I Love Pie

August 14th, 2008

(photo by Sara Tro)

Sometimes I think it’s some sort of primeval geometric thing. It may be an image of an archetype or maybe it has something to do with just plain roundness. Is a circle the perfect geometric shape? Is there nothing in nature that is a perfect circle?

I have preferred pie to cake my whole life. I’m not sure but that maybe my mother made more cakes than pies. Would that make me prefer them because they did not appear on the table as much as cake? Cakes just always seemed easier to make than pies but then I have never made a lot of cakes. It probably has something to do with that eggshell fiasco I wrote about in an earlier post.

Although it has not always been the case, I can’t think of one kind of dessert pie that I don’t like. When I was much younger I did not really care for mincemeat pie. Many people don’t like mincemeat. A lot of folks are just put off by reading the list of ingredients that go into making mincemeat. If you buy prepared mincemeat you can check out the side of the jar for the list of ingredients and it may make you think twice about eating it yourself. I think there’s some sort of beef fat in it. After all they do call it mince “meat”.

My family has a very long history of gathering together for reunions and while I have been unable to attend for several years it used to be that I never missed them. When I was in my twenties and my Grandmother was still alive I remember going to one such reunion and discovering that she had brought a mincemeat pie. I loved my Grandmother and would do almost anything for her. I would never do anything to hurt her feelings. So I ate a piece of the mincemeat pie and then just to put the icing on the cake, so to speak, I told her how much I liked it.

Forgive me Grandma. I am sorry I lied but I just wanted to make you feel good.

In our home we speak of karma dollars. This is a concept that an old friend of mine introduced me to many years ago wherein it is stated that if you do a good turn for someone, you store up an account of karma dollars that you may well need to draw on later in life. It’s a simple accounting system of morals that has no real basis in life but somehow or another makes us feel better. Hum..? I think I better just let that whole idea sit there. Perhaps we can return to it another day.

My Grandmother was glad I had enjoyed the pie. She always liked to make food that I liked. In fact, she was so glad that I enjoyed the pie that every year after that for as long as she lived she brought a mincemeat pie to the reunion because Bob liked them so much.

Do you see what I was talking about when I mentioned the karma dollar theory?

So every year Grandma brought a delicious mincemeat pie and every year Bob ate a piece of the pie and told Grandma how good it was.

It was worth it and I have no regrets. Growing older I have learned to be philosophical about these small funny things in life and in addition to that I have learned to enjoy mincemeat pie. Go figure!

Several years ago I decided I would teach myself to bake pies. Everyone told me that there was no need to learn how to make pie crust because you could buy perfectly good pie crust at any decent grocery store. It was too much work to actually make crust that would probably fall short of what was available in folded, flattened pieces in a box.

But they were not really hearing what I was saying.

I wanted to learn how to make really good pies.

I didn’t want to make really good pies. I wanted to learn how to make really good pies.

So I began to make pie crust and to put together pies. I started with single crust pumpkin pie because I could buy a can of pumpkin pie filling that only required the addition of an egg or two and a little evaporated milk. That was not the filling that I wanted to make, but it allowed me to concentrate on the hardest part of the pie, the crust. I read about pies in cook books and I talked to a lot of people about crust. I also started collecting books about pie because I was and still am a bit of a book nut.

Talking with my mother was very helpful. I still think that she makes the best pie crust in the world and I don’t care if I am a little bit prejudiced. Her crust is always flaky and flavorful and even though the standard recipe I follow is different than the one she uses, her crust is always delicious. She was probably the first person to emphasize to me the importance of not over-handling the dough. One of the problems I was struggling with in those early pie crusts was that I insisted on making pie dough like I do most things in life. I tend to believe that if you are supposed to put X amount of one item in a recipe then if you double it, it will taste twice as good. I also thought that if they said to work the dough for five minutes, fifteen would be even better. I know, not too smart. I think the Grateful Dead summed it up quite well as far as I was concerned, “too much of everything is just enough”.

Of course this is really very stupid, but by making mistakes we learn.

Eventually I stumbled upon a recipe and some advice that truly spoke to me. In my case the epiphany came from Julia Child, God Bless Her Soul. One of the greatest cookbooks in my collection is her classic The Way To Cook. Very simply stated and completely to the point. There is a wealth of information in that wonderful book and the section on making pie crust was very helpful. After following her instructions and using her recipe, I was able to make the best pie crust I had ever made. She advises you to chill all of your bowls as well as the ingredients and even the rolling pin. It struck me like a bolt of lightning that there was much more to cooking, and baking in particular, than heat. I learned the importance of cold. Wow! Cooking is more than just burning things; it also involves cooling things on occasion. Brilliant!

I made some progress and from there went on to make double crust pies and even the occasional meringue or cream pie.

The pies I have made recently have been a bit of a disappointment to me. The crust hasn’t been very easy to handle. Ever since I moved to the west coast I have not been as satisfied with the crusts I make as I was when I lived back east. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that I am living closer to sea level or am baking pies further north than ever before. It’s time get back to work on my crust again and see if I can’t return to where I was when I first discovered Julia Child’s recipe.

This doesn’t really bother me though because as I stated earlier…I am interested in learning how to make good pies.

It may be I love them because I was raised on good pies or it may have something to do with the mystical geometric shape of the circle, but I suspect that it comes down to the fact that well made pie just tastes so darn good. Go to a good diner, drop in on a friend that bakes (Hi Mom), or take the time to learn how to make them if you are so inclined, but in any event make time now and then for a piece of pie with coffee or milk or whatever sounds good to you. Life is short and whoever said that we should eat dessert first was right.

Entry Filed under: A Piece of Pie, General