Even though it hasn't cooled off that much in my corner of the world, it is technically fall and that means it's pie season. I like to make a wide variety of pies, and that doesn't just mean the filling. There's a whole world of pie and tart crusts out there for an almost endless list of possibilities this fall. Click through to the next few pages for everything you'll need to know about pie and tart crusts for great pies this fall.

Like Gael over at Pop Culture Junk Mail, I didn't even realize that Hostess got rid of the magician guy who was on the front of their pies since the early 70s. I don't usually buy snack pies anymore, though I do love them (both Hostess and Drake's).

I know that products and companies and logos have to change over the years, but I always feel a little sad when a classic character or design is changed. Really, did the change improve sales? You would think that keeping a classic character would endear a company to loyal customers even more.

Now if someone could answer this question. What exactly was the magician? Was he human? The body shape suggests a banana, or some sort of legless apple slice. Or maybe the Penguin from Batman.

Pie is probably one of America's favorite desserts. The question is what is America's favorite kind of pie?

Michael Park over at Epicurious.com gives us some answers. He revealed a pie poll from the makers of Mrs. Smiths, Schwans Consumer Brands North America. The poll asked participants to name their three favorite pies. Which one came in first, you ask? Well, it was apple of course! Turns out it was the overwhelming favorite.

I was personally surprised that Key lime pie was at the bottom of the list. But I guess with so many kinds of pie out there, it's a measure of the popularity of key lime pie that it made the list at all. So how about it? What's your favorite kind of pie?

I don't know about you, but I've always been daunted by pie crusts. Even with working in a professional pastry kitchen, I'm hesitant to try it at home. I can make pie dough in large batches, no problem, but that doesn't translate to single pies/ home baking very well.

There is hope, though. Check out the step by step walk through you get from Baker's banter, and you'll realize that you too can make great pie crusts at home. The instructions are simple and direct, there are lots of pictures, and you get lots of great tips. If you've been wanting to make pie at home, but have been nervous about it, take a look at this article. I know I'm keeping this information saved for the next time I want to make pie.

Chefs in some smaller upscale bistros double as waiters, creating an intimate, dinner party-like ambiance. Only the host never sits down to eat.

Animal rights activists are using hidden cameras to document slaughterhouse abuses, like sick cows being dragged with forklifts. Still hungry for that sloppy Joe?

An ode to pasties and other savory portable pies. Yum.

Frank Bruni continues his coast-to-coast tour of his favorite new restaurants: Fearing's in Dallas, Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in Miami, and Cochon in New Orleans.

The Minimalist does chicken with tomatillos for St. Paddy's day.

Restaurateurs are growing annoyed with online table reservation scalping.

Pickle ice pops? If you say so.

If I had my way, every month would be pie month. I like all kinds of pies, from apple to pumpkin to Boston Cream. My apple pie has to be ice cold though. To me, hot apple pie is...gah.

February is Great American Pie Month, and for some reason I've always thought that the pie was an American creation in general. I doubt that's true, but we make some great pies. In the apple category, there's Mile High Apple Pie, Maple Apple Cream Pie, and Cranberry-Almond Apple Pie.

After the jump is a recipe for Key Lime Pie, from The Cook's Kitchen, which also has a little factoid on who liked pie so much he practically lived on it while travel ling across the country.

Looking over the list of December food holidays and I see it's filled with many foods that you'd actually associate with December and the holidays, and that's a good thing. I hate it when you have a food holiday in a month where it just seems out of place. Like June being National Turkey Lovers Month.

Today is National Pie Day. Here are several recipes for Apple Pie, Blueberry, Pumpkin, and Boston Creme.

Or maybe you can be adventurous and try the Pumpkin Pie in another form ... liquid!

Update: a reader points out that we January 23 is National Pie Day, though I've also found a few sources that say it's today. Oh well, you can't have too many days of pie!

I haven't had a chance to really get into Pushing Daisies, one of the new shows that premiered this season, because I have class on Wednesday nights when it airs (I know I could watch it online, but that seems like far too much commitment to television viewing for me). I watched it once and the thing that captured my attention the most was all the amazing pies that the main character creates in his bakery/cafe, The Pie Hole. While I was watching, I started to wonder if there was a place where you could find recipes for the those pies.

That thought dropped away from my mind until a couple of days ago, when I got an email From Bake Space, saying that they had created a special page, devoted to recipes from the Pie Hole. I think this one, for Mixed Tomato Cobbler with Gruyere Crust sounds pretty amazing (although it might be one to save for summer when tomatoes are amazing).

Some people think that Fall has begun when the leaves start to turn or when the air finally starts to cool down at night. For others it is the start of school or the fact that darkness comes before 8 pm. Here in Philadelphia, it isn't Fall until the Taskykake Pumpkin Pies hit the shelves of our local grocery and convenience stores. What are the food products that mark the the change of the season for you?

March 14th is Pi Day - at least, it is according to those of us who happen to like numbers, as the date 3/14 corresponds to the mathematical number pi. For us foodies, Pi Day can easily become Pie day, giving us an excuse to bake some great desserts to share with our friends and family. We guarantee that even if they don't like math and pushed the concept of pi out of their heads after high school, you'll be able to convince them of the merits ofcelebrating it once a year with one of these delicious pies:

• Anne's Food has Individual Apple Pies, although you can find a traditional, full-size recipe here.
• Cookie Madness's Vienna Chocolate Pie is fast and easy.
• Grasshopper Pie is a boozy favorite from Simply Recipes. Its green color makes it perfect for St. Patrick's Day, too!
• Key Lime Pie isn't green, as Tigers and Strawberries points out, but it is zesty and always a crowd-pleaser.
• Boston Cream Pie is not a pie at all, but a type of cake. But a batch of Banana Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes from Cupcake Bakeshop have "pie" in the name, and that's good enough for us!
• Ginger Pear Pie with Golden Raisins, from Je Mange La Ville, is perfect for this time of year.
• Vegan YumYum has a mouthwatering Cherry Lime Pie with a lattice crust.
• And if you like your pies on the savory side, try a Spinach and Egg Pie from Cook (almost) Anything at least once!

[image via neatorama]

I believe that I mentioned one of my favorite things - although I had quite a lot of "favorites" to be perfectly honest - from the Fancy Foods Show were the meat pies that I had at the Vili's Gourmet booth. Meat pies are a favorite Australian snack food, the sort of thing that you'll find at pubs, random takeaways and - of course - at any major sporting event. They exactly what they sound like, too: small pastries that are filled with a thick mixture of meat and gravy. It's important that the filling be thick enough not to run out all over the eater, since the pies are usually eaten by hand and they are best when topped of with a bit of tomato sauce (ketchup).

Hey, today is National Pie Day!

The American Pie Council calls pie "the ultimate comfort food," and I bet a lot of people would agree with that. So what should you do to celebrate National Pie Day? Well, the first thing you should do, of course, is eat pie. And then maybe you can enter the 2007 APC Crisco National Pie Championships. Or maybe you could perform random acts of pieness, by sharing a pie that you bake. And there are many other ways to mark the day, including pie sales, contests, teaching, and singing pie songs.

Pie songs?

The pie above is Chocolate Death Pie, and the recipe is here.

Either I don't eat out enough or must not pay much attention to the dessert menu, because even though I live in LA, I had no idea that banana cream pie was a city-wide obsession.

The third possibility here is that the reason I don't know about the trend is that it isn't a trend at all, just the New York Times' assumption that banana cream pie is a fad based on the presence of banana desserts at some So Cal bakeries and diner-type restaurants.

So, I'm not going to vouch for its trendiness in restaurants, but the rich, whipped cream-topped pies can be quite satisfying if you like cream/pudding-based pies, so the NYT's piece could come in handy if you are in LA and decide to go out looking for some. Clementine Bakery, Jin Patisserie, House of Pies and Apple Pan are all mentioned, but the Times' top pie pick is from Pie 'n Burger, in Pasadena. A similar recipe is included if you're of a mind to try baking your own version of the pie at home, although you would need a shortening-based crust (not a graham cracker one) to get even closer to the Pie 'n Burger recipe.

Take a good, long look at the picture to the right. The small size of the photo is misleading because that is a giant apple pie.

Weighing in at 13-pounds, the Levee High Caramel Apple Pecan Pie is the signature dessert of The Blue Owl restaurant and bakery in St. Louis. The pie is made by packing a pastry crust with approximately 18 apples, which are then topped with a caramel, pecan sauce. Since you can't easily ship a freshly baked pie, these pies cab be ordered online and shipped, frozen, straight to your kitchen where you can bake them up yourself. Instructions are included, but from the look of the pie, the biggest challenge will be trying to find enough people to help you eat it.

The big pie sells for $34.95 plus shipping, but if you're looking for something smaller, The Blue Owl also makes a Mini Levee High Caramel Apple Pecan Pie that only weighs 4 pounds for $6.95.