Lessons from Pie Crust

This weekend as I was unthinkingly pouring enough strawberry pie filling for two crusts into one and then bailing it out, I was reminded of a miracle I witnessed back at Thanksgiving.

I volunteered to make the pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving dinner at the in-laws. I love pumpkin pie, especially my Grandma's recipe, and I have made the filling many times. The funny thing is that I had never really had much experience in making the pie crust. The filling is so good in and on a variety of desserts that the pie crust part was never a problem. However, if you are going to bring pumpkin pies then they ought to be in a pie crust. I decided to make a "real" Grandma's pie and asked my dad for her pie crust recipe. He found the recipe and then suggested I contact one of his sisters to get the details on how to make the crust.

After getting the instructions as well as the "what-not-to-do" notes, I figured that I had everything that I would need. Kevin suggested that I try making a crust Tuesday night to see how it turned out, so that night after work I made my first attempts. Nothing worked out well that night and the fact that we even ended up with a crust was thanks to my husband’s patience and his willingness to make a crust out of my failed attempts. Many tears and lots of frustration went into Tuesdays crusts, and I’m sure we were both thinking that making four more crusts on Thursday was going to be a challenge.

Wednesday night I slept very well and I woke up on Thanksgiving in high spirits. Kevin was getting the laundry started at the laundry mat while I braced myself for another round of pie crust. This time I started with a heartfelt plea for heavenly help and then I set to work. It went perfectly. The dough was the right consistency and held together like it really wanted to become a crust. When I went to put the crust into the pie pan it went in without crumbling into hundreds of pieces and didn’t even have a crack. By the time Kevin made it back to the apartment a beautiful pie crust was ready to bake and I almost had a second one finished. I am pretty sure there must be pie making angels in heaven. I kind of wonder if my Grandma was there overseeing the process since it was her recipe that I was trying so hard to make. They turned out flaky, golden brown, and yummy.

Lessons learned? 1. Sometimes, well most of the time, heavenly help makes even the hardest things easier. 2. Sleep is a must. Never make pie crusts on a lack of sleep! 3. If at first you don’t succeed, try again on a different day when life is brighter.