"national pie day" news and stories

March 14 is National Pi Day, a holiday officially recognized by the U.S. government since 2009. The Greek letter "pi" is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter (You might remember it as the never-ending series of numbers you learned in school that start with 3.14....). To celebrate, many restaurants and stores are rolling out specials on pie.

Here are the ones we've rounded up:

Whole Foods Markets' Midwestern stores are participating in a promotion by selling an entire fresh-baked apple, blueberry and cherry pie for $3.14. Each store is offering its own take on the promotion, in addition to the $3.14 pies. At the Milwaukee store, for example, Whole Foods Market will also retail two slices of pizza pie for the sum of $3.14.

Happy National Pie Day!

You may have had your fill of pie after Thanksgiving's waistline-expanding offerings, but there's truly a pie for every craving -- in fact, there are only two mandates: Pies have crusts, and pies have fillings. They may have just a crust base, only a crust top, or even sandwich the filling in two layers. The crusts themselves can be fluffy puff pastry, buttery short crust, crunchy meringue, or even dense blankets of mashed potatoes. Overall, there are lighter, fruity pies (Raspberry Creme Fraiche Pie with Lavendar Honey); hearty salty-sweet ones (Caramel-Nut Tart); even comforting savory ones, hearty enough to satisfy appetites on long winter nights (Canadian Pork Pie, Mushroom and Barley Pie, Chicken Pot Pies with Bacon and Marjoram).

What's your favorite go-to pie recipe? Link it to us, in the comments!

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Happy National Pie Day!

There are few things so blazingly American than pies -- we have some 231 varieties of apple pie alone! Sweet or savory; top crust, bottom crust or both; with fillings that span the alphabet and produce aisle, there are enough varieties to make any palate smitten. According to statistics, one in five Americans have devoured an entire pie on their own, 113 million admit to indulging in it for breakfast, and, six million men confess to having eaten the last piece of pie without immediately fessing up to it.

What's your favorite type of pie? If you have an extraordinarily talented piemaker in your life, you should recommend they participate in the 2010 APC/Crisco National Pie Championships April 23-25 in Celebration, Fl.

And who better to trust than the American Pie Council, who awarded Toledo, Ohio, resident Phyllis Szymanek a Best of Show Award in the 2009 APC/Crisco National Pie Championships for her elaborately crunchy-creamy Peanut Butter Pie, pictured above. Judge for yourself and bake your own best in show, with her recipe, after the jump.

Chances are, you're probably still experiencing a little too much pumpkin-pie overload to be able to get properly excited for National Pie Day. And while that's understandable (we feel your pain), there are many other savory pies still worthy of your enthusiasm!

Case in point: blogger Everybody Likes Sandwiches' chicken pot pie with cheddar biscuit topping, which she claims is not only a "warm and hearty meal, which not only warms the kitchen but also the spirit." We couldn't agree more -- and are eager to throw leftovers into this easy, soul-warming concoction. Happy National Pie Day!

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Bob normally handles the national food days, but I heard via twitter that today is National Pie Day and it seemed only fitting to acknowledge the day with a pie cookbook. Farm Journal's Complete Pie Cookbook is an amazing pie resource. Originally printed in 1965, it contains all the pie knowledge you'll ever need. It isn't glossy or fancy, other than the pie pictured on the cover, there are no luscious images of filling spilling temptingly from beneath a flaky, perfectly browned crust. What it does have is over 700 recipes for pies (both savory meal pies and sweet ones) and crusts. I am particularly enchanted by the section on custard pies, especially the recipe that promises a crisp undercrust.

If you've been following along with Slashfood for a while, this cookbook might just ring a bell for you. That's because I wrote about it last summer, when I was feeling overwhelmed by the abundance of summer fruit. Now, in the middle of January, there isn't much I wouldn't give for a slice of fresh, warm peach pie. However, I'm just going to have make due with that custard pie (not a bad trade off, as far as I'm concerned). If you want to make your own custard pie in honor of National Pie Day, the recipe is after the jump. Happy baking!

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