Nothing-in-the-House 2012 Gift Guide

I know that winter is a-coming in, Christmas is fast approaching, and tomorrow is the last day of Hanukkah, but I want to continue the tradition I started last year, and I have some wonderful things to share from friends and Nothing-in-the-House alike. So without further ado, here is the Nothing-in-the-House 2012 Gift Guide for the pie baker and/or pie lover on your list.

First for some books and paper goods (clockwise from top left)...

1. Southern Pies by Nancie McDermott, $23 at your local bookstore This cookbook, written by my friend and fellow Tarheel Nancie McDermott, has been my primary source for pie recipes and inspiration in 2012. It's the book I wish I had written, with historical, traditional recipe and creative takes alike. A must-have for all pie bakers, in my book.

2. PIE. A Hand Drawn Almanac by Emily Hilliard (yes, that's me) and illustrated by Elizabeth Graeber, $15 on Etsy or at local DC-area shops I'm so excited to have collaborated with artist Elizabeth Graeber on this beautifully illustrated collection of pie stories and recipes--one for each month--from Nothing-in-the-House (plus some new ones too). It makes a wonderful gift (perhaps accompanied by a homemade pie?), if I do say so myself. More info here.

3. A Commonplace Book of Pie by Kate Lebo, $9 on Etsy The Seattle poet, pie baker, and founder of Pie School, Kate Lebo released this dear book or pie prose poems and recipes. It includes 10 rules for eating pie, and I agree with all of them. After all, two of them read "The butter must be cold."

4. Pie Postcards by Elizabeth Graeber, $12 on Etsy or at local DC-area shops Pie Almanac illustrator Elizabeth Graeber created this set of 6 pie postcards from some of my favorite illustrations in the almanac. They are a perfect way to send pie to friends in far away places.

Pie supplies and tools (left to right)...

5. Pie Bird, $5-7 at your local kitchen store It seems that I've started a little collection of pie birds, decorative pie funnels, which are placed in the middle of a double crust pie to vent steam and juice. Though I admittedly don't really use them, they look purrrty cute all lined up on my kitchen windowsill. Read more about pie birds here.

6. Whetstone Woodenware Pie Server, $13 at Whetstone Woodenware Every pie baker needs a good pie server, particularly for lifting out those pesky first slices. My mom bought me this wooden pie server from an Amish store near my hometown, but they are also available online.

7. Vintage Pie Tins, $6-12 at your local antique store or on Etsy Vintage pie tins are another item that I've begun to accumulate. Though mine mostly serve as kitchen decor, if they are rust-free and clean, they're perfectly usable for your current pie baking. It's fun to track down their stories too; for more about this Motherlike pie tin, read here.

8. Heirloom Pie Carrier, $7-20 on Etsy or make your own A couple of months ago I got an e-mail from my friend Nathan saying that he was sending me a package of "heirlooms etc." Since he and his wife Clara are farmers, I figured he meant heirloom seeds or vegetables or jam, but what came in the mail was even more special--heirloom fabric pie carriers his grandmother made. They are of a quilted material, with 2 of the 4 sides enforced with dowel rods. They are available occasionally on Etsy, but they'd be a lovely heirloom to make and pass on to you and yours.

The gift of PIE...

9. Nothing-in-the-House Winter Pie CSA, $90 (half-share) or $175 (full share), at Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co.  Another shameless self-promotion here, but for all you DC locals, give the gift of pie this holiday season!  With our Winter Pie CSA, you can offer 1 or 2 seasonal, local, handmade pies a month from January through March. More info here.

10. A Donation to Pie for Connecticut: Ease the Grief, any amount, at The World Needs More Pie In times of profound tragedy, like the one that occurred yesterday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, many of us are left beside ourselves unsure of what to do. We turn to our loved ones, soothing poems or music, comforting foods. To help ease the grief of those affected, Beth Howard is putting her baking skills to good use, giving away pies to the community of Newtown. Though there are many ways to help, this is a sweet one. More info here.

Especially in this time of national mourning, here's wishing all of you a bit of love and joy this holiday season. And whether you find something here or not, remember that a homemade pie always makes a wonderful gift.

Pye and the Magpie

One of the many reasons I love learning about, writing about, and baking pies, is for its darker, mythical origins. This article from NPR explores the heritage of medieval pie (which generally contained meat and had a dark, rich filling made of whatever the baker could get his/her hands on) and its linguistic connection to the magpie, those odd birds of variegated color who are known for collecting    strange and shiny objects for their nests.

I also love this illustration, c. 1465-1475 of medieval pie bakers. Look at those pies! and those pretzels! And that wood fired oven on wheels! If only!

Vintage Pie Birds

Vintage classic pie birds c. 1960

 Pie birds (or funnels) are small figurines, generally in the shape of a bird, but not always (see below), inserted into the middle of a double crust pie to let out steam and prevent spillage.  Some models also assist in supporting the pie crust so it does not collapse in the middle. According to this story in Country Living, pie "birds"/funnels first appeared in England at the turn of the 19th century, in various forms. They didn't take on the shape of birds, however, until the 1930s in the United States, with the nursery rhyme, "Sing A Song of Sixpence" (4 and 20 blackbirds baked into a pie) serving as inspiration.

I tend to feel that I don't need a pie bird...in some cases you want to keep the steam inside the pie, to help cook your fruit (with an apple pie, for instance).  But they are an interesting piece of material culture as well as a collector's item. Apparently they were more necessary in the past, as older ovens did not bake as uniformly as modern versions.

Here are a few of my favorite vintage and modern pie birds, sourced from that Country Living Article and Ebay (where there are many to be found). See a classic modern pie bird (and nothing-in-the-house mascot) at right. 

Stuart Bass pie goat with pie (very meta and makes me wonder why his pie doesn't have a pie bird?!)

British pie funnel c. 1909, its divider allows you to bake two different flavors in one pie

 Pie fruits, made in Taiwan c. 1960

By Camark Pottery Company (missing 3 from a 10 piece set) c. 1940s--to match your Fiestaware

Would love to see some of our readers' pie birds, if anyone has a collection...

Michael Hurley Illustrates the Piebird

After I heard back from Michael Hurley about my post on his pie-themed songs and art, I asked him if he might be interested in contributing a post to the blog. He sent in this photo he took in Richmond, Virginia, circa 1995:

and included this note:

hi Emily,

here's a pic for the pie blog. it illustrates the use of the piebird, a ceramic inserted in the pie which spouts the juices as a venting function. we used to do pies with these piebirds and here is one cooling from the oven.

alla

michael

He said that he ordered them from a Tennessee general store catalog, and was glad that I was a piebird keeper. I must admit, though I own two pie birds, a black bird (like the one pictured at right) and a sparrow, I've never actually used them in a pie, always thinking that I'd rather keep in the steam and juice as much as possible. I think the bottom of my oven has suffered as a result; I might need to try my piebird soon...