National Pie Day!

Eating pie is as American as baseball, so it's befitting that we should have a special day to celebrate the beloved pie (and not just the sweet kind) and want to indulge in some on that day!

However, National Pie Day is about more than just yummy pie. It's a chance to exchange favorite recipes, to bake for friends or even with friends, to take a break from a busy day for dessert with loved ones or a lost love, or to rediscover the smells of your childhood.

This January 23rd eat some pie! In fact, share some with a friend, family member, neighbor, coworker or even a stranger because pie is too good not to partake in some at least one day a year, even if it's just a few bites.

Creative Commons pie photo by Maggie Hoffman.

and I'm not just filling your dough...

It's amazing where a lack of information will lead a person. In this particular case, it lead me home (I was raised in Colorado) and to the humble beginnings of National Pie Day & the American Pie Council. It was indeed started in Boulder, Colorado by Charlie Papazian, whose birthday is January 23, as a project at the school where he was teaching. His friend and fellow pie lover, John Lehndorff, helped stage The Great American Pie Fest a few years later, was the spokesperson for "Pie Day," and eventually took over as executive director of the original APC in 1996, ten years after it was started and was made into an actual organization at the convincing of some corporations. He left after a falling out over a pie judging that involved one of the first couple National Pie Championships ever held.

Charlie and John just love pie, but more the simple, not too much sugar or fancy stuff, homemade kind, made with tender loving care, not so much the buy it in a box and toss in the oven kind (yes, it takes love to do that too, but it's just not the same thing, you know?).

Now days the American Pie Council holds a festival and contest with corporate sponsors that takes place near Orlando, Florida, in late April. Honestly though, their list of commercial winners make the entire thing seem like something very different from the National Pie Day John that I emailed.

I'd like to think that Charlie, John and all the good folks in Boulder who started out sharing pie won't be forgotten when January 23rd rolls around every year. Hopefully people everywhere will think of them and how they love pie. Good, wholesome, yummy, delicious pie...the way it was meant to be, the way American was founded: with a little determination, hard work, ingenuity, a few fresh ingredients and no one telling us we have to do it "their" way! I think I just heard my oven timer ding; I'd better go check on my pie!!!!

P.S. A big thank you to John Lehndorff for personally sharing some information on how it all began with me! I owe you some pie, good sir!

References not listed:

Westword "Slice of Life"
Denver Post "National Pie Day a day to eat, savor and share"
Orlando Sentinel "I Brake For Pie, Said The Crusty Columnist"

Pie comes in so many varieties is it possible to pick the better type of pie? So many yummy sweet dessert pies, yet so many tasty savory pies. I know I can't pick...can you?

1. Have pie at every meal or for every meal.

   A breakfast quiche (it has a crust, so we'll call it pie for this), slice of pie for dessert at lunch, chicken pot pie for dinner, etc.

2. Host a pie eating contest!

   Oh yum! Please invite me if you do this one!

3. Host a pie throwing contest/bake sale! (For charity, of course)

   This way you can raise money selling yummy pies and throw pie tins with cheap canned whipped cream at someone to raise more money all for a good cause!

4. Share some pie with someone who is pieless!

   Oh, me me me! I'm pieless right this very second!

5. Share some pie with someone you care about!

   Isn't sharing nice?

6. Teach someone how to bake your favorite pie!

   Oh yes, this is a selfish thing really, because later maybe they will make one for you! muahahahaaaa

7. Play a pie eating game!

   Watch a television show or movie or even listen to the radio and every time a particular word is said (pick any word you want) you take a bite of pie. If you play with close friends, everyone can have a different kind of pie and pass the plate each time. Then you get different yummy bites! Oh, can I play?

8. Have you own neighborhood or office pie contest!

   Don't forget to make ribbons (or let the kids get involved and let them make the ribbons) for the winners and let everyone enjoy the pies after the judging is done!

9. Have pie races!

   Don't ask me, I'm making this up as I go along! It can be whatever you want it to be!

10. Try to beat the world record for the largest baked cherry pie held by Oliver, British Columbia: 39,683 pounds!

    Wow, that must have fed their entire town and surrounding area for a week or more!

What's the most scrumptious thing to add to a slice of sweet pie or plop down next to it to make it irresistible?

Recipe from from Beryl Jacobson in Westword "Slice of Life" in page 2.

Recipe tweaked and image from Country Living.

What's better...pie or oh my goodness, don't say it, something else?