Let Them Eat Pie

It’s our annual pre-thanksgiving potluck at work today. Which means I spent last night in the kitchen baking. Really I could have gotten away with one pie. Or even (gasp) buying a pie … or something -- because let’s face it, I wouldn’t have purchased a store-made pie! But I was waffling between apple and pecan and so rather than make a decision I thought “why not both?”

Silly.

Here are a few reasons why not.

It takes about 20 minutes short of forever to peel all those apples. Which is why I then feel absolutely justified letting the cuisinart do the slicing. And then, come to think of it, why wouldn’t I make the crusts (for both pies) in there too? So I decided to do that. But the thing with that is that it’s very hard to tell what’s going on in there whilst mid-mix. And making a pie crust is more an art than a science. I mean, sure, you need to not overdo the flour or the water or the butter, so you kind of need to measure correctly which is more like science. But really, cutting in the shortening and then adding just the right amount of water, well, it all depends frankly. Sometimes I’ve had to add the entire suggested amount. Sometimes I add barely half of it. It really depends. And if it’s all happening outside your line of vision (i.e., shrouded in the damn cuisnart), it’s really anybody’s guess.

Apple-iciousness

But for some insanely stupid reason, I persevered with the cuisinart. Because in my head I KNEW it was “easier.” Ha! I needed essentially 3 crusts (2 for the apple, 1 for the pecan). Well, maybe I needed 3.5 or 4 (my pie plates are rather deep). But I must have made 10. Literally. So, no. I think I have now properly dispelled that misunderstanding. It is not easier.

Then when it came to pack up this morning I looked at both pies, pretty in their ceramic plates … and weighing in at about 8 lbs each. And I realized the problem with pies, is that you can’t exactly stack them. Or throw them in a big bag and go on your way. I have a proper carrier… but guess what. It’s meant for one pie. Because who in their right mind would make two that needed to be transported? No one. No one in their right mind.

Pecan Nom Nom

So I put one in the carrier and the other, foil-covered, I precariously ensconced in a thin paper shopping bag. Then I picked them both up, along with my coffee (it goes without saying that I desperately needed that coffee this morning after baking all night) and a tub of ice cream, and started the difficult journey from apartment to car to cube. And barely made it. But they’re here. Bon appétit!