Christi Rideout and Rod MacDonald are on a quest to make a perfect lemon pie.
So far, the couple has made two attempts, using a box mix and canned lemon. Both times, they used a family member's longtime recipe for pastry.
"It’s making sweet memories, one pie at a time," Rideout says from her home in Tantallon, N.S.
March 14 is recognized as Pi Day, as it falls on the third month and 14th day of the year. This refers to the mathematical concept of Pi, the ratio of the circumference of any circle to the diameter of that circle, which is 3.14.
Danielle LeBlanc, a teacher at Kings County Academy in Kentville, N.S. uses pies to teach math concepts, especially when it comes to learning about Pi.
LeBlanc celebrates Pi Day with her students with fun activities, art projects, and round snacks. Her students also get into the celebrations, sometimes making pies at home and bringing them to class.
"It’s a sweet, fun way to celebrate math," she says.
How to make a perfect pie
When it comes to making the perfect pie, look no further than Elizabeth Johnson of Port Williams, N.S.
Johnson has been a member of the Women’s Institute for more than 50 years and says many of her cooking tips have come from their demonstrations and being with great cooks who share their experiences.
Johnson says her first pie-making experiences came from watching her mother at an early age. Although there weren’t many hands-on cooking experiences with her mother, other than passing things and doing the dishes, Johnson observed closely. Later, school home economics classes helped, but really, trial and error was her best teacher.
“When you have a husband and two extra farm men to feed the day you get home from your honeymoon, you learn a lot by trial and error,” says Johnson.
As a hands-on person - especially when it comes to making the perfect pastry - she needs to feel the dough to know when it’s ready to roll out.
When getting ready to make a pie, Johnson says to gather everything together so you can get it done quickly. And, she adds, make sure you have hot soapy water in your sink and clean up as you go.
"Never leave the dishes," she urges. "That makes it a chore later and you lose your joy."
When mixing, be careful not to handle the dough too much as this makes it tough. Instead, handle it gently until it forms a ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge until it is ready to roll out.
When rolling out the crust, Johnson says it's important to start with a well-floured surface. Roll the dough into a circle, about one-inch thick. Roll from the centre outwards and rotate the dough frequently. Then, put some flour on top of the rounded pastry and a piece of parchment over that. This makes it easier to get it into the pie plate without the crust ripping.
When the rounded dough is at least one-and-a-half inches larger than the pie plate, fold the dough in half and put it in your pie plate to form the bottom crust.
Whether or not you pre-bake the crust depends more on the type of pie you are making, says Danielle Farrell, a registered dietitian with the Dominion Stores in St. John’s, Mount Pearl, and Conception Bay South, N.L. This can be a helpful step if your pie filling is quite liquidy and you want to prevent the crust from becoming soggy.
Filling your pie
When filling the pie, Johnson says it's important not to overload it. As she freezes most of her pies, she knows the crust will become crusty first, and then, if it's an apple pie, the apples will soften and leave a gap. Therefore, she says, just fill the pie to the top of the plate.
After filling your pie, roll out the top crust until it's just a bit larger than the pie plate, says Johnson. Fold the dough into quarters, place it on the top of the pie, and unfold. Hold the plate up to eye level and, with a knife, cut off any extra dough, leaving about one-eighth of an inch over the rim.
"I even the edge of the crust by gently pushing on edge of the plate to seal it," says Johnson.
With your thumb and finger squeezing the layers of dough, go around the edge with a twist, she says. The thumb presses in, while the finger on the bottom presses down.
Put a design in the top crust or make slices in the dough to let any air out. Johnson likes to add a seasonal twist to this part. As it's close to St. Patrick’s Day, she'll cut out a few shamrocks to place on top of the dough.
Finally, beat an egg and, with a brush, and brush some over the top of the pie crust if you want a glossy finish. Johnson, however, doesn’t usually do this, and instead just sprinkles sugar over the uncooked top.
When baking, Johnson always puts her pies on a cookie sheet because they often leak and make a mess in the oven.
"I cook the pie for about 30 minutes and then test it by putting a fork in it to see that the apples are soft. I don’t like them to turn to applesauce," she says.
When cooking a pie from frozen, Johnson suggests setting the oven at 400F and putting the frozen pie in for about 30 minutes. Again, test it with a fork to make sure apples are cooked, she says, and cook the pie on a cookie sheet to make clean-up easy.
Ditch the fruit
Mary Rossiter of St. Peter’s Bay, P.E.I. says that instead of making the traditional fruit filling, she prefers making meat pies. The family tradition began decades earlier with Rossiter’s husband’s aunt, Hilda Lewis.
“On Christmas Eve, we would all go to midnight mass, and after mass, we would gather at the family homestead for meat pies and a drink. Did it ever taste good,” says Rossiter.
For her crust, Rossiter doesn't use a traditional pie pastry recipe, but instead, opts for what she calls a no-fail biscuit one. It an old-fashioned recipe, she says, that originated from Bertha MacAulay, who coincidentally lived in the same house where Rossiter’s mother grew up, east of Souris, PEI.
Like with regular pie pastry, Rossiter says the trick is not to have the mixture too dry and not to mix it too much.
"Just mix it enough to let the dough come together. Otherwise, it is tough," she says.
Quick Hacks
For those who don’t want to go through the process of making a pie crust, try picking up something ready-made. And lose the guilt, says Farrell.
“Eating well is about finding your balance, and doesn’t have to mean cooking everything from scratch,” she says.
Farrell has used both ready-to-go crusts and puff pastry for savoury and sweet pies. If you are looking for something a bit less traditional, you can find lots of recipes that include ingredients such as crushed nuts, seeds, coconut, and dates as an alternative crust, she says.
Or, for those who are gluten-free, many grocery stores now carry a ready-to-go pie crust option for a quick alternative to making pastry from scratch, says Farrell. This crust bakes up golden and flaky and can be used just as you would use traditional pie crust for everything from apple pie to chicken pot pie.
Farrell encourages people to use a pre-made crust when that is what works for them, but also not to be afraid to try baking a pie crust from scratch.
"We all start somewhere and, whether it is perfect or not, it can be a lot of fun along the way," she says.
Johnson adds that the best way to make pie pastry is to have a positive attitude and love what you do.
“Even if the pie is not picture-perfect, it will still be appreciated and taste good! Be proud about what you do,” she says.
A pie only has worth, she adds, not on how it looks but how it tastes!
“Blessings as you make something for others to enjoy with you,” she says.
Never Fail Pastry Recipe
Elizabeth Johnson, Port Williams, N.S.
Ingredients:
- 1 box of Crisco
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 5 cups flour
- Water
Put the egg in a measuring cup and fill it to the one cup mark with water. Whisk to mix.
Use a pastry blender to mix shortening, flour, and salt until well chopped up, then add the egg/water mixture. Start by pulling the liquid up and towards the middle. Use your hands to form a ball. Do not knead. Refrigerate until filling is done. This will make five single crusts. Freezes well.
Apple Filling
Depending on the size of the apples, use 4-6, peeled and sliced (usually Gravensteins or Cortland.)
Put in a large bowl, add sugar to taste, and about a tablespoon of cinnamon (my family prefers this to nutmeg). Stir to coat the apples before putting them in the pie. This distributes the cinnamon evenly throughout the pie.
Rossiter Family’s Meat Pies
Mary Rossiter of St. Peter’s Bay, P.E.I.
Day 1:
Use two medium-size pork roasts (better to have boneless roast) and one 10 lb chicken. Boil the meat up in separate pots. In the pots, cover the meat with water
Add six chopped onions, one level teaspoon of summer savory, one level teaspoon of thyme, and half a teaspoon of liquid/wet garlic to each pot.
Use a meat thermometer to determine when it is done. Save the water/juice that the meat cooks in.
Day 2:
Chop the meat into small pieces. You can use a food processor to do this. When finished chopping, put the meat in a large pot.
Now you need to turn your attention back to the large pot of water/juice mixture that the meat was cooked in yesterday. There is usually a level of fat on top of the water/juice mixture. Take that off, then put the large pot of water/juice mixture back on the stove and bring to a boil. Then, add it to the pot containing the chopped-up meat gradually. You may not use all of it - put in enough water/juice to make your meat juicy and really moist.
Bertha MacAulay's pasty recipe:
Mix:
- 8 cups of four
- 6 teaspoons of baking powder
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- Then add 1 pound of shortening. Blend into the flour mixture. Mix it with your hands until there is no sign of shortening. Then, add 3 cups of milk. Cook the pies at 400F for 25-30 minutes.
