"pie" news and stories

Happy National Cherry Pie Day!

Cherry pie may be thought of as quintessentially American, but English tradition credits Queen Elizabeth the First with having created the dessert. Nonetheless, history tells us it's unlikely that she spent very much time in the kitchen, if any, and pie has become integrated into American culture in the last couple centuries.

This photographer made Martha Stewart's Sweet Cherry Pie, a classic variety with an attractive latticed crust. Don't be intimidated by the golden handiwork topping -- using thicker latticed strips doesn't lose any of its visual appeal, it just shaves off some prep time.

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• This Valentine's Day, instead of the same old box of chocolates, consider crack -- Crack Pie, that is.
• Or, in honor of Chinese New Year, use these DIY instructions to make dumplings for your dumpling.
• Il Dolce in Costa Mesa isn't just a pizza joint -- but it's the main reason you'll want to go. And you will want to go.
• At Hayat's Kitchen in North Hollywood, the garlic fries are so intense, "you might be able to use [them] to revive the recently deceased." Enough said!
• The trend in planting tea gardens gives new meaning to "growing your own."

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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Whether you make it from scratch, from a can or you buy it from a store, no Thanksgiving dinner is complete without a pumpkin pie.

This one, from Flickr user maggiejane, is a little bit store bought, a little bit from a can and a little bit homemade. On her blog, Pithy and Cleaver, she writes that while she uses a premade frozen pie crust, the filling is canned pumpkin mixed with eggs, sugar, molasses and spices like cinnamon, ginger and clove.

Sounds to us like a little bit of work for a whole lot of Thanksgiving flavor.

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