pie day

A couple of months ago, Will and I were talking about Thanksgiving plans and he suggested we go out of town--hiking or something. I paused for a moment, trying to decide whether I should tell him what I was actually thinking (could I reveal what a food dork I truly am?) and said a bit sheepishly, "But Thanksgiving is when I bake pies." He laughed and I tried to argue that I didn't really care that much about baking pie, but he didn't buy it. (I later told a friend about the conversation and as soon as I mentioned Will's trip suggestion, she interrupted with: "Does he even know you?). Well, he's learning.

I do love baking pie. And Thanksgiving makes me a bit giddy because I get to bake a lot of pie. My mom initially suggested that she could make the pumpkin pies, but I eventually convinced her to let me bake everything. This year's pie tally:

Ginger streusel pumpkin (2)
your every day pumpkin (2)
apple
chocolate pecan
linzer torte

Yeah, seven pies might have been a little excessive (and makes for a very messy kitchen, as Will felt compelled to document), but everyone got to take home leftovers. But really, I wait all year for an excuse to bake more pies than necessary.

For me, it's all about the crust. I love working out all the details--keeping the house cold, icing the water, chilling the final product so that all the tiny clumps of fat melt at just the right time to create savory, flaky layers. It's like magic or something. Ok, I also like the reaction I get when people eat my pies--a teacher near the end of a semester needs a little positive affirmation, right?