Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with pie

Is a quiche classified as a pie?

peter1982peter — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:18:42 -0800

My boyfriend says that quiches are not pies. I say they can be classified as egg pies. Which of us is right?

Who makes the best pecan pie in the Phoenix area?

ErWenn — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:43:01 -0800

I'll be getting married in Phoenix in March, and in addition to the cakes (which will be made by Karsh's Bakery), my fiancée would like to have pecan pie at the wedding. But Karsh's doesn't do pie, and we'd like to collect some suggestions for where to get really good pecan pie in the Phoenix, Arizona area.

This is a question about steak and kidney pie.

Meatbomb — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:08:29 -0800

This is a question about steak and kidney pie. I think of S&K pie as having a very thick and unique pie top. My vague memories of it is that it has a sort of standard / normal pie crust, and inside is steak and kidney in gravy, but then the top is this very dense thick sort of bisquit covering. This covering section is chewy, tasty, moist, and goes really well with the gravy.

I do not know if that is the standard way it is made, or if I am just misremembering, or at one time was being served some very specific version, or what.

Could some expert please clarify this for me, and if my recollections are not false implants direct me to a recipe for this kind of S&K pie?

Bakers, why is this dough bitter?

wryly — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:27:52 -0800

I made a pie crust an hour ago and the dough tastes bitter to me. The ingredients: Gold Medal all-purpose white flour, lard, water, egg, vinegar, salt. I tasted each ingredient just now (except the egg) and they all seem fine. Does anyone know where if an interaction among some ingredients might be causing bitterness? Or are my taste buds wrong? I'd appreciate any relevant advice.

Does this pie crust require pre-baking?

macrowave — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 20:04:12 -0800

Should I pre-bake this Cooks Illustrated Pie Dough for use with this Pumpkin Pie Recipe? I'm done with grocery shopping, half done with food prep, and just realized that the magical vodka crust recipe calls for pre-baking the crust with pie weights, while recipe I've bought the filling for calls for no such thing.

I know I could just run to the store in the morning and buy everything else I need to make the Cooks Illustrated Pie, but that seems silly to me. They can't be that different.

Has anybody had any success using this crust from pastry straight to pie?

Please keep me from blowing this and bumming out Friendsgiving!

What is the best dessert to make with my 10 honeycrisp apples?

onlyconnect — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 09:33:32 -0800

What is the best dessert to make out of my 10 honeycrisp apples? Thanksgiving is in two days and I'm supposed to bring a dessert to our 11 person holiday feast. We just received 10 organic honeycrisp apples from Harry and David. What should I do with them?

My first thought was to make them into one or two pies (possibly adding a few other apples) but I'm not sure honeycrisps are good pie apples. Some people really like them in pie, but others suggest they are too crisp or maybe too sweet.

But I have these honeycrisps and a charge to bring dessert to Thanksgiving, so how best can I use them? I'm not a tremendously good cook but I have made a pie before with good results. Is a pie the best use of these apples, the thing that my relatives would probably enjoy the most, especially if we put a bunch of ice cream on it? Or do honeycrisps do better in something like an apple cobbler? I don't think my family would go for just plain old baked apples, etc.

Also, if you have any killer recipes you would suggest for these apples, I will appreciate them very much!

Thanks, and happy holiday!

Spiced pumpkin pear tart recipe needed

k8lin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:43:33 -0800

I need the recipe for this spiced pumpkin pear tart. I have the ingredient list - with some quantities - but no instructions. I think it's from Gourmet or Bon Appetit, probably from the 1990s, but it's not anywhere online. Hope me, Metafilter. Here is the list of ingredients:
flour, sugar, salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 egg (yolks) and 2 large eggs
crystallized ginger
vanilla, cold water
1 16-oz can solid pack pumpkin
1/4 cup whipping cream
ground ginger, coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon
1 lemon or some lemon juice
2 pears
apricot jam
2 tablespoons brandy

The crystallized ginger is in the crust, and the pears are arranged on top in a spiral and brushed with the jam and brandy. I am looking for the exact recipe I have lost: no substitutes, please.

This was a family recipe and I really want to recreate it. Thank you so much.

a la mode?

hilaryjade — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 10:53:46 -0800

What flavor ice cream is best with Blackberry Pie? I had blueberry pie with cinnamon ice cream once, and it was spectacular. I'm making a blackberry pie soon for a special occasion and need help figuring out what flavor of ice cream to make to go with it.

I use Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home most of the time I make ice cream - I like her base recipe quite a bit and have had good results.

Plain vanilla is always an option, and I have good vanilla beans. But I'd like to come up with something a little more surprising - something that will contrast nicely with the blackberry pie while complementing it (if that makes sense at all)

Pie chart in Word with dollar amounts?

zardoz — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 19:28:40 -0800

How to make a pie chart in Word with dollar amounts, not percentages? I am trying to make a pie chart in Word 2011 but cannot figure out how to make it display dollar amounts instead of percentages.

I enter the info in Excel, which puts the info back into Word. I have five or six slices of pie and the dollar amounts, but the pie chart doesn't reflect these. Is it possible? Does the dollar sign interfere with the Excel formula?

Please help!

Pie-less cultures and fraction learning?

long — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 19:47:37 -0800

Are there cultures that don't have pie and/or how did you learn about fractions? (posted to food & drink as opposed to education because i'm more interested in direct answers to the pie culture question, though i'd settle for anything)

I'm interested in the fact that a canonical example for teaching fractions is the number of slices in a pie.

This makes me wonder if there are cultures that don't really have pie. If these cultures exist, and if/when kids learn about fractions in these cultures, what are the concrete examples they are given?

Alternately, if you learned about fractions from some non-pie example - could you share that example?

How do you eat your pie

willnot — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 21:06:53 -0800

I've noticed that if I order pie at a restaurant, most times, they serve it crust side facing me instead of pointy side facing me. Do most people eat their pie crust first?

Emergency Pie Recipe

missmagenta — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 07:17:46 -0800

Long shot but does anyone have the pork pie recipe from this Master Class 4" pie tin I have 2 of those pie tins and they came with a pork pie recipe but I lost mine. I'm mostly looking for the cooking instructions as I use my own pastry recipe and the filling recipe is similar to another one I have but what I really need is the cooking time and temperature for a pie that size. All the recipes I've found online are too big, too small or don't specify.

How do I avoid a soggy pie bottom?

mmascolino — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 11:40:46 -0800

How can I avoid a soggy crust for a coconut cream pie? I'm asking this for my mother who makes a wonderful scratch Coconut Cream pie. The flavor is great but she isn't happy about what the pie does to the crust. This happens to both store bought as well as homemade crusts.

When the moon hits your eye...

corn_bread — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:16:21 -0800

Going to a wedding party tomorrow that includes a pie-baking contest, with prizes! Categories are: prettiest, tastiest and most creative. I am willing to spend hours of my life to go all the way with this contest. 'm looking for recipes, suggestions, decorating techniques, pictures of beautiful pies. Anything. Lay it on me.

Pie, on a deadline!

Turkey Glue — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:02:46 -0800

Last-minute pie baking ideas needed! I'm in a wedding on Saturday, for which it has been requested that I bake a pie. This is great! However, due to bachelor party and rehearsal stuff, I won't have much time on Thursday & Friday to bake, so I was thinking of making a pie tonight.

My initial idea was a key lime pie, but I don't think that custard and meringue would store very well. Apple pie seems prosaic/likely that someone else bakes one, and, well, thought spiral.

1. Will a stored key lime pie be good on Saturday? Could I make the filling & meringue, then bake later?
2. If not, what are some pies that I can bake and store/freeze for a couple days. I'll have an evening to make it tonight and maybe half a day tomorrow for final baking, if need be.

(If anyone suggests a pre-made pie crust or canned pie filling, I will personally ensure you are thrown in a dumpster.)

Wait. I-I'm only a pie ma'am.

ladyrachel — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:35:26 -0800

I'm looking for a great pumpkin pie in central Orange County (CA) that can be delivered. Do you know of one? I have a dear friend who lives in Tustin who I want to send a thank you gift to. His all-time favorite sweet is a plain ol' traditional pumpkin pie, and while I can make quite a nice one myself, shipping it across country in one piece is tricky. I've come across a couple online pie-shipping sites that can be used, but would really prefer to use a bakery local to him if possible.

bring my noms closer to me

divabat — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 06:02:12 -0800

Is there something like Gilt Taste that is based in Australia? I'm especially keen on their artisanal sweets and chocolates and cakes.

"Apple mwah Pie!": Who said it?

tchemgrrl — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:37:01 -0800

"Apple pie [3 staccato lip smacks]." Have you heard this somewhere before? A silly little thing my grandfather would do would be to say "Apple pie," and then dryly smack his lips. (There is some disagreement as to whether the lip smacks came between the words apple and pie or at the end. He probably did both.) This wasn't a general "yummy" noise, it only happened with the words apple pie, and had nothing to do with the actual presence of a pie.

I always assumed this was just a culture reference that everyone else but me got, but I was talking about it with older family members recently and that led to everyone saying "Yeah, what was that from, anyways?" Grampa's been gone for 15 years, so we can't ask him. My dad even tried saying it into Shazam, no luck.

Have any of you heard of this before? It could have been some family joke that everyone's forgotten about, but I'm hoping it's from a radio show or a Marx Brothers movie or something so I can show it to family who remembers it.

Some possibly relevant details: My grandfather was born in 1919 and spent his whole life in the northeastern US. He was probably saying this as early as the 50's or 60's, so media sources would probably be in the 1925-1945 range.. He didn't say it in an identifiably funny voice, but he would suck his lips behind his teeth to make the sound.

Pecan Pie. Corn Starch Or Not?

jbenben — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:04:04 -0800

PECAN PIE! I'm thinking of substituting palm sugar (which has a vanilla flavor built in) for syrup. And I have other issues. Cornstarch or not? I'm adapting different techniques and I've never done this before - HELP! Here is my deal. This is my first Pecan Pie. I personally like pies that have a lighter custard. I understand custard.

To bump up the flavor, my plan is to use dissolved palm sugar to improve flavor. My palm sugar is hard when cold, liquid when hot. Instead of vanilla extract, I'm using a very expensive but over-dried vanilla bean soaked in cognac.

With my current plan, I'm pretty sure I'll overdo the vanilla. I can pull back on the vanilla bean. I can taste before baking.

I like a lighter filling, and I'm curious to know if the lighter filling I adore does or does not include cornstarch. I've been tasting pies all over town. Do the lighter versions have cornstarch in the custard? Is that the main difference?

Yeah. I know I'm going way way outside the box. I'm looking for the best texture considering the fact that I refuse to use corn syrup.

What custard ingredients make the lightest pecan pie filling?

Chocolate Pumpkin Pecan Pie?

Lylo — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 00:31:25 -0800

Do you have a recipe for this chocolate pumpkin pecan pie? Please help me find this recipe! someone told me about a chocolate pumpkin pecan pie where there was either baking chocolate or choc chips sitting on the bottom crust, covered with a classic pumpkin pie filling, then topped with a layer of pecan pie filling, then topped with some type of melted chocolate. I found THIS, which is close but no chocolate, and then this which just looks like a yummy pecan pumpkin pie with chocoalte syrup dripped on it, then finally this which just blends all 3 flavors into a cheese cake type dessert. I think this was an original creation and I think I might come close by just following recipe #1 but putting a layer of bittersweet choc chips as first layer and also generously sprinkling them on top before baking. Any thoughts?

Piemaker, PhD

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:59:01 -0800

I have warm fuzzy feelings and inclinations to do nice things for people. Does this make me unprofessional? How do I talk myself out of it, if so? I'm in academia. Today's case in point: I've just obtained the fifth and final member of my dissertation committee, and I consider the group a Dream Team. I feel so fortunate to be working with these amazing professors and pleased that they are giving me their time. I want to make them pies.

Literally. I keep thinking "peach, apple, blueberry?"

I understand that dissertation committee members are sometimes presented with stodgy professionally-oriented gifts after the defense, but my Americana FarmGirl roots just can't resist celebrating this milestone with a round of happy baking and a chance to show personal appreciation.

I'm not certain it would be considered inappropriate. I am in a very liberal field and a pretty friendly department. And who can hate on pie?

Has anybody had experiences with feeling this way or navigating academia in terms of amity and old-fashioned niceties, and conflicts with ivory professionalism?

Easy as Pie....NOT!

Lylo — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:45:31 -0800

Why did my piecrust stick to the pan? and other pie dilemmas.. I made a lovely peach cream pie, with an all-butter (food processor) single crust. I did not pre-bake the pastry as the recipe did not call for me to do so. It tasted great, but was not pretty when cut.....the crust, especially at the fluted rim, did not want to let go of the pan (an unglazed ceramic deep dish pie plate). I did not grease the pie plate (all butter crust doesn't need more grease, me thinks!) as neither crust recipe or pie recipe called for greasing or flouring. I froze the pastry lined dish for 15 minutes before filling, as recommended in the recipe. I have a feeling it was something to do with this particular pie plate which I never before used with a home made crust. Also, while I am on the subject of pies....I always struggle with the fluted edge baking too quickly. tin foil is cumbersome, especially when pie first goes in and pastry still soft and pie not yet set. I have bought every product for covering the fluting (silicon, aluminum rings) but even the larger one doesn't cover the entire fluted rim for larger pie dishes. I guess an alternative is making smaller pies, but if I am going to all the trouble to make a pie, I'd prefer to have more, not less! All pie-making tips will be appreciated, but especially seeking solutions for the stuck crust and too-dark rims.

Rescue undercooked rhubarb crisp?

Westringia F. — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 07:27:03 -0800

Rescuing an undercooked rhubarb crisp: how can I cook the rhubarb interior without destroying the crumble on top? The other night I baked a rhubarb crisp, giving it about the same time I usually do -- 45 min or so, taking it out when the crumble was golden. Because we weren't going to have it right away, we let it cool and put it in the fridge. Had some for brekkie this morning, and come to find the rhubarb still crunchy -- waaay underdone.

Given that the too-crisp-crisp is now in a ceramic dish at fridge temp, what's my best option for cooking the rhubarb with minimal damage to the crumble (either burning or sogginess) and without undertaking some ridiculous dismantling/reassembly? Microwave? Back in the oven? With/without a cover? Let it come up to room temp first or not?

Oh, and the recipe we use is based on Mark Bittman's, which features a puckeringly tart rhubarb layer underneath a pecan praline crumble. It's delightful. Halves well, too, if you're running short of rhubarb as summer encroaches (use a loaf tin).

How Do I Grill A Pie?

padraigin — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:00:55 -0800

Tell me about grilling pies. I've been making variations of this tart a lot lately, and have a backlog ideas for sweet and savory variations that maximize summer's produce. But I don't want to heat my house up in the summer by using the oven if I don't have to.

I have a gas grill and I would like to learn to make use of it as an outdoor oven. Tell me about temperatures, techniques, and tricks for using my grill to get my bake on. Would a pizza stone help?

Be advised: I am not usually the family grill chef, so small words and clear instructions will be much appreciated.

Bonus points for your favorite sweet or savory tart-filling combinations, I'm up for anything and the family is mostly tolerant of experimentation.

Pillsbury pie crust ideas

storybored — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:34:17 -0800

I've got this packet of Pillsbury Pie Crust in my freezer. What are some delicious things you can do with it? There are plenty of recipes out there but I'd like to hear what your favorite is.