Slashfood Ate (8): Pi Day roundup

No. that isn't a typo in the title. Yesterday was March 14th, which, in abbreviated form, is 3.14 (feel free to add the 1592653589793238... if you so desire), better known to us non-mathematicians simply as Pi.

As is usually the tradition here at Slashfood, we are willing to turn just about any circumstance into something to celebrate, so why should Pi Day be any exception? Fortunately for us, the blogosphere was full of others who jumped on this bandwagon as well. In fact, Kitchen Parade collected submissions all week, resulting in dozens of mouth-watering pie recipes all linked up on one page.

So without further ado, following are my top eight favorites, which I will be putting on my "need to make" list. (Corresponding photos can be found in the gallery at the bottom of the page after the jump.)

1.) Southern Comfort Apple Pie, Cinnamon Ice Cream, and Spiked Caramel Sauce. Really, just by name alone this pie gets my top vote, but then again I am a sucker for anything with caramel. Shandy at Pastry Heaven created this masterpiece, complete with instructions on how to prepare the ice cream and a tip on what to do with your leftover pie crust bits.

2.) Lemon Meringue. I don't know if it is possible to have a list of pies without including this classic - and Alanna gets top props for not only being the hostess for Pi Day at Kitchen Parade, but also for making one that looks so luscious I can almost taste the tart lemon and fluffy meringue just by looking at the picture.

3.) Stef at Cupcake Project made these adorable Pumpkin Cup-Pies which include a pumpkin pie filling, a streusel topping, and a vanilla bean buttercream frosting swirl. Now you don't have to wait for Thanksgiving or Christmas to add some pumpkin to your baking.

4.) Strawberry Chocolate Tarty Pie. I had to chose this pie simply because of appearance. I love that Kellypea at Sass & Veracity left the strawberries in such large pieces. The overall visual of this pie is just gorgeous, and the filling includes chocolate chips, mascarpone, Cointreau, and red currant jelly, among other ingredients.

5.) Butterscotch Mousse Pie. This is something that I would expect to see on the menu at a restaurant, it is so pretty. To be honest, when I think of mousse, butterscotch is not instantly the first flavor that comes to mind, but after reading this recipe I can completely picture it. Ricki at Diet, Dessert, and Dogs got the recipe from the cookbook Vegan Express by Nava Atlas. Yes - it is a vegan pie!

6.) Raspberry Chiffon Pie with Easy Pat-in-the-Pan Pie Crust. I am a firm believer that food should be fun - and that is exactly how this recipe from Batter-Splattered comes across. With a a fruity, jelly layer with berries in the middle, a chiffon layer, and topped off with loads of whipped cream, this pie looks like it would be as much fun to eat as it is to make.

7.) Apple Infinity Pie. When I first saw Phemom's picture of this pie in it's unbaked form, I actually thought it was green onions on top of a savory-based filling. (Which I just may have to try, anyways.) However, it is actually ribbons of thinly sliced apples on top, with a custard filling, which makes for a nice change from the traditional apple pie. She had a few issues along the way, but definitely earns props for creating this on her own without a recipe after seeing something similar on television.

8.) Classic Apple Pie. No matter how hard I try, I can't break free from traditional apple pie being one of my all-time favorites, and Lisa at Champain Taste made one that has me craving the ones my mom used to make. Her recipe is from The Gourmet Cookbook by John Willoughby, Zanne Early Stewart, and Ruth Reichl, and has me thinking that a trip out to the farmer's market for fresh apples is next on my agenda.