Pie!

Question:  How do you know your that job is totally awesome?

Answer:  The dean of the university where you work sends out an email stating that she will be giving you (and all of the other university employees) a free pie in honor of Thanksgiving!

So, what kind should I choose: pecan, apple, or pumpkin?

In other pie-related news, when I was reading the New York Times today, I found an article containing several interesting recipes for pie including Butter Pie (the very name sounds utterly delicious) and Apple Green-Chili Pie With Cheddar Crust and Walnut Streusel.  Actually, the article more or less persuaded me that I NEED to visit NYC as soon as possible even though I was there just last weekend.  And I obviously do not need to eat my way through the city again.  And I really shouldn't spend 4 1/2 hours in a bus each way just so I can eat pie.


ANYWAYS!


Given that Thanksgiving is next week, it's prime pie season right now.  And so, in the spirit of pie, I'll ask my readers (all 2 of you) what your favorite pie is and whether you have any particularly good memories of pie.


For me, I'll have to say that my absolute favorite pie is Maple Syrup Pie (also known as Tarte au Sirop D'érable).  I first tried maple syrup pie during a trip to Quebec in 1996.  I was about 10 at the time, but still a major foodie.  My parents took my sister and I to a restaurant after a long day of sightseeing and boy, were we all exhausted.  As per usual, we were all super cranky and my sister and I were probably being pains in the butt.  Upon entering the restaurant (Restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens, if you're interested), a hush came over us.  A quaint little stone room, dimly lit with flickering candles set the scene for a truly spectacular meal.


While poring over the dessert menu, a couple from the next table leaned over and said to us "Try the maple syrup pie, it's stunning!"  So we did, and they were right - it was (and still is) the best pie that I've ever eaten.  


Over the years, I've made this pie again and again - for school bake sales, for parties, and for special dinners.  The recipe that I linked to above is the one that that first magical maple syrup pie was made from.  I highly recommend that you try it!  If you do, make sure that you use real maple syrup (none of this "pancake syrup" business...as someone who was raised in Vermont and who has actually made maple syrup the old-fashioned way, I consider anything less than the real deal to be not worth my time.  Trust me on this, the pie will just taste icky if you use the fake stuff!) and be sure to serve the pie with either creme fraiche or heavy cream - it helps cut through all the sugar.


Happy pie-eating!

O Magnificent Maple!

I was out walking yesterday afternoon when I saw this absolutely stunning Japanese maple.  The photo has not been altered in any way, and if anything the real tree was even brighter than in the picture.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Amazingly Bizarre

Tonight, I went with a couple of old choir friends from college to see our old choir perform.  This was not a hugely crazy or remarkable event in and of itself, but what happened that night sure was!

As soon as I arrive at the concert, one of my friends who is still in the choir hollers "DUDE!  There are two of you!"  Umm...what?  "Someone joined choir this year and she has your name!"  I scanned the program and found out that it was totally true - for the first time ever, I met someone with the same first AND last name as myself.  SO COOL!  Upon talking to her and her family, it turns out that we might even be (very distantly) related.  Talk about amazing, eh?

That would have been astounding in and of itself, but wait...there's more! 

During the concert, I saw another girl onstage and kept on thinking to myself "that girl looks just like me!"  I seriously kept on doing double takes because she was my spitting image.  After this show, this girl beelines it over towards me and asks if my name is Mary.  Apparently, everyone in choir's been telling her that she reminds them of me.  She then asks "Hey, do you know S____?" (the name of a person who I sung with for many years as a teenager in an entirely separate and unrelated chorus).

Apparently, she sang with the sister of S and she's into the same kind of obscure early American shape note music as I am. 

How amazing is it that out of all of the people in the entire world, tonight I meet one person who has my exact name and another person who shares a mutual friend, despite the fact that we grew up on opposite ends of the country?