If you’re like most of us, you’ve probably eaten your fill of pie during Thanksgiving.
The feasts on this occasion typically feature at least a few pies such as classic apple, pumpkin and pecan — and it’s rude to not sample all three.
Then this popular dessert is enjoyed again and again during the December holidays. So you might feel a tad “pied out” by now.
But Ellen Kaplansky and Paige Retus hope not. “Every day should be pie day,” insists Kaplansky, owner of Pie Bakery & Café in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, the United States, where Retus is the executive pastry chef.
“Who doesn’t love pie? It evokes good memories. When you mention pie, you have to smile.”
The work of a whim
Kaplansky and Retus often celebrate Thanksgiving together and one year, while savouring slices of home-made pumpkin pie, they mused about why pies are not enjoyed during other times of the year as well.
Soon after, they got to work, cobbling together a business plan, checking out the competition and touring neighbourhoods; their vision became reality just recently.
In a time and season when people are gravitating towards simple, more old-fashioned comfort foods, they might be on to something.
Even Retus, who has a fancy background as executive pastry chef to celebrity chef Todd English, with whom she co-wrote The Olives Dessert Table, likes pie for its down-home, no-nonsense appeal.
“We are really loopy about pie,” says Kaplansky, adding that their bakery doesn’t just offer the old sweet standbys but ventures into savoury pies as well, especially those from other cultures, such as empanadas (Spain, Latin America), calzones (Italy) and spanakopita (Greece).
Pie isn’t a dessert that requires a culinary degree to make, says Retus, who is a graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, the US.
Kaplansky, who attended the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, agrees.
But still, they acknowledge, many home cooks get jittery about making pie — especially the crust.
For these cooks, Kaplansky and Retus recommend taking a few shortcuts.
“Buy the pie shell and recrimp it to make it your own,” suggests Retus. “And if the top crust makes you nervous, make a crumb crust instead. It’s much easier.”
Goof away to glory
If you’re tackling pie for the first time, try apple or pumpkin, they suggest. And always remember, Retus adds, that “a goof can often turn out to be your best friend”.
Even if your pie is not ready for its close-up at the Cordon Bleu, it will be appreciated. “People always love something home-made, even if it’s not perfect,” Kaplansky says.
Of course, they love it too when home cooks can’t be bothered with baking their own pies and instead, pick one up at their bakery.
“My grandmother was a fabulous baker and pies were her thing,” Kaplansky recalls.
“Every Sunday when she had people over to play cards, she would make a pie.
"But once in a while, when she wanted a break from baking, she’d buy a pie from a local lady for a dollar.”
“We’re not selling pies for a dollar,” Kaplansky laughs, “But we’re just saying: ‘Let us take care of dessert for you.’”
But to Kaplansky and Retus, whether your pies are baked at home or bought at Pie Bakery & Café, what is important is making pies a part of everyday life — way beyond just Thanksgiving and the December holidays.
“Pie is neither trendy nor cool,” Kaplansky says. “It’s just something that’s part of our heritage. So why not make every day a pie day?”
Kaplansky and Retus particularly enjoy a combination of fruits, which, to them, blends the “most comforting” flavours of the autumn season and the winter harvest.
And in case you didn’t know (and we bet you didn’t), January 23 is National Pie Day, according to the American Pie Council.
Harvest pie
- 2-1/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 tbs butter, cold
- 6 tbs Crisco (no-trans-fat variety)
- 1/4 cup iced water
Combine flour and salt. With a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles small walnut pieces.
Add the Crisco and cut in the same way. (The shortening is softer and will work into the mixture much faster.)
Add the iced water one tablespoon at a time, tossing dough as you go.
As soon as the mixture can be gathered together to make a cohesive mass, stop mixing.
Gather dough into a loose disc and wrap in plastic. Chill at least one hour or overnight.
- 4 to 5 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
- 2 ripe pears, peeled and sliced
- 3/4 cup cranberries, dried
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 to 4 tbs flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves, ground
- 1/2 tsp ginger, ground
- 2 tbs butter
Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Roll pie dough for top and bottom of crusts. Fit bottom crust into a nine-inch pie pan.
Combine all the ingredients except the butter and toss to coat. Arrange all the fruits in a pie shell, taking care to nestle the fruits tightly.
Dot the surface of fruits with butter. Top the fruit mixture with the top crust and crimp the edges. Vent the pie.
Bake for 30 minutes at 400°F. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake until juices bubble in the vents, approximately for 30 to 40 minutes more.
