Monday, September 10, 2012

It's All About The Pie

I've mentioned here and on the podcast that I've been practicing for the KCRW 4th Annual Good Food Pie Contest for the last couple of months.  I've been listening to KCRW's Good Food for years now on my local public radio station and for the previous three summers have enjoyed listening to Even Kleiman (the host) talk about pie and the different locations the contest would be held.  While driving back from Northern California this past July while listening to Evan talk about another version of deliciousness known as pie, I decided to enter.  Crazy idea as I've barely made pies and didn't grow up with a mother whom I can recall ever made a pie.  But hey, why not?

For the last two months I've enjoyed making various kinds of custard/cream pies, learned that I that I prefer making a graham cracker crust to a pastry crust and made a lot of people smile with my creations. I've made Key Lime Pie, Chocolate Cream Pie, Buttermilk Pie (dud) and my own creation - Caramel Custard with Graham Cracker Crust.  This past Saturday morning I began my pie prep, baked the crusts (two pies were required - one for the judges and one for the public), made the custard and had them in the refrigerator cooling by 8am.

So here was my entry - Caramel Custard with Graham Cracker Crust.
Caramel Custard with Graham Cracker Crust
And another...
Caramel Custard with Graham Cracker Crust...with a hint of chocolate ganache
But guess what?  I did not make it to the contest.  A phone call at about 10am informed me that my oldest son had hurt his right knee during a soccer game and needed medical attention.  So at approximately 12:30 when I was supposed to be at the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), I was here:

with him:
Being silly in the ER
Yes, that's my 16 year old having fun with the "Call Me Maybe" song  (I'll confess - he's got me hooked on it too.)  When the call came through my motherly instinct kicked in immediately and I knew I would not be attending the contest.  It all ended well though - nothing broken and no serious damage to his knee, the ER visit was super fast and I was able to share my pie with wonderful neighbors that evening at a BBQ.  Nothing like making more people smile.

Now I've got approximately 362 days to practice for the 5th Annual KCRW Good Food Pie Contest! Maybe I'll venture into some of the other categories: fruit, nut and savory.

Happy Monday everyone ~ Hope you have a great day.
Susan

10 comments:

  1. I recognize that entrance. Been there, done that. I love your positive attitud Susan. Yup, now let the pie tasting begin! I should tell you that my kids used to request my buttermilk pie, oh, and my pear pie.

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  2. Glad to hear he's OK, knee injuries are scary! So sorry you missed the contest, but your pies look great!

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  3. Our job as mother's trump everything else in life! So sorry you didn't make it but I can totally relate. I entered last year and had so much fun that I planned to again this year. But with parenting, my ft job, volunteering at my daughter's school, being on the Board of a local non profit and helping plan a family wellness fair at church (which happened to be the same day of the pie contest), I missed the deadline to enter. I'll be practicing my pie making skills as well and hope to see you at next year's contest!

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  4. Sorry you missed the contest. Your pie looked great.

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  5. Sorry about your son's knee, Susan! My son plays U16 travel. He had 2 games this weekend, and I noticed that the older the kids get, the rougher the game gets. And if the ref doesn't take control, it gets worse.

    A boy on the U18 team broke his collar bone yesterday right before our game, and my son sprained his ankle yesterday (to add insult to injury, the foul was called on him). Fortunately, we have a kid on our team whose dad is a doctor. He was busy yesterday!

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  6. Sorry to hear about the injury and glad he is all right. Soccer could be tough with a bum knee.
    The pies look fabulous and I am sure your guests enjoyed them.

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  7. Your pies look delicious, especially the one with the extra layer of ganache. You can never be too thin, or have too much ganache. Wait, those two don't go together. Nevermind.

    I'm so glad the injury turned out not to be so bad, and that the ER wait wasn't too long (a miracle!).

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  8. Really glad he is ok. So sorry you missed the pie fest!

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  9. Sometimes things just don't go to plan, but so long as he's ok that's the main thing.
    Teresa x

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  10. bummer but glad son is ok and I'm sure your friends were thrilled at the change in plans!

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