Pie!

Pie is a BIG deal in my family and coincidentally, my husbands family, too.  For as long as I can remember, my dad always requested cherry pie for his birthday instead of cake; I think my brothers did, too.  After I got married, I found out Bill loves pie, too.  In fact, when we get together to celebrate any birthday for his dad or any of his uncle's, we always have pie.  To prove how big of a deal pie is at our house, a few years ago we hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house and ended up with 9 pies for 7 adults (and kids, who don't each much pie. :) ) We like our pie!

This was for Bill's birthday, thus the "B" on top. :)

Lucky for me, my mom is an amazing pie maker and passed her talent on to me.  Not to be bragging here, but pie is one thing I excel at, maybe it's all the practice I do now.  One of the highlights of my newly married life was when my FIL raved over my pie (a little to MIL's chagrin) and then the next time we had pie, MIL sprinkled sugar on top and did a few things to try and make her's like mine.  I was secretly ecstatic!  (MIL is a pretty good cook, and I had heard too many times already "Call my mom and see how she does it.")  She has since admitted that I can make a better pie than her and leaves that to me now.

Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I already have my pie crusts in the freezer, I thought I'd share a couple recipes with you.  First of all, my mom's Fool Proof Pie Crust.  This recipe is awesome!  I've never had it come out tough, only tender and flaky.

Fool Proof Pie Crust

No matter how much you handle this dough, it will always be flaky, tender and delicious.  Scraps can be re-rolled if necessary and crust will never be tough.  Dough can be left in the refrigerator up to 3 days or can be frozen until ready to use.  Recipe makes 2 double-crust pies.

4 c. flour                      1 c. shortening (not refrigerated; do not use oil,

1 Tbsp. sugar                  lard, margarine or butter
2 tsp. salt                    1 Tbsp. white or cider vinegar
1/2  c. water.                 1 egg

In large bowl, stir together with fork flour, sugar, and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly.  In small bowl; beat together water, vinegar and egg; add to flour mixture and stir until all ingredients are moistened.  Divide dough in 4 portions and with hands, shape each in flat round patty ready for rolling; wrap each patty in plastic or waxed paper and chill at least a 1/2 hour.  When you are ready to use the pie crust, lightly flour both sides of the patty and roll out on lightly floured board or pastry cloths.

The next recipe, Huckleberry Pie Filling, came from my husband's Aunt Janie.  For those of you who don't know what huckleberries are, they're a cousin to the blueberry, but smaller and more tart.  They only grow up in the mountains and are a hot commodity.  Seriously, people around here will go to their death beds without revealing their secret huckleberry spot.  The berries are only in season for a couple of weeks at the end of July, usually, and it's back breaking work to spend hours hunched over a bush picking the little things.  Then you bring them home, freeze them, and treat them like gold, only to be used for the specialist of occasions. :)  Huckleberries pie is a favorite in Bill's family, so I was thrilled when his aunt shared this recipe with me.  This same basic recipe works for about any kind of berries, too.

Huckleberry Pie Filling

2 c. frozen berries                                 ½ c. water
3 Tbsp. tapioca                                     1 c. sugar

In a small pan on low heat, combine berries, tapioca and water.  Add sugar.  Bring to a slow boil.  Mix 2 tbsp. cornstarch and ½ c. water until smooth.  Pour into berry mixture.  Bring to boil and stir until slightly thickened. Let the filling cool a little before pouring into crust. This will keep it from boiling over and making a mess in your oven. Pour into pie crust and bake.

 After baking, let cool before serving.  This lets the pie filling set up so it doesn’t all run out when you cut it.

If you've never baked a pie, try it!  I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about it, too.  I really think the secret is a lot of practice, so don't give up if it doesn't turn out perfect the first time.  Mine still aren't the prettiest every time, but at least they taste good.  

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