Let's Talk Pie

There's just something about a well executed pie, isn't there? The marriage of sweet and salty flavors, the contrast of soft and hard, the fragrance of custard and possibility. Magic and moonlight diners. Truck stops and Auntie Mame.

Sometimes I get carried away.

You see, I'm on a quest to perfect the art of pie crust. This is a good goal... This goal means there will be pie. It is also a good goal because pie crust is not easy. The art of pie crust lies not only in the recipe, but in the technique. And I daresay in personal preference.

I like an even amount of sweet and salty in my pie crust.  Some like it on the sweet, some on the salty. Some like it moist and flaky, some like it dry and flaky. I think the only thing we can all agree on is the flaky part. And when that perfect pie crust does finally materialize, who cares what's in the middle?

But since I can't just bake pie crust all the time (while it would be on of the more pleasurable things to eat on a weekly basis, we need to test how the crust cooks with a filling) I'm making complete pies. Which means pie recipes are in order.

The goal is one pie a week for a year.

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a professional pie maker by any stretch of the imagination. So this is me starting from the ground up.

Ready? Here we go. We are now on a perfect pie crust quest.