Above and Beyond

I'm not much of a pie maker. Oh, I like pie. My mother-in-law makes the absolute best pie. Herein lies the problem. Her pie is amazing and she can whip up a couple (or twelve) in no time and not even look at a recipe book. Ever. Her pie is flaky, sweet, often features fruits from her garden or the specialty produce store, and disappears fast. She's famous for her pie.

Last week we did a fair bit of entertaining and I wanted to make some pleasing desserts. I had some fresh peaches in the refrigerator and decided I wanted peach pie. I didn't really want to make it myself but no one else around here really stepped up to the plate. I have a well-equipped kitchen and a good collection of cookbooks. Betty Crocker is my go-to for basics like pastry and I thought I'd give it a shot. I snapped some pics to demonstrate my kitchen prowess.

It starts with the pastry, the rolling made easier with some of my nifty gadgets, especially that silicone mat:




The next step was blanching and peeling the peaches:




Mixing the filling:




At this point I'm getting a bit drooly, can't wait for that first piece:




I impress me:



The end result:




It was scrumptious. Really. I was quite surprised with myself and gained a lot confidence with the experience. Two days later we had more guests for coffee and dessert. I made a chocolate-laced pecan pie. Gary doesn't know who this woman is baking pies in his kitchen. He said to me, "This goes above and beyond. Really." With feedback like that, I'm thinking there will be more pie making in this kitchen in the not-so-distant future.