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A Pie a Month


jende

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I'm gifting my husband with a "Pie a Month for One Year" for his upcoming birthday, and I could use some ideas. He told me recently that he's never had blueberry pie, which I found odd because he loves pie (especially apple). So that inspired this birthday gift idea.

Now I need lots of selections for him to choose from and not beig a prolific pie baker, I could use some inspiration. So what's your favorite pie? Classics are welcome, but some unusual suggestions would be cool too. (blueberry, of course is already on the list!)

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What a nice idea! I started a thread a while back for baking tarts with the seasons but I fell off the wagon. This will be great to see your's and other's ideas for pies to bake in spring,summer, fall and winter!

Here are a few ideas:

Spring months

Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Chiffon Pie

Lemon meringue pie

Summer months

Coconut Cream Pie

Buttermilk Pie with Peach Sauce

Black and Blue Pie (half Blackberries, half blueberries)

Fall months

Pear Ginger Pie

Sweet Potato Pie

Apple Pie (could try an open-faced, streusel topped pie if you've not made one, a "Dutch" Apple Pie)

Winter months

Pear Ginger Pie

Pecan Pie

Apple Pie

Edited by ludja (log)

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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Spring

Strawberry Rhubarb

Summer

Peach

Fall

Apple is too easy

Winter

Chocolate fried pie

tracey

Edited by rooftop1000 (log)

The great thing about barbeque is that when you get hungry 3 hours later....you can lick your fingers

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Perhaps a shepherd's pie, or pasties, for a savory change of pace? Or on the sweet side, chocolate peanut butter pie? Or to be really retro, how about a mock apple pie with the Ritz crackers! :wink:

"Fat is money." (Per a cracklings maker shown on Dirty Jobs.)
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have you heard of angel pies? they are a bit old fashioned, but really delicious. what makes them 'angel-y' is the crust: it's a baked meringue. the filling is usually a custard, similar to a cream pie, and layered with fruit and whipped cream. they work especially well with lemon (which would be great in spring paired with rhubarb or strawberries), and summer fruit (blackberries, blueberries, peaches, apricots, plums, etc...). in fall you could do a traditional pumpkin or sweet potato and incorporate nuts into the baked meringue crust. yum!

"Godspeed all the bakers at dawn... may they all cut their thumbs and bleed into their buns til they melt away..."

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Thanks for all the great ideas so far.

Rooftop1000: you have to tell me about the chocolate fried pie...I'm intrigued

Jan McBaker: mock apple pie?? Do tell!

phlawless: no I've never heard of an angel pie but it sounds delicious (husband loves meringue, too). Do you have a recipe? I think the berry version sounds especially good

How about some regional specialties?

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If I were making this list for my husband to choose from, I'd put the classics, but also a few variations. So Apple, but also Apple Rum Raisin, Apple Caramel, Apple and Quince, Apple with a Cheddar Crust.

Here are some of my favorites:

Pecan Pumpkin (combo of the best of both in one pie)

Shaker Lemon

Bourbon Pecan

Blueberry

Three Berry with vanilla cream (from epicurious)

Strawberry-Rhubarb

Pear and Frangipane

Chocolate Banana Cream

Oh! I almost forgot peach pie! But please wait until the absolute HEIGHT of peach season, and remember that canned peach pie filling is useful for nothing but a door stop.

Sour cherry pie with a lattice top, warmed with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

If he wants to play Jack Horner, you could make a plum pie or plum almond.

The Kitchn

Nina Callaway

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January: Bakewell tart - raspberry jam bottom, almond frangipane filling

February: Sour cherry pie - lattice crust with heart shaped opening (Valentine pie)

March: Lemon curd tart with a cooked meringue topping

April: Rhubarb pizza (soft sweet bread dough, topped with fresh rhubarb and crumble topping) in a round pie shape!

May: Fresh strawberry pie

June: Puff pastry rectangle filled with pastry cream and fresh berries, rasps, bluebs, etc.

July:Blueberry pie

August: Peach pie

September: Banana Cream pie (summer's last gasp)

October: Pumpkin pie - Thanksgiving (Canadian)

November:Mincemeat pie (have it now to offset the excess of American Thanksgiving and Christmas)

December: Chocolate hazelnut tart - good for sharing-fancy for the holidays.

I can think of many more, "pm" me if you want some recipes!

Life! what's life!? Just natures way of keeping meat fresh - Dr. who

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i'm fortunate enough to be dating a chef, and pies are one of his specialties!

some of my favorites that he makes are...

-strawberry rhubarb

-apple cinnamon cranberry

-banana cream

-chocolate mint

-oreo

-blueberry (and he makes his own ice cream to top it with!)

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Oh! You Americans !

A pie has TWO crusts and has MEAT in it. At least it does where I came from and came to.

Here is my year's selection:

1. Steak and Kidney (of course)

2. Beef, without Kidney, with red wine (a sort of Beef Bourguignonne pie)

3. Beef with Beer (Guiness is Good)

4. Chicken pie (chicken breasts poached in white wine, add a little celery and sweetcorn to it)

5. Curried Chicken pie (if you must)

6. Duck, with a little Pinot Noir and just enough juniper berries in the gravy.

7. Duck,without the juniper berries (if you must)

8. Seafood (a few scallops, prawns, chunky white fish, and a little salmon for colour; white wine in the gravy of course, with artichokes and little onions.

9. Lamb Pie (not minced meat, small chunks please)

10. Lamb Pie with some pine nuts and vaguely Moroccan seasoning.

11. A potato topped pie made with good minced beef (allowable exception to the two crust option - but it must have pastry on the bottom, otherwise how are you going to pick it up?

12. A fruit pie of your choice.

The Pie Queen (aka Janet)

Happy Feasting

Janet (a.k.a The Old Foodie)

My Blog "The Old Foodie" gives you a short food history story each weekday day, always with a historic recipe, and sometimes a historic menu.

My email address is: theoldfoodie@fastmail.fm

Anything is bearable if you can make a story out of it. N. Scott Momaday

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Oh! You Americans !

A pie has TWO crusts and has MEAT in it.  At least it does where I came from and came to.

Here is my year's selection:

1. Steak and Kidney (of course)

2. Beef, without Kidney, with red wine (a sort of Beef Bourguignonne pie)

3. Beef with Beer (Guiness is Good)

4. Chicken pie (chicken breasts poached in white wine, add a little celery and sweetcorn to it)

5. Curried Chicken pie (if you must)

6. Duck, with a little Pinot Noir and just enough juniper berries in the gravy.

7. Duck,without the juniper berries (if you must)

8. Seafood (a few scallops, prawns, chunky white fish, and a little salmon for colour; white wine in the gravy of course, with artichokes and little onions.

9. Lamb Pie (not minced meat, small chunks please)

10. Lamb Pie with some pine nuts and vaguely Moroccan seasoning.

11. A potato topped pie made with good minced beef (allowable exception to the two crust option - but it must have pastry on the bottom, otherwise how are you going to pick it up?

12. A fruit pie of your choice.

The Pie Queen (aka Janet)

OMG May I have a serving of that Duck pie with Pinot Noir!

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Oh! You Americans !

A pie has TWO crusts and has MEAT in it.  At least it does where I came from and came to.

Here is my year's selection:

1. Steak and Kidney (of course)

2. Beef, without Kidney, with red wine (a sort of Beef Bourguignonne pie)

3. Beef with Beer (Guiness is Good)

4. Chicken pie (chicken breasts poached in white wine, add a little celery and sweetcorn to it)

5. Curried Chicken pie (if you must)

6. Duck, with a little Pinot Noir and just enough juniper berries in the gravy.

7. Duck,without the juniper berries (if you must)

8. Seafood (a few scallops, prawns, chunky white fish, and a little salmon for colour; white wine in the gravy of course, with artichokes and little onions.

9. Lamb Pie (not minced meat, small chunks please)

10. Lamb Pie with some pine nuts and vaguely Moroccan seasoning.

11. A potato topped pie made with good minced beef (allowable exception to the two crust option - but it must have pastry on the bottom, otherwise how are you going to pick it up?

12. A fruit pie of your choice.

The Pie Queen (aka Janet)

Maybe I can offer him TWO pies every month, a sweet and a savory to match! Now that's a lot of pie.

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Oh! You Americans !

A pie has TWO crusts and has MEAT in it.  At least it does where I came from and came to.

Here is my year's selection:

1. Steak and Kidney (of course)

2. Beef, without Kidney, with red wine (a sort of Beef Bourguignonne pie)

3. Beef with Beer (Guiness is Good)

4. Chicken pie (chicken breasts poached in white wine, add a little celery and sweetcorn to it)

5. Curried Chicken pie (if you must)

6. Duck, with a little Pinot Noir and just enough juniper berries in the gravy.

7. Duck,without the juniper berries (if you must)

8. Seafood (a few scallops, prawns, chunky white fish, and a little salmon for colour; white wine in the gravy of course, with artichokes and little onions.

9. Lamb Pie (not minced meat, small chunks please)

10. Lamb Pie with some pine nuts and vaguely Moroccan seasoning.

11. A potato topped pie made with good minced beef (allowable exception to the two crust option - but it must have pastry on the bottom, otherwise how are you going to pick it up?

12. A fruit pie of your choice.

The Pie Queen (aka Janet)

Mmmm...beef with beer! That sounds delicious!

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Oh! You Americans !

A pie has TWO crusts and has MEAT in it.  At least it does where I came from and came to.

Here is my year's selection:

1. Steak and Kidney (of course)

2. Beef, without Kidney, with red wine (a sort of Beef Bourguignonne pie)

3. Beef with Beer (Guiness is Good)

4. Chicken pie (chicken breasts poached in white wine, add a little celery and sweetcorn to it)

5. Curried Chicken pie (if you must)

6. Duck, with a little Pinot Noir and just enough juniper berries in the gravy.

7. Duck,without the juniper berries (if you must)

8. Seafood (a few scallops, prawns, chunky white fish, and a little salmon for colour; white wine in the gravy of course, with artichokes and little onions.

9. Lamb Pie (not minced meat, small chunks please)

10. Lamb Pie with some pine nuts and vaguely Moroccan seasoning.

11. A potato topped pie made with good minced beef (allowable exception to the two crust option - but it must have pastry on the bottom, otherwise how are you going to pick it up?

12. A fruit pie of your choice.

The Pie Queen (aka Janet)

OMG May I have a serving of that Duck pie with Pinot Noir!

Anytime you come to Australia just let me know, and I'll have one in the oven for you.

Happy Feasting

Janet (a.k.a The Old Foodie)

My Blog "The Old Foodie" gives you a short food history story each weekday day, always with a historic recipe, and sometimes a historic menu.

My email address is: theoldfoodie@fastmail.fm

Anything is bearable if you can make a story out of it. N. Scott Momaday

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There's an interesting pie in this article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution: click

A Southern Chess Pie flavored with Sweet Tea.

(It's actually found in a James Beard-nominated article written by egullet member John T. Edge. Also, check out the accompanying recipe for Cheerwine Cake developed by professional pastry chef and egullet member, phlawless.!)

Edited by ludja (log)

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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One I've always wanted to try -- grape pie. It ain't easy, but imagine how delicious.

Make sure you do one of each type -- cream, fruit, nut, squash, etc. There's a book available from Dover with many, many recipes.

There's the triumvirate of cream pies -- coconut, banana, chocolate.

What fun you two are going to have. Splendid idea.

I like to bake nice things. And then I eat them. Then I can bake some more.

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One I've always wanted to try -- grape pie.  It ain't easy, but imagine how delicious.

Make sure you do one of each type -- cream, fruit, nut, squash, etc.  There's a book available from Dover with many, many recipes. 

There's the triumvirate of cream pies -- coconut, banana, chocolate.

What fun you two are going to have.  Splendid idea.

That tri-fecta of creamy deliciousness sounds great. But husband hates bananas (although he loves banana bread, go figure) so I'll have to skip that one. Maybe I'll make it on MY birthday! :biggrin:

I got the idea from a friend who gave her husband a risotto a month. Any excuse to eat more carbs!

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angel pie sounds a lot like a pavlova!

i love the fact that everyone immediately thought of seasons and what fruit to use! makes me happy.

someone upthread said buttermilk pie with peach sauce...but i would love the opposite: peach pie with buttermilk sauce or buttermilk ice cream. especially in the summer when the peaches are bursting with sweetness!

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...

Now I need lots of selections for him to choose from and not beig a prolific pie baker, I could use some inspiration. So what's your favorite pie? Classics are welcome, but some unusual suggestions would be cool too. (blueberry, of course is already on the list!)

Should be interestng to see what he picks, please share the selections with us!

Somehow I was thinking initially that he would be surprised with a new pie each month but it is pretty cool idea that he'll get to pick a pie that he hasn't had in a long time, one he's always dreamed of tasting or else one that he's never even thought of before.

Another place to seek inspiration is from "Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie" by Ken Haedrich (2004). I took this book out of the library and though I would bookmark a few recipes to copy. I ended up bookmarking too pages many to copy! I haven't bought it yet but I've thought about it. Just the chapter on apple pies has amazing variety.

Pie by Haedrich

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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...

Now I need lots of selections for him to choose from and not beig a prolific pie baker, I could use some inspiration. So what's your favorite pie? Classics are welcome, but some unusual suggestions would be cool too. (blueberry, of course is already on the list!)

Should be interestng to see what he picks, please share the selections with us!

Somehow I was thinking initially that he would be surprised with a new pie each month but it is pretty cool idea that he'll get to pick a pie that he hasn't had in a long time, one he's always dreamed of tasting or else one that he's never even thought of before.

Another place to seek inspiration is from "Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie" by Ken Haedrich (2004). I took this book out of the library and though I would bookmark a few recipes to copy. I ended up bookmarking too pages many to copy! I haven't bought it yet but I've thought about it. Just the chapter on apple pies has amazing variety.

Pie by Haedrich

I'll definitely keep you posted on his picks. The control freak in me would've loved to have picked the pies, but we tend to have fairly different tastes (note my wistfulness above regarding the coconut, banana, chocolate cream pie!) so in the spirit of sincerity I think I'll have to let him pick!

I'll check out that book, thanks for the suggestion.

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The husband's birthday was Tuesday and I presented him with his gift, which he very much enjoyed! This is the list I ended up using:

Spring:

key lime pie

raspberry cream pie

chocolate cream custard pie

lemon meringue pie

chocolate or berry angel pie

Summer:

wild blueberry pie

late summer cherry pie

fresh strawberry pie

mixed berry pie

nectarine raspberry pie

Fall:

pear cranberry pie with gingerbread crumb topping

peach custard pie

apple and pear streusel pie

chocolate ricotta pie

maple buttermilk pie

pear, walnut and maple syrup pie

Winter:

double chocolate peanut butter pie

frozen chocolate chestnut pie

chocolate pecan pie

sweet potato pie

malt ice cream pie

I wasn't surprised that the pies that most seemed to pique his interest were the fruit ones, but there were a couple he liked that did surprise me, like the chocolate pecan pie and key lime (I know that lime is a fruit but not in the same way as an apple).

The adventure starts this weekend and wouldn't you know it, he picked the pear cranberry pie with gingerbread crumb topping! Now in my seasonal-obsessive mind, I TOTALLY had this pie pegged for November/December (wouldn't it look lovely on my holiday table?!) but he's the birthday boy and if he wants pear-cranberry-gingerbread pie in March, that's what he'll get.

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions.

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