Thursday, January 21, 2010

Random Acts of Thursday - I must have pie-DHD

So many things I want to share with you’uns all today. (Well, tomorrow, truth be told, since I write these while you’re watching reruns of ‘Who’s the Boss’ on Nick at Nite or some such thing. Not that I'm judging.)

First, just a brief anecdote: there is a woman in my office who has worked there for a year or so, and in the last two weeks it has actually dawned on me that she thinks my name is Louis. Despite figuring this out two weeks ago, I haven't corrected her. In my defense, she has a heavy Carribean accent, and I don't understand half of what she says. In everyone else's defense, I have a hard time hearing most people and really don't make the effort to listen carefully to much of what's said in the world.
And now, a list of my favorite pies:

1) Lori’s cranberry-apple pie – the crust is perfection, and the fruit is tart and not overpoweringly sweet. This is pie I could eat year-round and never tire of it.

2) Banana cream – as long as the bananas are fresh and the pie is nice and cold, they're so perky. Mmm, refrigerator pies.

3) Coconut cream – see above

4) Coconut custard – sweet and custardy, with far more staying power than coconut cream, dense with the sweet flaky goodness. I generally have a thing for custard pies, as long as they’re not too eggy.

5) Pumpkin and sweet potato – this is an early childhood thing for me, and every year I will eat at least one of these by myself, in its entirety, in less than a day. I eat it for breakfast, and nobody stops me because I am an adult. Really.
This is not to say I don’t like other pie, far from it. Apple pies, where the apples are crisp and tender, not chewy. Cherry pies if I don’t get a pit – my first ever slice of cherry pie contained three so I tend to shy away. Strawberry rhubarb in season, if I can get it. Blueberry. Wildberry. Every berry. Pecan. Chocolate pecan. French silk. Lemon cream cheese. Savory pies, like phyllo-covered chicken pot pie. Pizza pie. Even pocket pies, or fried pies, or whatever colloquial regionalism you apply to the little 3x5 turnover-style (think Hostess, only better) pies.

My best pie experience ever. Uh, EH-UH-VER. A co-worker, the best cook in the office, was walking past my desk several Thanksgivings ago with a sweet potato pie. Me, being pie-obsessed and, well, let’s face it, a big nerdy fat guy, held my hands out expectantly. And she gave me the pie. It was not for me, it was a gift from another co-worker and she was taking it to her daughter, but she gave it to me. No questions asked, no expectation of anything in return. I’m sure I lit up like a five-year-old on Christmas morning. Now, any time I’m in the vicinity of a pie-laden fellow human being, I put my hands out expectantly. Because if it worked once, it could very well work again.
My second-best pie experience ever. After college, I did time working for the HR and Payroll departments of a large regional grocer. Our office was next to the lunchroom, and one glorious day, the bakery specialist came into our department, as they needed additional pie-tasters. I walked into the lunchroom to a scene of mass pie-steria. Every conceivable flavor of pie available from our bakery and three other commercial bakers. Four peach pies, four apple pies, four cherry pies, four pumpkin pies, it was pie heaven. And it was work, because we had to rate each pie. We got little election sheets. Why can’t I find a full-time job like this?
And what would Thursday be without a quiz? Not surprisingly, there are lots of movie-and-pie connections. What kind of role did pie have in each of the following films?

a) Blazing Saddles

b) American Pie

c) Starman

d) O Brother, Where Art Thou?

e) Animal House

f) Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me

g) Waitress

h) Stand By Me

i) Dr. Strangelove


Was the pie in each film: pie for eating, pie for stealing, pie for throwing, or pie for _____? I know as quizzes go, this is kind of flimsy, but what did you expect?

Even if you don't know the answers, please feel free to share your favorite pie flavors, your most memorable pie experience, or any other movies you feel would have been improved had they cast pie in a starring role.

A late addition, with special thanks to Dogimo and the fine folks at the NCES!

10 comments:

Bev said...

Goddamn it, now I'm starving! Your blog is not helping me reduce my bottom line, Louis.

Favorite pies? Chocolate Cream pie made by a company in NH called The Pie Guy. F'ing scrumptious!

I also like a nice piece of pumpkin pie around the holidays, and I never turn down banana cream.

I am not a big apple pie fan, as un-American as that may be. Truth be told, I'm not a giant sweets person. Don't even get me started on how much I love quiche!

Bev said...

Did someone say quiz?

a) haven't seen it in ages, so I don't remember pie. Beans, yes. Pie? No.

b) He assaulted that pie, the sicko!

c) I love the dude, but don't remember much about Starman.

d) Don't they steal a pie?

e) The frat was Greek for "I Ate a Pie," yes?

f) David Lynch can bite me.

g) Love this movie! Keri Russell is a horny preggo pie-maker.

h) This is the scene I pictured when you were describing that grocer pie-tasting in the cafe scenerio! Icky!

i) I'm so embarrassed - never seen this movie!

Anonymous said...

Me oh my, I love pie. Like you, I have a special fondness for any sort of custard pie (I misread "eggy" as "edgy" in your post, btdubs, and spent a few seconds wondering what would make an edgy pie -- pumpkin & anarchy custard?!) and especially for sweet potato pie.

As I think I mentioned, I had a summer of pie last summer, wherein I made thirty or forty different types of pies, many of which I'd never tasted before. The absolute stand-out of the summer, in my book: pineapple pie! Just a standard fruit pie with a crushed-pineapple filling and lattice crust. Absolutely scrumptious.

I'm also a big fan of Pennsylvania Dutch butterscotch pudding pie. Or, actually, any of those dudes' pie recipes, 'cause no one knows pie like the Amish.

Elliott said...

Bev - Quiche, done properly, is glorious as well. Like I said in my note as well, if the apples are chewy or overly sweet, I don't want it. Pie is really about the crust for me, filling is secondary.

And you got 4 out of 9, not too shabby, really. That's far more than most people get when answering quizzes.

TKOG, your 'Summer O'Pie' warrants mentioning again and again. And yes, there are such great pies that come out of Amish and Mennonite heritage. And pineapple would be nice, I think.

dogimo said...

CHEESEHEAD DISPLACEMENT SYNDROME is pie heaven.

What an uplifting tale, too. From now on, I will be open to the universe, hands out in gentle expectation of its pie-style abundance.

Sweet potato pie...mmmmmm. I probably would have added that one in had I thought of it. But I'm not sure it's a "favorite" like a go-to? I think for me at least, it's more like a very rare itch, but paradise when it's scratched.

Anonymous said...

Pies to celebrate:
RHUBARB PIE (It is the pie that will crown all pies)
Caramel Apple pie.
Cheese pie
Lemon Meringue Pie. (I believe I'd kill for lemon meringue pie)
Key Lime Pie

Pies to leave alone:
Magpies
Fish Pie
Poo pie
Popeye
The Pied Piper
3.14

You're most welcome

calicobebop said...

I love my mama's chess pie - it's divine. Also, a nice warm pumkin pie with whipped cream is a delightful treat. As for the quiz - I suck. I really only know the American Pie one because damn, doesn't everybody?

tracey said...

My mom's apple pie - and she's not even American. Like you, I'm all about the crust. I'm a darn good cook but I've never been able to duplicate it.

dogimo said...

You know, I'm kind of pissed your pie charts so much more pimped-out than mine, and we went to the same government site. I feel like that's an unequal service.

I guess I should have looked around a bit more, at the functionality. I tried to play it off like I just prefer the minimalist, and yeah, there's truth to that about me.

But I have to say, yours is lookin' mmm, mmm sharp!

Elliott said...

Dogimo, I'm all about options. If I can take it over the top, I will. 3D? Why not? Shadows? Yes, please! Interactive exploding slices? Sure.

Only one of the many ways I'm an uber-nerd.

Another way is my liberal use of the prefix 'uber'.

Be nice and share!

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