on top? Yum.

Buttermilk Pie

B is for buttermilk, a family favorite. No top crust needed on this one.  That golden goodness comes from a filling rich with eggs, butter, & buttermilk with a dash of lemon (well, of course some sugar, too). This one is Emeril’s recipe, though. Sorry Granny. We just like his better. Need a dollop of whipped cream on that slice?

Cherry Pie

C is for cherry, my husband’s favorite. Two cans of red tart cherries are needed for this one, as it must be a 10-inch pie to keep those cherry pie lovers happy. No thin slice will do. Do not expect to have much of this pie left after the first serving. Best to get what you can the first slice around.

C is also for chocolate cream pictured above. A rich chocolatey homemade filling of melted Ghirardelli chocolate filling rests beneath those golden meringue peaks. This one serves a few more people than the cherry or apple because who could manage a thick slice of such rich chocolateyness?  My younger son, that’s who. Sigh.

I’ll leave you with these four, and if you want more maybe you can find yourself a gently used 1965 Farm Journal’s Complete Pie Cookbook. My younger son would offer you another solution. “It’s called the Internet, mom…”

Lest you judge us harshly for gluttony, please know that these homemade pies don’t appear weekly (or even monthly) in our house. They are a labor of love and a special treat, requested for holidays and birthdays, and occasionally on regular days that haven’t been so great.

Since I can’t offer you an actual piece of pie, I will leave you with a song about pie from the movie Michael. Enjoy!