Pie (PI) Day!

For math geeks, today is 3-14-16 and important because PI R squared is the radius of a circle. Our branch president, James Fellows, invited all the service couples and the professors and their families to their residence this evening to celebrate. James works for the US Consulate and will be leaving this summer to work in Washington D.C. He has a wonderful family and his wife is a gourmet cook and loves to make beautiful desserts, especially cakes. I didn't realize there would be a contest for the the most original pie, the most like Grandma's, and the best overall pie. Anyway, my lemon meringue pie was voted most like Grandma's and I even won a prize. BIG surprise! I will include the recipe if anyone is interested. There were at least a dozen pies to choose from . . some sweet and some were savory. The one I loved the most won the prize as the most original and looked like a quiche with cheese on top. It had a pie crust on the bottom and was filled with sliced squash, red onions, bacon, and other veggies. I will share that recipe when I get it. Here are a few photos:

This is Suzanne's pie. You can see how talented she is by the dessert she made, a cake.

This was Tina's pie. Her husband is Dr. Whitchurch, director of the students at the Jerusalem Center. They are leaving in August after living here for 3 years.

All the couples are great and we work together so well. We have a doctor and his wife, a humanitarian couple, and then Garth and I are the music couple; we also have three professors and their families. When we first arrived to our apartment, someone had stocked our refrigerator with basics we would need until we could get to the market. Every once in a while I will find something left at our door: freshly baked pocket bread; cookies; almonds, dried fruit or fresh spices. The couples make an effort to help one another and this certainly makes us feel loved and watched over.

Photo: Suzanne, Tina, and Jennifer (Jennifer was brave and brought soup instead. If you look closely on the counter, you can see the winning vegetarian pie.)

Photo: Janet Skinner, Tashara and Julienne Muhlestein

Photo: James Fellows, host, standing on the staircase.

Baking pies takes me back when I was raising our family. My mother made wonderful pies and also Garth's mom, Clea Holyoak. This is a photo of our daughter, Keri, when she was about 3 years old when she was helping me make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving.

No-fail Pie Crust: Mix 3 cups flour, 1-1/2 cup Crisco, 1 teaspoon salt. Cut the shortening into the flour until you have pea-sized pieces. Mix together: 1 well-blended egg, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, and 6 tablespoons cold water. Form a well and pour liquid into the dry ingredients. Mix carefully with a spoon and when you are able to form a ball, work it gently with your hands until blended. Chill for 15 minutes. Roll out on a floured surface. Do not knead the dough or it will be tough and not flaky. Prick the crust and bake at 350 degree until golden.

Lemon Filling: Blend together 1-1/2 cups sugar and 6 Tablespoons corn starch. Add 2 cups water, 3 egg yolks, and 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice. (Heat lemons in microwave for 30 seconds to make them easier to juice.) Add grated lemon peel, 3 TB. butter, and 2 teaspoons white vinegar. Stir together and cook over moderate heat until mixture comes to a boil and becomes clear. Be careful because this can scorch easily. Set aside and cool.

Pour into baked pie shell. Meringue: 1 TB. cornstarch, 1 cup COLD water. ADD: 1/3 cup boiling water. Cook until clear and completely cool. ADD: 4 eggs whites and 6 TB. sugar. Whip until it stands in soft peaks then add 1 teas. vanilla and a pinch of salt. Beat a little more then spread in soft peaks over filled pie. Spread meringue to edges of pie crust (this helps anchor it and keeps it from shrinking). Bake at 350 until golden.