1) Are pies an important part of a holiday meal? Yes. One year at my sister-in-law's they served some kind of pumpkin bar instead of pie. It just was not right.
2) Men prefer pie; women prefer cake. Discuss. Well I know my husband preferred pie and so does my son. I think it might have something to do with the fact usually it's the women who make pies (though my husband made a mean sweet potato pie) and pies are more trouble to make than cake.
3) Cherries--do they belong in a pie? Well of course. But pitting them can be a pain.
4) Meringue--if you have to choose, is it best on lemon or chocolate? I'm not real crazy about meringue. I prefer chocolate or lemon cream pie.
5) In a chicken pie, what are the most compatible vegetables? Anything you don't like to find in a chicken pie? Onions and carrots are a must. I don't like peas.
More about pie...
Regarding crust. I am more a cook than a baker. People are usually better at one than the other. They require different skills. Baking requires precision. Cooking requires experimentation. I am not precise. I cannot make a decent pie crust. I can't manipulate it. You can't mess with pie crust. The more you manipulate it the worse it tastes. You need to make it, roll it and put in the pie tin, no fooling around or repairing the torn part or rolling it up in a ball and starting over. I just can't do it. I buy the refrigerated pre- made crusts. They taste decent but of course home made is better. But not my homemade.
I make good pumpkin pie. I make it with sweetened condensed milk. Makes a richer pie. But I really think anything made with pumpkin taste better if you use squash or sweet potatoes instead. The only reason people make pumpkin pie is because that's all pumpkin is good for - to be mixed with sugar.
A fun thing I like to do with fruit pies is cut out the top dough with cookie cutters.
Enough about pie. Today I take crap to the Good Will and pack more. Moving day is Monday. I still have hope I will be ready by then.
PS - Joan's blog about canned filling reminded me of a story when I was younger. I had a boyfriend who liked pie. I wasn't much into cooking or baking then but I would buy a pre made crust, dump a can of fruit pie filling in it, bake it and it was plenty good enough for him.
So I was living in a rented room in a house with a couple of other girls and an old lady who owned the house. One of the girls grabs me in the kitchen and shows me the empty fruit can and starts ranting "Look at this -- Wilma (the landlady) made this pie --she used premade crust and CANNED filling! Isn't that horrible! My mother is a gourmet cook and she would have a stroke if she saw that" I tried to interrupt her and say that it was me because I was not ashamed. But she just kept going on and after awhile I felt like I would embarrass HER if I said anything. Later that day I grabbed my pie and went out the door and waved at her. She never said a word. My boyfriend loved the pie and loved the effort.
PS - Joan's blog about canned filling reminded me of a story when I was younger. I had a boyfriend who liked pie. I wasn't much into cooking or baking then but I would buy a pre made crust, dump a can of fruit pie filling in it, bake it and it was plenty good enough for him.
So I was living in a rented room in a house with a couple of other girls and an old lady who owned the house. One of the girls grabs me in the kitchen and shows me the empty fruit can and starts ranting "Look at this -- Wilma (the landlady) made this pie --she used premade crust and CANNED filling! Isn't that horrible! My mother is a gourmet cook and she would have a stroke if she saw that" I tried to interrupt her and say that it was me because I was not ashamed. But she just kept going on and after awhile I felt like I would embarrass HER if I said anything. Later that day I grabbed my pie and went out the door and waved at her. She never said a word. My boyfriend loved the pie and loved the effort.
"That's all pumpkin is good for, to be mixed with sugar" made me chuckle! I always wondered what all the fuss over pumpkin pie was all about. I enjoyed reading your post.
ReplyDeleteI loved your addendum. What you said about baking rings true with me--I've always baked cookies, cakes, other desserts, but not so much pies. This year I tried a homemade crust for the first time in years and years, and it DID taste better. . . .but it was much more complicated than I previously thought, with chilling the dough.
ReplyDelete"...homemade is better. But not my homemade." Oh, I am so with you there! Good play. And good luck with the move!
ReplyDeleteJo, I love the cookie cutter patterns, those are great!!
ReplyDeleteHi, Joelle.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes wish I could be a RevGalBlogPal. I don't suppose three out of four is good enough.If it were, I'd say:
1. Pie is good at any meal. Never necessary.
2. That's how it works out in my household, but we're hardly a scientific sampling.
3. Cherries? Absolutely. Also blueberries and peaches. Apple pie is over-rated.
4. Lemon. But I'm with you in preferring lemon cream.
5. MMmmmmm....chicken. Lots of root veggies are important. Peas are good. I'm thinking that tofu and brown rice don't belong.
Concerning other matters, I pray the best for you in moving, and in your future ministries.
Brant
Pumpkin is nice roasted with herbs - thyme and rosemary, in particular - and perhaps a little balsamic vinegar, and served as a vegetable dish.
ReplyDeleteHere in the UK, pie isn't part of our festive tradition; we have mince pies, of course, but they are slightly different, as they are individually sized, and double-crust. And our Christmas pudding is a steamed pudding full of dried fruit and alcohol, very rich!
As for your story about the pie, it reminds me of 30-mumble years ago, before I was married, when the young men at our church used to invite us to Sunday lunch; the menu was invariably some kind of roast dinner, usually with soggy cabbage, and the pudding was a tin of pie filling topped with crumble mix out of a packet! Dead easy, and it didn't really taste that bad, either!
Annabel I still say whatever you do to pumpkin - it will taste 3 times better if you do it with acorn or butternut squash.
ReplyDeleteBrant I think to be part of RevgalBlogPals you just have to have an active blog and be supportive of women clergy.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the pie crust issue. I can make pie crust, but it isn't pretty, and it's usually tough. Give the Pillsbury Ready Crust and I will make pie. My husband was very thankful when they were invented!
ReplyDeleteI hope your move is relatively pain and hassle free, Joelle. Moving is one of the things I dislike most.
ReplyDelete