Pie oh Mine

Ok, so that's the name of Tony Soprano's horse. But I literally can not think, or utter, the word pie, without thinking of that horse. So this slice's for you Pie.

Why all the talk about pie? Well, I got a very random invitation, from a very dear friend, who needed help baking some blueberry pies. Sheryl Julian, who can sometimes be caught blogging about food , was doing a piece all about using different fats in pie crusts. This was a far more detailed look at pie making than I ever thought I'd get. And also much harder than I thought! Baking 5 pies in 4 hours proved to be a challenge, and I'll admit, I thought I was going to get my red card when I almost drowned the Blueberry Crostada.

We started by making all the different doughs. One was made with lard, one with oil, one with butter and shortening, and one with Crisco. The crostada, which doesn't count as a pie, was made with all butter, and one egg. The crust that was made with oil, also had cinnamon in the blueberry filling. The rest of the fillings had blueberries (frozen and fresh), lemon juice, instant tapioca, a pinch of salt and butter.



It was so fun to work with Sheryl in her element. When I had asked her the night before what the job would entail, she said I would essentially be like a surgeon's assistant, and she was right. Everything in the kitchen is meticulous. Everything has it's own place and purpose. Except that you find yourself in this incredibly warm and inviting home. A far cry from the cold, sterile operating room.

I stayed for a bit of the photo shoot was interesting in it's own right. The photographer was sweet, I didn't even mind washing dishes with a nice breeze coming in through the window, overlooking Sheryl's beautiful garden. And after my one bite of the crostada, I walked back out into the gloom and rain, daydreaming of nothing but pie. Thankfully, the tasting was the following day.


All 4 of us went to the globe, Chris was home, and Jack was excited to see Nana, and everyone was excited to see Jack and Leo. And the pie discussion was interesting and delicious. Hopefully I'll be lucky enough to partake in some further adventures in food.