Mmmmmm..... Pies!

My father is so hard to shop for for Christmas. The stuff he wants is "big ticket" kinda stuff and well, Pete and I don't have that kind of cash. After thinking and thinking about what I can get him for Christmas, I remembered how much he likes pie. Homemade pie. Fruit pies. Well, my mom doesn't really cook or bake all that much so the pies my father gets are usually from the Wal-Mart bakery (yuck). Sooo.... I decided the best gift I could give him was four homemade pies!
From left to right:

I made an apple pie (using Macoun apples -- what a great flavor!), a pecan pie, a cherry/blueberry pie (that boiled out while baking; it was mess central!), and a pumpkin pie (custard style. Passed down from Pete's grandmother). These babies are all wrapped (Saran that is!) and have been put away in the freezer. I'm going to give them (frozen) to Pop for Christmas.

What a wonderful way to spend my snow day today!!

Pop's Apple Pie

Ever since my Meme passed in 2001, I have refused to eat apple pie. My Meme's apple pie was the best I have ever eaten and I know there can be no replacement.

The other day I decided that I'm going to go home to see my parents this Friday. I offered to cook lunch for them (my very special beef stroganoff recipe) and make a dessert. I listed all the different pies I could make for my father and he, of course, choose apple.

I decided to use my Meme's cookbook, "The Good Housekeeping Cookbook" published in MCMLXXIII (that's 1973). I have had the best of luck with this cookbook, including my very favorite banana bread recipe and a killer chocolate chip cookie recipe.  The recipe in the cookbook for apple pie was very simple (after, of course, peeling and coring the apples!).  I was so very pleased with how the pie came out! After tasting some of the sauce that leaked out while baking, I immediately called my father to tell him how close this pie tasted to my Meme's pies. The top crust is lumpy and he said that that was how Meme's pies were. I'm so excited to bring it to him tomorrow and have him try it! My Meme was definitely with me as I made this pie and I made sure to thank her for the help when it was done.