a la mode

Pie.

I’m thinking about pie… fresh from the oven, home-baked yummy, flaky crusted pie. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Last night I even dreamed of pie – thanks to some late night browsing through Barbara Swell’s fun little book The Lost Art of Pie Making Made Easy and also the more serious PIE by Ken Haedrich. And then just before turning in for the night, I snuck over to eBay and found a sweet little vintage pie crimper that I just had to have – though honestly it may end up being as useful to me as the old pie bird I bought years ago, but which never brought me much success.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

...but I digress. It's all about the actual fresh from the oven pie for me today. Cookbooks and funky pastry tools will not satisfy for long. Visions of Lemon Meringue and Dutch Apples dance through my head. And they are not alone.

There is also Cherry Lattice topped pie, Pumpkin, Strawberry-Rhubarb, Key Lime, Chocolate cream, and Gooseberry… or warm apple pie with a scoop of soft vanilla ice cream on top…. Is there anything better?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(The answer, in case you are struggling here - is "no").
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Even the mere thought of (let's face it - ANY) home-made pie makes my mouth water at this point.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This pie obsession is not new, though it comes and thankfully - goes. This long-standing love of pie started in early childhood with the first bite of the flaky crusted delight that is my Mom’s Blueberry Pie (my absolute favorite). My Grandma H was a whiz at making Lemon Meringue pie, and my Grandma B can whip up an amazing Chocolate or Coconut cream…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With pie making a family tradition of sorts, I did eventually learn the art myself (I even won a blue ribbon at the county fair with the tasty Apple Raisin pie I entered while in “Girls” 4-H). I like making pie almost as much as I like eating it. That will certainly come in handy, because since I've been through this before, I know the cure to what ails me. It's fairly simple, and diet or no diet - nothing else will do. I must have a sample of something like this:

or THIS...

or even this...

and until I do get to savor some lovely home baked pie, I'll only be half here. Only half listening to what you tell me. Only half reading your clever blog entry. Only half concentrating. Only half NOT obsessing about flaky crusts and fresh fruit fillings.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

But since I am trying to be careful with what I eat... this splurge on Pie must be worth the sacrifice (i.e. the extra bonus hours required on the Wii Fit to burn off pie calories)... so now my mission is to find the PERFECT pie recipe that will cure what ails me, and won't leave me with any regrets. Right now I'm leaning toward a meringue-free lemon double crusted number from Barbara's book.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

But I'm open to ideas (and adore trying new recipes), so if you know of that one pie recipe that is better than all the rest... and you don't mind sharing - send it my way.

Photos: Bing Images