It’s mid-August, which means the end of summer is near, which means it’s time to say goodbye to my summer interns, who were amazing and learned a bunch and made me proud.
So I made them a pie. They printed a slew of great things, and installed some exhibitions, and were generally all you’d want an intern to be. Thanks for a great summer to Ian McCoy, Kate Trancynger, Samantha Palazzi, Shelley Picot, and Deborah Levinson.
You know what I haven’t done in a long time? Made pie.
I decided it was time to remedy that situation, by making the Salty Honey Pie, posted by my new big pie crushes, Four and Twenty Blackbirds, where I went for pie a couple of weeks ago, which reminded me of the frightening lack of pie in my life recently. The pie that day (Black Bottom Oatmeal-holey crap that’s a good pie) and this day, was fantastic, and surprising, and sweet and salty at the same time. I got to salt my pie after it had cooled today, a new experience for me. And I got to use these fantastic pastel blue eggs, which were lovely.
Aren’t they pretty? I’ve been unexcited and eating and cooking recently, sort of a last-dregs-of-winter slump. But making pie shook me out of that, I think.
Makes me glad spring pie, followed closely by summer pie, is on the horizon.
Winning entry in the sweet category: Nick’s Pecan Pie- Best Debut!
and Alex’s ham and cheese pie took the Savory category. Who needs air conditioning when you have pie?
In progress.
I’m an aunt! Surprise!
And I’m in this. (opening Wednesday) With a video! Surprise!
I’m working on limited edition pie propaganda this week, to commemorate the upcoming pie-bake-off-and-staff-going-away-party. Did you know they used to bake dwarves into pies?
Save the Date!
Please join me in saying good-bye to beloved Center for Book Arts staff members Corinna Zeltsman and Nick Crawford, who each have decided to flee to more fertile lands this summer!
On Sunday June 27th I would like to host a Going Away Pie Bake-Off at my house in Brooklyn. Come say hello, goodbye, we’ll miss you dearly, enjoy some homemade pie goodness, along with complimentary beverages and ice cream, and vote for your favorite pie. Ribbons for prizes! Democracy in action! Free pie-related printed ephemera for all who attend!
Bakers, please contribute a pie! You can win prizes and glory!
Friends, please come and eat pie and say goodbye to Corinna and Nick!
Corinna and Nick, don’t leave! We’ll miss you!
Sunday, June 27th, 4pm to ??? .
Hey Bakers! Embrace your competitive streak! If you’re interested in entering the bake-off let me know via email. You know you want to!
I had an intimidating amount of fall fruit in my house this week, including, but not limited to, a peck of pears, which is, I have learned, variously 2 gallons, 8 dry quarts, or 16 dry pints. I made two pies for work, one for poets and one for staff, and still have fruit left over, just in time for even more fruit, to be followed up next week I imagine with even more fruit. Fruit shares are comforting in their predictability.
My favorite part of making pies is the pastry making, which I have gotten much better at, by learning to do less. What I really like is how it’s bits of damp flour and butter, and particles and flour, and you mess around with it a bit, until all of a sudden it’s a thing and not particles.
And then you’re done. Which is nice.
One of the poets last night told us how weasels kill chickens-stealthily, she says. They sneak in and bite them on their heads and drain their blood out. She says that you can’t tell what happened until you look closely-you come in and there’s a peacefully sleeping chicken.
That’s my story for today.
I’ve also cooked with apricots for the first time. I made a lovely strawberry and apricot pie yesterday, which might be better than sweet love, especially when you factor in the narcissus aspect.
Progress is being made.
I’m thinking less bright, more subtle. Who knew?
Maybe I was making a mountain out of a molehill. A weekly five pounds of fruit really means the pie versus jam conundrum-do I make pie or jam? Do I live in the moment or stop time in its tracks? Do I have to choose? – is less of a conundrum and more like an embarrassment of riches.
Or Richies, perhaps. When my neighbors want to get busy, they play the greatest hits of Lionel Ritchie at full volume. This means I get to enjoy his dulcet tones while I cook. Tonight was one of those nights.
This pie wants to know if you’re somewhere feeling lonely, or is someone loving you? Coated in caramel this pie is. And when I think caramel, I think Lionel. I’ve been waiting a whole month to make it. You’ve been waiting even longer to taste it, I can see it in your eyes, I can see it in your smile. Say it for always, that’s the way it should be.
The summer CSA fruit share means I could theoretically make a pie every damn week ’til november.
This one’s for our interns. Why are cherry pies so darn pie-like? Cartoon pies look like cherry pies.
I read this the other day:
and I just want to give the author a loud round of applause for ambition. There’s some big feelings, there.
I made a leek and goat cheese tart yesterday that came this close to disaster.
My brother called while I was shopping for ingredients; I told him what I was making and he said, boy you’re obsessed with pie. If you were on Top Chef you’d be the person who made everything into a pie.
I said, But Dave, that’s the beauty of pie!
The phrase of the day is: Embrace the opposition by killing them with kindness. That’s never been something I’ve excelled at. But I’m trying.
I can’t even express how glad I am to see spring. Life is good.
I made the best pie in the world today.
Pear Fig Pie with Hazelnut Crumb Crust.
Whoo. I made it in bits, a crust one day, poaching figs another day. Toasting nuts in my spare time.
The leisurely approach to pie making. I’m keeping this one all to myself. So there.
The month of January is about Finishing That Book, Dummy. Which means I have, count them, five more days, to be done with the dummy-making phase. No problem.
It’s a faux self-help book, my book.
I told someone this and they asked if it would help people. I said “no.”
They said that that was just like me. I thought that was mean.
The first bit is case studies. These are the cases.
The portraits are based on images from my high school yearbook.
Next up, the self-evaluation.