Pie, Pie...Oh My!

Homemade cherry pie

Hello ladies! I'm really tired tonight but I wanted to let you know about my pie baking adventure. It was a very hot day here but we survived the heat and kept cool in her kitchen. First of all we started with 4 crusts that she had already made up the night before. Then she rolled out two and I rolled out 2. I watched her very carefully. The first one she made probably took her about 1 minute...no kidding. Practice does make perfect. Then she showed me how to make her Rhubarb Custard pie. She cuts up her rhubarb very small and thin. Then we made a cherry pie and the cherries come from a local grocer. They come already to go with the pits taken out. It has the perfect crumb topping. She likes to roll out her dough and freeze it pan and all. Then you just take it out and you're all ready to fill it up. Another tip she shared was for a 2 crust pie you can go ahead and fill it then seal it up again in a large baggie. However, you shouldn't preheat your oven after taking it directly from the deep freeze. She said this is really nice when you don't have time to bake or company arrives unexpectantly.

Here's the tips I thought were very helpful:

1. Use a great crust, she was gracious enough to share her recipe for Never Fail Pie Crust with me. It makes 4 crusts in one batch. (the secret is in the egg and vinegar, I think!)

2. Never stretch it after putting it in the pan.

3. She uses a large blending fork to cut in the flour with the shortening. My kithen aide is nice but you have to be careful not to overprocess it. She said her mother did this step my hand.

4. Always look under your plate to check for doneness on the crust. She uses a lot of vintage pyrex plates. Her favorite ones are the deep dish ones with the little scalloped edge handles on either side. Mine too!

5. Chill your dough overnight or for several hours for best results.

She had about 25 plus pie pans of various sizes. Wow! She had the nicest kitchen too. You know where you immediately feel welcome and know that she has spent a lot of time preparing great meals for her family. I can only imagine about her other cooking skills! Everyone at our church always raves about things she has brought to potlucks. She truly is an amazing person. I was humbled to be in her kitchen.

My daughter took most of the photos and I think she really enjoyed that. She rolled out a little crust all her own that she was very proud of. My son was at scout camp with my husband so the timing was just perfect. We had a wonderful afternoon. I came home with 1/2 of each of the pies and 3 crusts ready to go in the pans and 4 disks of dough to roll out later.

She trims her edges and doesn't do anything fancy, which is something I have a lot of trouble with anyway.



We're chatting about techniques here.



The yummy cherries waiting to be baked!

my DD rolling out her crust


cutting in the shortening

the rhubarb custard from the oven

Alice and I show off the fresh baked pies.

I think everyone should give pie baking a chance. It really is becoming a lost art and something that I wanted to learn for myself and my family. My mother was not a baker and it's something I've always loved doing. I think it's like a lot of things practice makes perfect. Alice shared that she has had a lot of failures in the kitchen too. I think that just goes to show that it's important to not give up after one or a few mishaps. Just think of it as a learning experience.

Well, ladies I will be back soon with more eye candy to show you of my home and a new sign.

Take care and stay cool,

Carey