I heard this on NPR this morning, and thought of you!
Apparently NPR stands for National Pie Radio, and today is the last day of Pie Week. (Who knew?)
July 6:
Pie week comes to a close
Audio link and blog entry: Listener's memories of pies and a survey of pie songs!
Click through to the NPR Pie week archive Or more below the orange puff-pastry ~
July 5:
Tim Burton pies spin fantasy into sugar and art
(Blog entry only.)
When you decide to hold a pie contest at a prominent art museum, it's hard to ignore all the inspiration around you. And so it happened that last year the Los Angeles County Museum of Art hosted our station KCRW's 3rd Annual Good Food Pie Contest. When we realized that an impressive show of more than 700 Tim Burton works would be up, we immediately had a new category.
In lean times creative bakers turn to desperation pies
(Blog entry only.)
Imagine yourself as a resourceful farmer during the Great Depression. You'd like to make a dessert for your family, but traditional pie ingredients, like cherries or pecans, are too expensive or not available.
July 4:
Chess pies past and present
(Linda Wertheimer's recipe for Lemon Chess Pie - Blog entry only.)
To me, chess pie is an Oklahoma pie with definite Southern accents. For NPR's recent pie contest, I started with my mother's family recipe for Lemon Chess Pie — with a variation inspired by my Aunt Jane.
July 3:
Three ways pie history is like Game of Thrones
(Audio link and blog entry.)
Long before girls in a cake became a staple of bachelor parties, pie makers were baking giant pastry shells from which emerged barely clothed women. According to an oft-repeated story, at one fancy banquet during the reign of King Charles V of France (1364-1380), a scantily clothed "captive girl" popped out of a giant pie, accompanied by more than two dozen musicians. (These "entertainment pies" were popular at fancy affairs in medieval times -- they helped distract diners during the long gaps in between courses).
July 2:
Pie making 101 how I overcame my fear of crumbling crust
(Audio link and blog entry: "Foolproof pie crust formula...")
The biggest mistake I made — and this is a pitfall for lots of newbies — was overworking the dough. Chef Higgins made me toss out my first attempt and start over! Less is more. Higgins taught me to handle it just enough to form the dough into a ball. (Kneading is for bread, not pie crust!) It's supposed to look like it's barely holding together.
June 29:
Afraid of pie crust?
Yes, it's been meat all week. So are you ready for dessert? As a preview of Pie Week on Morning Edition and The Salt next week, we bring you this sneak peek of what we learned at the Culinary Institute of America.
June 20:
Survey says apple pie rules, but...
(Blog entry only.)
We are a nation that puts apple pie above all other pies, and yesterday's survey confirms our audience falls right in line when it comes to the forbidden fruit. But that's not the whole scoop on popular pies.
June 19:
Five facts about pie that might surprise you...
Meanwhile, here's some fast pie facts and a survey so you can share more thoughts about pie with us:
—The first pies were filled with meat and called "coffins" which means "basket" or "box." (Linda Stradley, author of "What's Cooking, America?")
— Pie is finally beginning to challenge cupcakes for the trendiest dessert. (Restaurant News Southwestern Bureau Chief Ron Ruggles)
...