Pi(e) Day on the Piedmont

Here at Nothing-In-The-House, we've been celebrating pi(e) day, 3.14, for a few years now, and though I haven't been to any of the amazing TX pi(e) day parties, Pi(e) Day has never been as beautiful, full-force, or fun as this year's celebration.

My friend Lora lives and works at Celebrity Dairy Goat Farm in Siler City, NC. Awhile back we got to talkin' about a pie party, and she generously suggested (and offered to host!) that we have our Pi(e) Day celebration out at the Dairy where we could enjoy the industrial kitchen, comforts of the inn, adorable baby goats, and spring peeper chorus, out in the Chatham County country.

Most of the baking team gathered at the inn the evening before, where we made a large batch of pie dough and some of the icebox pies, then ate tacos, crackers and goat cheese, drank wine, played Exquisite Corpse and sang songs late into the night.


The next morning, the kitchen was abuzz with the 13 member baking team as we rolled dough, chopped fruit, whipped cream, and fluted crusts.

forks await folks

Altogether we made 26 pies, and not a bad one in the bunch. In fact, they were all delicious (at least the ones I tried, which was close to most). Lora made fresh goat's milk ice cream to top them off. Here are a few pie portraits, but for a list of all of them with their respective bakers, plus additional words and photos, see Lora's blog post here.

Brooke's delicious lemon goat cheese tart w. Lora's blackberry preserves, recipe here

Lora's Kentucky Pie

I tried my hand at this tart, from Michel Roux's Pastry

Shoofly! Don't Bother Me Pie by Lora

April's (of Farmer's Daughter) Sweet Potato Muscadine Pie

My Avocado Coconut Pie (vegan) recipe here

Pimento Cheese Tomato Pie by Emily Wallace, the day's favorite and first to go!

About 40 friends came out to the farm to help us enjoy the pies and the beautiful spring day. We gave away 2 pies in our pi(e) walk (walked in circle of circumference 2pi(e)r), done with live old-time music accompaniment.

Bill goes back for round 4

Do The Pie Walk

Molly, age 11, the youngest baker, made this video, documenting the day.

After the crowds departed and all the pie dishes were washed, the remaining few settled in for a relaxing porch sit, and viewing of hobo-movie Sullivan's Travels, which, though it had no hobo window sill-pie-snatching chase scene, did have two mentions of pie.

We did indeed have pie for breakfast the next day. 3.15, the (p)ides of March.

Thank you SO much to our team of bakers: Emily W, Chris, Lora, Shannon (who all also took photos), Ashley, Whitney, Brooke, Mary, Zans, Molly, Joe, and April with VERY BIG THANKS to Lora and Joe who really made the event possible.

texas pie pi party!!!

hi y'all! we had a super rad pi party. see more pics here. PEZ!!!!

The Root of All Deliciousness

(click to enlarge)

Here's how we plan to celebrate Pi(e) Day 3.14 on the North Carolina Piedmont: A feast of 20-30 homemade sweet and savory pies and homemade goat's milk ice cream at Celebrity Dairy goat farm, a Pi(e) Walk walked in a circle of circumference 2pi(e)(r), live music, baby goats, and outdoor projection of pie-stealing hobo films. I am very excited.

What does your pi(e) day have in store?

O Pi(e)-O-Neers!

The next morning Angélique, Amédée's wife, was in the kitchen baking pies, assisted by Old Miss Chevalier. Between the mixing-board and the stove stood the old cradle that had been Amédée's an in it was his black-eyed son. As Angélique, flushed and excited, with flour on her hands, stopped to smile at the baby, Emil Bergson road up to the kitchen door on his mare and dismounted.

-Willa Cather, O Pioneers!

Our friend, the lovely and talented Ms. Becky Wright of Philadelphia, PA held a "Pie and Pioneers" (note the Conestoga wagon in the above photograph) event at her apartment a few weeks ago. She made 20 flavors, all by hand from scratch. Here are a few of the highlights...

apple (with a heart)

banana cream (whole wheat crust)

black bottom chocolate cream

butterscotch cream (with birds)

california prune

peach (with a braid!)

plum (it had to be cooked in a brown paper bag!)

raspberry glacé

strawberry

The other flavors were pecan, chocolate pecan, peaches 'n' cream, caramel raisin walnut, ginger-pear, sour cream apple, pumpkin, lemon meringue, coconut cream, dark cherry, and cranberry-blueberry. Way to go Philly Pie and Pi(e)-o-neers!

Speaking of pi(e)...what you got cookin' for pi(e) day 3.14?!

Women's Land Army Pie Lunch

Via the BBC:
The Women's Land Army was set up in June 1939 to help on farms, increase the amount of food grown in Britain and replace male agricultural workers, who were away fighting the war.
At its peak in 1943, there were 80,000 Land Girls who carried out tasks such as hoeing, ploughing, lifting potatoes, lambing and looking after poultry.

Lady farmers with great 40s fashion (johdpurs! knee-highs! waves!) enter the haystack Pie Enjoyment Zone with English savory pies. What more could you want?

Zingerman's Pot Pies

I was in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a hot minute this past weekend, and pretty much went directly from the Detroit airport to the Jewish deli-turned foodie phenom, Zingerman's for my standard #36 on sourdough with a new pickle (basically a veggie reuben with coleslaw instead of sauerkraut).

I found not only the promise of one of my favorite lunches, but an array of pot pies available there during the months of January and February. It's a good thing they were out of their vegetarian pie option, or I would have had quite a time deciding between "Lila & Izzie's Skokie Skidoo" sandwich and the "Fungi Pot Pie."
I was intrigued by this "Daria's Dingle Pie," which they purport to be "a salute to the miners on the Dingle Peninsula of Ireland," and is apparently a standard Irish savory pie recipe, traditionally sold at Lammas Fairs during the last week of August.

This tribute to the miner in pie form, though, made me wonder why Zingerman's wasn't offering a pasty-- the Cornish savory pie that was frequently consumed and popularized by Finnish miners in Michigan's Upper Penninsula. Perhaps they'll cover that later in some future 'Traditional foods of Michigan' or 'Traditional foods of the Midwest' or 'Traditional foods mistaken for stripper-garb' display.

Pimento Cheese and Tomato Pie

A few weeks ago, Emily, Erica and I got together for '3-E Baking Wednesday.' Emily and I had to make something for the Foodways class potluck at our Prof. Marcie Ferris' home. We decided to combine our two respective loves--pimento cheese, a Southern specialty (Emily W. is writing her Folklore Master's thesis on it), and pie. Our friend April McGreger shared the recipe with us:

Pimento Cheese and “Put Up” Tomato Pie

This pie is a riff on a church cookbook standard simply called “tomato pie”. Usually made in the summer with fresh tomatoes, this tart takes on a more robust personality by utilizing home canned tomatoes and roasting them. It is a good way to enjoy tomatoes in the off season.

Ingredients
9” Pie Crust - that has been pre-baked to golden brown
20 oz. tomatoes (either home canned or quality store bought—like San Marzanos)
1/4 C. olive oil
2 Tblsp. fresh thyme (or you can use basil or marjoram)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 1/4 C. prepared pimento cheese (we made our using Emily's grandma's recipe + a hint of Sriracha)
1/3 C. Ritz crackers broken into small, rough pieces (about the size of a dime) (We used panko tossed in a little melted butter, a pinch of chopped garlic, a little parm, and a pinch of s&p)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F

2. Drain the tomatoes (keep the juice for the Bloody Marys!) and dice them into 1 inch pieces. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, thyme, salt, pepper and half the olive oil by tossing with your hands until all of the tomatoes have a little oil on them. 

3. Pour half of the oil onto a sheet pan, rubbing with your hands to coat the bottom of the pan and then spread the tomatoes on the pan to form a single layer. Roast the tomatoes in the oven for about 15 minutes until they dry up a little and start to shrivel slightly. 

4. Fill the pie crust ¾ full with the tomato mixture. Spread pimento cheese over the top of the tomatoes. Sprinkle with prepared bread crumb topping.

This was a real cheesy indulgence, but got great reviews at the potluck. Next time I would make it with more tomatoes and a little less salt (I think we may have added too much to the pimento cheese).

We also made mini vinegar pies--an old Great Plains recipe of the "nothing-in-the-house pie"/"adversity pie"/ "desperation pie" genre which served as a lemon-custard substitution in times of hardship. I unfortunately forgot to take pictures of them, so I'll make it again soon and give a full report.

UPDATED Pimento Cheese and Tomato Pie Recipe here

National Pie Day

April's pie day table

On January 23rd a.k.a. National Pie Day (not to be confused with "Pi Day" coming up on 3.14), April (of Farmer's Daughter) sent out an e-mail to a few pals, saying she was cleaning the pie dough out of her freezer and invited us over for a few sweet and savory pies. In a matter of hours she had whipped up a varied spread of 7 different pies: pork belly sauerkraut & potato, retro tomato both with and sans bacon, apple crumb, bourbon pecan, chocolate cream and coconut cream. chocolate cream pie

I can't speak for the meat pies, but the retro tomato was the perfect combination of creamy cheese and crumb, and was so salt-addictive (not saying it was too salty, but addictive like the best homemade salt and vinegar potato chips--COULD NOT STOP EATING!)

bourbon pecan pie

April's crust is seriously the best I've EVER tasted-- so flaky, golden, and perfectly carmelized with the filling. This was especially evident with the bourbon pecan.

I go back for retro-tomato seconds

I wish I had some pics of the PEZ because it was out of control-- fainting into the couch cushions style and ruining my appetite for the birthday party I had to go to afterward. Thanks to April for her mad baking skills, hospitality and ensuring that the first pie day of the year did not go un-celebrated. Now stay tuned for 3.14.10...

On the 'Origin of Pies and the Making of Pie Plates'

Thanks to Shannon (pictured in the post below) for this fascinating New York Times article from August 7, 1904, which discusses the first American pies, pie for breakfast, and colonial pie plates.
Click to enlarge.

North Carolina Peanut Pie

I had some peanuts left over from a camping trip, and got to thinkin'...peanut pie?! A quick google search produced this recipe, from Scratch Bakery in next-door Durham. I didn't have Lyle's Golden Syrup, so I substituted molasses and corn syrup, but here's the recipe...

North Carolina Peanut Pie

Ingredients:
Nothing-in-the-House crust recipe (at right)
1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 large eggs
1/2 cup golden syrup (such as Lyle's)
1/2 cup sorghum syrup or 1/2 cup golden syrup (such as Lyle's) mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped salted North Carolina peanuts or coarsely chopped salted cocktail peanuts

Make crust.Wrap in plastic; chill at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter pie dish. Fold edges under and crimp decoratively. Freeze crust 15 minutes. Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until crust is set, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Continue to bake until edges begin to color, piercing with fork if crust bubbles, about 13 minutes. Cool crust on rack while making filling. Maintain oven temperature.

Whisk brown sugar, flour, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, cinnamon, and cayenne in medium bowl. Whisk eggs in another medium bowl to blend. Add golden syrup, sorghum, melted butter, and vanilla to eggs and whisk to blend. Add brown sugar mixture and whisk until smooth. Mix in peanuts. Pour filling into cooled crust.

Bake pie 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; continue to bake until crust is golden and filling is set (center of filling may move slightly when pie dish is gently shaken), covering crust edges with foil if browning too quickly, about 40 minutes. Cool pie on rack. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cut pie into wedges and serve with vanilla ice cream.

I brought this to share with the Grad. Student Section of my Foodways class in the UNC Folklore Dept. Note the Amish double-decker pie carrying basket, given to me by my parents for Christmas!

This got my friend Lora and I wondering... Is there a pie for every state?!

The effect that pie graphs have...

Thanks, Ashley.

Hoosier Mama Pie Company

As stated below, on New Year's Day, Heather and I braved the Chicago cold to make a pilgrimage to Hoosier Mama Pie Company, in West Town. Hoosier Mama is an adorably tiny pie shop, with a whole lotta pie, and a pie philosophy that really resonates with my own-- local culture, tradition, history, whole foods, women's domestic arts (see video below for more on this), as well as Hoosier pride.
The pie-makers there were all incredibly friendly (especially when we told them we were friends with Abra, who works there occasionally) and let me ogle and photograph their tin top tables and pie paraphernalia...


We even got to meet the Hoosier Mama herself (stirring on the left).

It took Heather and me a long time to figure out which 2 pies to try--Hoosier Sugar Cream & Pear Apple Cranberry? Maple Pecan & Lemon Chess?

We settled on Banana Cream & Key Lime...
via the "$5 sweet slice + coffee for here!", and took our treats to the built-in booth in the bay window.


The key lime was our favorite--zesty and delicious with an excellent graham-cracker crust. The banana cream, which was topped with white chocolate shavings, was good, albeit extremely rich. This slice had their standard crust, which was decent, though a little tough and not as flaky as it could be. Before seeing the video below, I would have guessed that they used at least 1/2 shortening and 1/2 butter. Nonetheless, we firmly entered the Pie Enjoyment Zone...
 
and browsed their awesome collection of old pie cookbooks, The Farm Journal's Complete Pie Cookbook, being my favorite.

MAN APPEAL?!
And though I'm not necessarily the type of girl to fantasize about my wedding day, this framed photo did get my mind a-reeling...

As you can see, Hoosier Mama is basically THE Pie Enjoyment Zone, and hopefully our New Year's visit will bring us in good pie for 2010.