Easy As Pie!

Apple, cherry, mixed berry, peach, mulberry? Or perhaps French Silk, pecan, chocolate hazelnut, Boston Cream Pie...wait a minute. Boston Cream Pie is actually a cake. You guessed it; today we are talking about the sweetest of pies. It is our last day on pies and we thought we would leave the best for last. After all, who doesn't like pie!?!

In our humble opinion, a pie, any pie, is only as good as its crust. This has not always been the case, however. Historically, the purpose of a pastry shell was mainly to serve as a baking dish and was often too hard to actually eat. In the beginning of pie making, the first pies were called coffins. The word coffin means basket or box. These first pies were meat pies baked in crusts that formed a box, having a lid of dough. Pies with no lid were known as traps. These pies were kind of like our version of a casseroles only without a pan. The crust on the coffins or traps was usually inches thick which would hold up in long baking periods.

Of course, record keeping and documentation is quite sketchy, but it seems the roots of pie making can be traced to the ancient Egyptians during the Neolithic period, 9500 B.C. This is a time when tools were fastioned, animals were domesticated, and permanent communities were established. Pies during this era were called galettes.  Galettes could be called a more free form pie. These early pies were made of oats, wheat, rye and barley for a crust and filled with honey, then baked over coals.

Strawberry Galette

Around 1304 B.C. nuts and fruits were added to crusts.  This is likely the first form of pastry. The pharaoh of the day was King Ramses II. Drawings of such pastries are found on the walls of his tomb.  An offering to the Gods, no doubt.

Once the Roman's became acquainted with pies, after winning battles with the Greeks, pies spread throughout Europe. Along the way, states and countries adapted their own version and customs when making pie.

We best not neglect literature when we talk about pie. Most of us have heard the rhyme, "Sing a Song of Sixpence....four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie." That is more than a rhyme.  These pies are referred to as animated pies.  They would often include rabbits, frogs, turtles, along with birds. When the pie was opened all the creatures would emerge to entertain royalty.  We're not clear how this was managed, obviously no creature was actually baked.  More likely the crust was constructed with a lid or sometimes a whole in the bottom, and once baked and cooled, the creatures were put inside.  Turns out that if you had a large enough crust and a small enough person....well, this was done as a gift for a recognized king and queen of the day.

4 and 20 Black Birds Bake in a Pie

English women were baking pies long before their arrival to America.  No food of English fame compared to the making of pie. In fact shepherd's pie and cottage pie are the earliest pies made in an English kitchen. Shepherd's pie is made with lamb and vegetables. Cottage pie is made with beef and vegetables.   Both pies are topped with potatoes.

Shepherd's Pie

Upon coming to America the Pilgrims brought with them their love for pies. Thanks to the Native Americans, the new arrivals learned about local fruits and berries. Quickly these became a part of pie making.  Women began to use round pans to "cut corners" and make due with available ingredients. The pies became more shallow than the ones previously described.

As humans moved across North America, pies were a convenient way to feed families.  Pie was served at every meal. And from there pie was established as a permanent food in American culture.   If you don't think so, consider the fact that there isn't a county or state fair that doesn't have some contest including pie. Not only that, there is an American Pie Council. The Council sponsors National Pie Day, National Pie Championships, and the Great American Pie Festival.

Did you ever wonder where the colloquium "easy as pie" comes from? Once again, who really knows? But in 1886 in "Sporting Life" "like eating pie" was first recorded.   It doesn't refer to the ease of making pie, but rather the ease of eating pie.  It literally refers to something that is easy and pleasurable.

And we ask you, can eating pie be anything but easy and a pleasure to enjoy? Certainly not!

Pie is so much a part of American culture that it shows up all over the place in our general conversation. Here are some examples:

In apple pie order, meaning very well organized

Cut the pie up, dividing something up

Everyone gets a piece of the pie, there's some for everyone

Eating humble pie, being humble when wrong

Having a finger in the pie, being involved in something

Having a finger in too many pies, being involved in too many things

As American as apple pie, the typical American

Motherhood and apple pie, the essential elements of an American home

Pie in the sky, having to do with a special reward

Shut your pie hole, shut your mouth

A piece of the pie, sharing a part of the money with everyone, moving up in status (see the Jefferson' theme song, "we finally got a piece of the pie")

Nice as pie, someone being friendly when you don't expect them to be

Pie chart, an illustration of divisions of something

Pie-eyed, to be drunk

So you see, pie is in our culture, not to mention on our dining room table.

But let's get back to the idea that a pie is only as good as its crust.   Prickly Pear 1 has spent a great amount of time learning and practicing the skill of pie crust making.  We all know that person who barely has to try and can make a brilliant pie crust.  And then there's the rest of us.  But with a little support and confidence, and knowing a few tricks of the trade, we all can make a good crust for a good pie experience. Here's how:

• Make sure that all your ingredients for your crust are COLD. This includes the butter or lard, the water, and some bakers even freeze their flour. This cannot be overstated. Cold ingredients are a must. 
• Make sure you DO NOT overwork the dough. While kneading and working dough for bread is a given and much needed, overworking pastry dough will make it tough. You never want tough dough. It will make people sad to have pie with a tough crust. 
• A real old world recipe included a bit of vinegar in the recipe for pie crust. Just a bit of vinegar will aid in making tender dough. This also works in cakes, as well.  Don't worry, the vinegar smell bakes away. 

There you have it. Not really complicated, but not following these essential rules will make for a bad pie crust.

Today's pie recipe is an easy-breezy Custard Pie with a flaky crust. The crust recipe can be used for any pie you like, even savory pies.

Custard Pie

What you need:

For the crust:

1 1/4 Cup Flour

1 T Sugar

1/4 t Salt

8 Tablespoons Cold Butter, cubed

3 Tablespoons Cold Water

For the custard:

2 Cups Milk

1/2 Cup Sugar **

6 Large Eggs

dash of Salt

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

What you need to do:

For the crust, place the flour, sugar and salt in your food processor.  Pulse for a moment to mix.  Add COLD butter and combine until your get a corn meal like texture.  Gradually add COLD water, mixing until dough forms a ball.  If more water is needed, only add a very little until dough comes together.  Shape dough in a round disc and wrap.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes or over night.  Bring dough to room temperature before rolling out your pie crust for a 9 inch pie pan.  

For the custard, mix milk and sugar together to dissolve the sugar thoroughly.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and salt.  Using a hand mixer, beat the custard for 30-45 seconds, making sure the eggs are fully incorporated.  The custard will be a bit foamy.  Allow it to rest for a few minutes so the bubbles go away.  Pour the custard in your prepared pie crust.

**if you like a sweeter custard, increase the sugar to 3/4 cup.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until center of pie is set.  Cool complete before serving.

We know everyone enjoys pie.  And there are so many kinds just waiting to be enjoyed.  So feel free to make your own.  It really isn't that difficult...in fact, it's as easy as pie!  :)

Now, go out and make something good.