My, oh my, look at that pie ...

Thursday, August 6 episode of Main Street Eats is all about pie. Listen on Prairie Public Radio between 3:30 and 4 p.m.

Yes, we love pie. It's the time of year that the peaches and cherries and blueberries and soon local apples will be picked right off the tree. If we don't grow it here, trucks are pulling through offering fresh fruits for the asking. Since COVID-19, many people are doing more baking and cooking at home – and watching movies.I love pie, and I love movies, and three of my favorite films reinforce the beauty of a well-baked pie. So if you love movies and you love pie, you should try and find these gems.

1. "Labor Day," with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin
2. "Michael," with John Travolta, Andie MacDowell and William Hurt.
3. "Waitress," with Keri Russel and Andy Griffith
Of course, these are love stories topped with pie. You have never experienced sexy until you see Josh Brolin make a fresh peach pie. Whoooeeeee.

While we are on the subject, here are a few tips to make a great pie.
CRUST is everything in my book. Some people eat pie for the filling. I love crust. Making good pastry is an art. In high school, I made and sold apple pies to my mom's boss for $2.50 each, because he loved my crust.

I have perfected my crust recipe over many years of making apple pie, but I also love rhubarb, blueberry and fresh peach pie.

If you do not have a family crust recipe or have never made a pie before, I would highly recommend Ken Haedrich, the dean of the Pie Academy's videos and live broadcasts. You can find him at http://thepieacademy.com. Ken demonstrates and sells cookbooks and makes excellent savory pies, hand pies, slab pies and yes, even wide-mouth canning jar lid pies. 

Here are my tips for making a great pie crust.

1. Use lard and butter. And, make sure it is cold.
2. Cut the fats entirely into the flour (with the salt and a wee bit of sugar). You want to coat all the flour for a perfectly flaky crust. You can use two knives, a pastry cutter or your fingers.
3. Use only a wee bit of ice-cold water. Sprinkle over the flour mixture and gently bring it into a ball with a fork.
4. Turn out onto a piece of parchment or waxed paper and gently fold from side to side until the mixture comes together. Then you create two rounds, pat them a flat as possible and wrap in plastic.
5. REFRIGERATE FOR a minimum of 30 minutes, overnight is better. 

Now, some rolling tips:

1. Remove dough from the refrigerator and let rest 20 minutes. 
2. Flour a large piece of parchment or a rolling mat.
3. Flour the dough circle on top
4. Grab that rolling pie and working from left to right roll (don't press, push, pull or tear), but roll gently outward and don't roll back and forth. Turn the circle and roll out, turn roll out, repeat until you get a nice round, thin, crust slightly larger than your pie tin. NOW: take into account the depth of the plate will eat some of the circle.
5. Gently place the dough over the pan and allow it to drop to the bottom. Try not to stretch the dough as you form it into the pan. Press into all corners. IT WILL SHRINK. So make sure it fits in the pan completely. Trim to the edge of the pan with a knife or scissors.
6. Roll the top crust out.

Make your filling. Fill the pan, top with the crust and now comes the part that sometimes doesn't work. Trim the top crust slightly larger than the bottom. Pinching the top and bottom together fold the top crust over the bottom all around the pan. Now go back and with floured fingers create a nice edge. 
My mom used a fork around the outside and made little lines. You can get as fancy as you wish. Create a woven lattice crust, etc. Remember, your pie might run over, especially if it finds a weak spot around the edge.

Don't forget your pie needs to breathe, so cut some slits, poke holes with a fork, whatever you wish design-wise to create steam holes in the top crust. Sprinkle with sugar and 
1. Freeze it till later
2. Bake it immediately.

HOW YOU ASK? Place on a drip disc (find them at Amazon) in a 425° oven for about 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350° and continue to bake until you see that filling bubbling for at least 30 minutes. Remove, cool before cutting and eating. Last tip: Do not allow a frozen pie to thaw before placing in a hot oven. 

So have a piece of pie and watch a great movie about pie. Like my Grandpa always said, "Eat it now, 'cause when you get older, they start taking it away from you."