Pie Perfection

Some of you may have noticed that I like making and eating apple pie :)

I have used it as a prize a few times now and of course have also been craving it during pregnancy. Here is some background on my love of all things pie...

My mom is famous for her pies, especially her crust!! She usually makes a double crust and uses one on top of her pies depending on the kind. She brings them to work for her coworkers (they celebrate Pi Day every year with multiple kinds!), to holiday family gatherings, to my Grandpa Bob for his birthday/Father's Day/anytime... My mom is definitely a big inspiration behind this blog post of "sharing a meal."

One classic she makes is rhubarb pie (sometimes with strawberries and sometimes with the delicious combo of apples!). We have a big "wild" patch of it in our yard and every year in late spring she harvests a bunch and freezes it to use throughout the summer/fall. It is obviously not the most appealing food but she works her pie magic and makes it sweet and delicious! We love to have it with vanilla ice cream.

My other favorite is her classic apple. I'm salivating just thinking of it! My sister Kellie actually wanted to try to make a pie as a COVID project (she didn't even own a pie pan) because I think she misses Mom's pie too! She made it in a round cake pan and it looks professional! Good work Kel!

My Dad was a big pie lover as well. He generally had his with LOTS of ice cream on top. He was famous for offering people this huge dessert after an already huge "Bodge style" dinner. And he usually didn't take no for an answer. And there was no such thing as a "small" piece LOL. To celebrate/remember his birthday now, I usually make an apple pie since it was one of his favorites. He usually requested "Lazy Daisy Cake" which has coconut and none of us are big fans so I choose the next best dessert!

I have heard of people having pie as their wedding dessert which also sounds like a fantastic idea. Kyle has also requested apple pie over birthday cake! When I talk about my love of leftovers, it goes to a whole new level with pie. There is no courtesy taken if there is pie in the fridge on day 2. There is no "saving" for so-and-so. It is a free-for-all/fair game. I learned this the hard way when Kyle took the last piece of apple pie while I was PREGNANT! In the words of Stephanie Tanner: "How RUDE!"

One more funny pie story. Upon moving to the Milwaukee area from little Ripon and Peshtigo in 2010 my eyes were opened to the more urban lifestyle (and I know Greendale/Waukesha/New Berlin where I lived aren't even very urban)! I could walk to Southridge Mall from my first apartment. No more 45 minute drive to Green Bay for good shopping! I also got to try a bunch of new (to me) restaurants. Seeing as I was a first year teacher and worked til about 6-7:00 every night (and the kitchen in my apartment was so small I could touch both sides of it with arms outstretched) I would often just swing by Noodles, Qdoba or Kopps on the way home for dinner (yes I know these aren't even "real" restaurants!). Fridays was the good 'ole Rocky Rococo in the mall (this deserves it's own blog post :) Kyle always teases me that I led such an exciting life HA!

One sit down place I had never been was Baker's Square. My teaching partner Julie Carter introduced me to this lovely "free pie Wednesday" place. There was one near our school in West Allis and we went one day for lunch when we had a teacher inservice. There were probably 10 of us teachers and there wasn't really a sense of urgency amongst the waitresses that weekday lunch hour. We ended up having to take the free pie to-go. Which of course took forever to wrap up for everyone. Julie is also known for enjoying a long lunch with lots of laughter and conversation. So, needless to say, we were VERY late getting back to school for our afternoon meetings. Some of us new teachers (Me lol) were nervous about this but she assured us that the principal would be fine with it (they were friends). We snuck back in the side door of the school all laughing up a storm I'm sure. I don't remember what we did that afternoon but I of course remember having that to-go pie as an afternoon treat. Delicious!

I'm already looking forward to fall/apple season to restock my freezer and make more PIE! I'm also now getting an idea for our next Honoring Caregivers Fundraiser...a Pie raffle!! Stay tuned...

Apple Pie

Ingredients

5-7 Apples of choice - peeled and sliced

1 ½ c. sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 pie crust (see below)

Directions

Combine first three ingredients and pour into pie crust. Then combine the following ingredients and sprinkle on top.

½ c. sugar

¾ c. flour

⅓ c. cold butter - sliced and “cut” into the flour/sugar to form crumbles

Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes until apples are soft and top is golden brown

Pie Crust

Ingredients

½ c. shortening

3 Tbsp. cold water

1 ⅓ c. flour

½ tsp. Salt

Directions

Put into food processor in the above order. Mix until dough ball forms. Roll out on a floured service and transfer to the bottom of a pie plate.