pie :: an obsession begins

okay, maybe obsession is a strong word, but i'm definitely taken with the idea of becoming a good pie maker. it seems like there is a clear division: those good at pie crusts and those not. i'm in the not camp. but, i desperately want to be in the good camp. there's been a weird series of events in my life surrounding the pie. nothing too freaky friday, but i'm someone who "listens" to the prompts that life is bringing to me. here is how it all started. . .

it was a couple of months ago that i saw a movie called Waitress and a friend recommended a new TV show called Pushing Daisies. it was in the same 2 days that i watched the movie and 2 episodes of the show. the coincidence? the main character in both of these is a pie maker.

in Waitress the main character, jenna is, (you guessed it) a waitress. she has a good-for-nothing husband and works in a dive. the only thing she has in her life that is truly good and is really hers is that she makes amazing pies.

in Pushing Daisies the main character, ned can bring the dead back to life. this counts for fruit, too, so he can turn moldy strawberries into perfectly red and ripe ones. he's a great pie maker.

after seeing both these i was all, "is the Universe trying to say i should make pies!?" of course i said this lightly. . . but i do love to bake. and being a stay-at-home mom i wonder sometimes what i'll do when i go "back to work" (HA! as if this isn't the hardest job by FAR i've ever had) given that i've never really been a career gal. maybe i'd try to work on the food industry. maybe in a bakery. maybe i should start my own pie hole!

then, i got my first daring bakers challenge. lemon meringue pie. and if any of you saw my post, you remember how that turned out. it wasn't all bad, but the crust was lousy. really lousy. i mused in that post that maybe i just needed to learn from someone who really knows what they are doing in the pastry-making realms. so. . . i've decied to take a cooking class!

it's called Pastries Galore and i couldn't be more excited about it. it's going to be three wednesday nights in March. here's the write-up:

Learn how to make three essential kinds of pastry dough:
classic pie crust, puff pastry and pate a choux. From these
three simple preparations, you will be able to turn out doz-
ens of desserts, hors d'oeuvres and more.

not only is this awesome because of what i'll be doing, but this full-time momma needs her some adult interaction, you know what i mean? so, if can stay awake for it, it should be great! i've actually had 2 dreams about the class.

yeah, i don't get out much.

Daring Bakers january challenge :: lemon meringue pie!

well, i did it! (sort of) i completed my first challenge with the Daring Bakers. and it was hard! i've never been very good with the pie crust. so, when i learned the challenge was lemon meringue pie, i was a little afraid to try it given my past with crust-making debacles. but, given that i was supposed to have done the december challenge (yule log) and had to post-pone my first assignment, i felt i had to take it on. and i did! But, it didn't come out so well.

i ended up making 2 crusts--the second marginally better than the first and i'm still not sure what i am doing wrong. i watched some videos online. the best one i found was the epicurious one. helpful! (you can find video demos of almost anything you need here.) but still, i came out with touch, chewy crust. looked good, tasted fine, but the texture, not so good. i'm disappointed. i really want to be able to do a good pie crust, but i feel like i'll never get good at it until someone who really knows how to make a good crust can show me. i did all the things you are supposed to do. cold ingredients, cold bowl, cold utensils, work quickly. don't over mix. maybe i did over mix? maybe it didn't chill long enough. who knows. pie crust is a big fat mystery to me right now. but i will get good at it one day!

if that wasn't enough, the pie turned out soggy. it was fine and then it became sad. weepy and watery. i'm not sure what that was about, but clearly i've never made a LMP before. and may never again! it tasted pretty good! but the texture of the whole thing was just. . . off.

as usual, my son was there with me making his pie right along side. he was quite serious (for a 3-and-a-half-year-old) about the whole thing. "mommy, i really think it needs a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitle more salt." his pie something with black beans. i don't know. i'll have to ask him what it's called. half the fun of baking is having him there with me, for sure.

well, it's a bummer about the pie, but I'm not discouraged! i'll be looking forward to the next challenge in February. given the whole valentine thing, i hope it's something chocolatey!






addendum - wednesday, january 30th

as lis and slush pointed out....no, it doesn't look soggy, but that's because i took these photos right away. about an hour later it was seriously weepy. poor pie.