Commentaries

Pie making memoirs, tips, and recipes
 Originally produced November 2005. Last update July 01, 2006.

 Are you a pie person? What would you add to the 7 sins of pie making? Tell us who is a famous - or perhaps infamous - pie baker in your life, or share a family pie recipe. Submit your own commentary or recipe or simply enjoy the stories (and recipes!) below.




Homemade pies made a lovely wedding dessert
When my husband and I were married in the summer of 2003, my 3 aunties from Iowa made 30 plus pies to serve instead of wedding cake. It was the biggest hit!

The guests were lining up and even asked to be served a slice before the ceremony! It was a beautiful sight...all those golden crusts with yummy fillings. The favorite was a summer peach pie, but the Tysdahl family favorite has to be Norwegian Sour Cream and Raisin (with two crusts!).

I make a pies for my dad at least once a year (often times quite a bit more frequently) and he's licking his lips as soon as he sees it. My great-grandmother, Ella, developed the family recipe and a thick slice of Sour Cream and Raisin with a cup of strong black coffee is the best breakfast, lunch or dinner around.

I love all my aunties and I'll always remember them making all the pies for my wedding. Thank you Thank you Thank you! I love you all!

Eva Pitzel
Minneapolis, MN




Golden Rhubarb Custard Pie
My mother's golden rhubarb custard pie is famous, nay, legendary in southeastern Montana. Drew Lewis (Andrew L. Lewis of Reagan administration and railroad fame) once hosted a branding on his ranch near Broadus, MT. Though there were hundreds of potluck dishes and desserts, he shouted out over one item -- demanding to know who made the rhubarb pie.

This is the recipe:

  • 3 c. diced rhubarb
  • 1 1/2 c. sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 Tbsp. orange juice
  • 1/2 t. grated orange rind (or 1/4 c. orange juice)
Scald rhubarb a few minutes. Drain off water. Beat eggs slightly. Add sugar and flour to eggs. Combine with rhubarb and orange juice/rind. Line pie tin with pastry dough of choice. (Homeade is best of course; she uses a shortening recipe.) Put rhubarb mixture into pastry shell. Cover with top pastry shell or pastry strips. (She uses a mold that cuts out little squares.)

Preheat oven to 450 deg.; then set at 350. Bake 40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy! The more of this pie in the world, the better.

Erika Bennett
Columbia Heights, MN




Pie people in my life!
The master, is of course, my mother, who is 79 years old. When she was in her early 20's and had five children under the age of 6, she baked 12 pies per day, every day, early in the morning, for a small hamburger shop my dad's brother owned on the main street of Hibbing, MN, Mac's Hamburger shop. Needless to say, she is still a pie master today and is sure to bake my husband's favorite, Sour Cream Raisin pie each time we go north to visit her in Chisholm.

Master #2: Taking after her is my oldest sister who makes 2 each of blue ribbon Pecan & Pumpkin Pies faithfully every single Thanksgiving. Picture perfect and even more delicious than they look. Every pecan is perfectly placed. My 5 siblings and their spouses look forward to that every year.

Master #3: Next in line is the next sister who lives in Roseau and when she "feels lazy" whips up a pie because she can do it in her sleep. She can make a pie crust in 5 minutes flat. Delicious pie crust. She then fills that with either homemade vanilla cream and bananas or fresh picked blueberries, etc. She can't understand why it takes me so long to make a pie crust?

Me: not a master, but I try... however I will never be the experts that these women are!

Margie O'Neill
St. Paul, MN




Cheese, please
I was surprised that Cathy Wurzer hasn't heard the old saying:

"Apple pie without the cheese, is like the kiss without the squeeze."

Bruce Gandrud
Oakdale, MN




Hoping the recipes are really easy as pie
Here I am, age 63, and I have seldom made pies. Why? I have been scared away from it by a mother who baked superlative pies. Hard to say if her crust was better or her fillings.... I guess her crust was the most amazing - always, always the kind of crust that broke into a million pieces at the slightest touch of the fork. I miss her and I miss her pies. She was always a bit smug about them - knew they were as good as it gets.

I promise to try the Apple Dumpling Pie for the timid of soul. Then, I will write again and let you know. Baking pies even remotely as good as my mother's is one of my personal retirement goals.

Patricia Shapiro
Greely, CO
Commentaries home  :  Submit a commentary

MPR News
Radio

Listen Now

Schedule

Shortcuts
Hosts
Station Map

Other Radio Streams from MPR

Classical MPR
Radio Heartland

Services

Become a sponsor

In The Spotlight