Pondering Pie Crust

 

I have a tendency to think while I'm cooking. My body is busy, but my mind is not that occupied by food preparation. Today I ended up thinking about pie crust. Not that unusual as I was assembling a pie at the time.

I grew up with an almost mystical attitude towards pie crust. It took magic or maybe a miracle to make one right. That's what I used to think anyway.

But I don't remember the last time that I felt like making a pie crust was a big deal doing it myself. Obviously take some time and I have to make DH get the machine out but I don't usually fail. I think I only had trouble the first time I tried. I'm not saying it's been equally easy every time. Sometimes it's a little harder to handle or I need to add some water or flour. But it works and it's edible.

Okay, I admit it. I cheat. I use Joy of Cooking's pie crust recipe, but I make it in the food processor. I use the regular recipe not the one made for food processor. I also use margarine. I know, you are not supposed to use margarine for pie crust, but we don't have Crisco in this country. I just can't handle the thought of using lard to make a pie crust for dessert. It feels wrong somehow.

Anyway, I put the margarine flour and salt in food processor and turn it on. A couple quick spins and it's all mixed together. Then I had to 4 tablespoons of water and let it work until the crust is in a big ball. That's that.

When it comes to rolling the dough I am probably spoiled. We have a marble section on our counter. As long as I chill the dough long enough, it's easy to roll on that. I usually make a full bottom and a lattice top.

So why do I think it takes magic to make pie crusts? Pie crust was not exactly my mother's strong suit. I don't remember it being bad, I just remember lots and lots of stress involved in trying to make it. I guess it likes to tease my mother.

Don't get me wrong here. My mother is not a bad cook. She makes cakes that are the envy of anyone who sees them because they are fully edible personalized birthday cakes and often quite an adventure to figure out. She doesn't use a cookbook for most things. Her pancakes only failed once and that was my fault. That was after we found out I was allergic to wheat and milk, so she was experimenting with alternatives and something didn't go well together. But how many people can make pancakes out of potato milk and rice flour?

There are things that she did that I would never want to have to do. She put food on the table for five picky people every day. She made most of our breakfasts and everyone's lunch. She cooks turkeys that are so big they barely fit in the oven. She adjusts meals for family gatherings to serve carnivores, vegetarians, and vegans all the same time.

I have trouble getting dinner on the table for two people every day. DH makes his own lunch, and his own breakfast, and does probably at least a third of the cooking. He also does most of the dishes, something Mom had to tackle on her own.

So, we grow up with attitudes about things based on how our parents felt about them. But we don't necessarily have the same strengths and weaknesses that they had. It doesn't make us better people than they are. We're just different.

So Mom, if I come for Thanksgiving again or Christmas, I'll make the pies. But you have to stick to doing the birthday cakes