When fall comes around, pies are one of the best desserts you can bring to the table, whether you are opting for pumpkin or the fruitier flavors from apples, pears and cranberries. The crust is usually the most difficult part for most cooks, but once you have mastered the dough-making technique (or have broken down and purchased ready made-dough), the job is only halfway done. The second challenge is to make the crust look presentable. Fortunately, there are a couple of gadgets that can help. One is a lattice cutter, which can simply be pressed down into the dough to punch out a traditional-looking, although not actually interwoven, lattice top for your pie. If you want to make your lattice a little more creative, you can opt for the new oak-leaf lattice cutter, instead. The other thing that will really spruce up your pie is a set of piecrust cutters, which punch out little seasonal shapes from your dough. They can be used to create vents in the top layer of the crust or you can punch out shapes from the unused scraps of crust and use them to decorate the surface of the pie.
11-07-2006 @3:42PM Sally Leete said... Draeger's is a gourmet grocery store in San Mateo, CA. Upstairs, it has a five star restaurant, a cooking school, a bookstore and party supplies store, plus a full compliment of cooking and baking equipment, in addition to the full-service grocery/deli/coffee facilities downstairs. Some of us would think we died and went to heaven in that place!
One of the charming little ceramic doodads in their pastry chef section is a pie steam releaser; blackbirds singing in a pie. The song goes like this:
Sing a song of sixpence, a pocketful of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie
When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing
Wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the King?
The King was in his counting house, counting out his money,
The Queen was in the parlor, eating bread and honey,
The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes,
Along came a blackbird and snipped off her nose!
Most people don't know the historical origins of the Mother Goose nursery rhymes, but they are absolutely fascinating! For example, Little Jack Horner.
Little Jack Horner
Sat in his corner
Eating his Christmas pie
He stuck in his thumb
And Pulled out a Plumb
And said, "What a good boy am I!"
Well, in those days, it was customary for the elite to bake gifts within pies and have them delivered personally by knaves. Jack Horner happened upon this interesting fact and appropriated the deed to a valuable piece of property(the plum)for himself.
Want more? I've got lotsa food stories. It's a common denominator in the human experience.
Best,
Sally Leete
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11-07-2006 @6:02PM Eddiegirl said... OH, Sally and Nicole! You both made my day! Nicole, the dough cutters will make a great gift for my 85-year-old pie-making Dad. Thank you for that great idea! I was so excited about your post, Sally, that I called my best foodie-buddy and we have planned a trip to Draeger's! It will be a four-hour drive. Three blissful floors of heaven promise to leave us completely numb and sincerely grateful!
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11-20-2006 @2:28AM Alison Barnes said... I would love to have those cool pie gadgets. Although I'm not very particular with appearance. I just care about the taste. The biggest challenge is the pie crust. If the pie crust doesn't taste good, it ruins the whole pie. I still go for traditional home-made apple pies. Still the best for me :)
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