January 23, 2011--National Pie Day...

Just a little bit ago, I heard on NPR that today is National Pie Day!
Of course I plan to make a pie this afternoon--I had planned to make some kind of treat today, as our neighbors invited us up for dinner tonight, so a pie is perfect. Plus, with four people eating it instead of two, I am less likely to eat more than I need.
My grandmother was a supreme pie maker and is the one who taught me how to make pies. One summer, when we were renting a cottage on the coast, near where my grandparents lived, my older brother, sister, and I spent each Saturday afternoon making pies. Every week, we'd ride our bikes over to Grammy's and she would help us create our own flavor of pie. She'd show us how to measure the flour and stir in a little salt, how to cut in the Crisco ( the shortening always had to be Crisco), then slowly mix in the ice cold water that she had in the freezer until a dough was formed. Rolling came next, with the dough rolled out as thin as possible without tearing. Once the pie dough was in the pan, we'd often line the shell with aluminum foil and fill the pan with dry beans, then bake the crust for ten minutes or so before adding the filling. Soon the house was filled with the smells of apple, cinnamon, chocolate, blueberries, lemon and meringue..each week a different set of sweet scents that made our mouths water while we waited. Grammy also showed us what to do with the leftover pie dough--roll it out again and spread softened butter on it, then top it with cinnamon sugar. These scraps were then rolled up like logs and sliced 1/4 inch thick and baked on cookie sheets, creating crunchy pie dough cinnamon rolls which we were allowed to eat while the pies baked.
Once the pies were cooling on various racks on the counters, we'd ride our bikes home again, only to return in an hour or two with our parents for a full dinner at Grammy's, with all our pies served as dessert. Once dinner was over, we'd return home with the leftovers of the pies, which we'd eat until they were gone. Then, the plates were returned to Grammy, ready for Saturday's baking lesson once again. It was a great way to spend a summer as a kid, growing up on the coast of Maine and those days are some of the best memories I have of my grandmother.
So, on to the question of what kind of pie to make for dinner tonight? We are out of apples, I have no bananas, only a few blueberries in the freezer, don't feel like a pudding type pie...I do have lemon juice, though and lemon meringue IS probably my all-time favorite pie...:)