That’s right, today – March 14 – is indeed national Pi Day! Now there are several meanings for this word. “Pi” is a mathmatical constant using in circle calculations – it’s 3.14. It is therefore recognized on the 14th day of the 3rd month (3/14). But we decided to celebrate Pi Day with an “e” on the end, just for fun.
What a great excuse to make a pie! I would have no idea that this obscure celebration existed if my dear mom hadn’t told us this morning. She read aloud the history of pie: I found it to be quite interesting. I had to include it in this post. Now for all the bakers (and even non-bakers), I hope you enjoy this too! (by the American Pie Council)
– Pie has been around since the ancient Egyptians. The first pies were made by early Romans who may have learned about it through the Greeks. These pies were sometimes made in “reeds” which were used for the sole purpose of holding the filling and not for eating with the filling.
– The Romans must have spread the word about pies around Europe as the Oxford English Dictionary notes that the word pie was a popular word in the 14th century. The first pie recipe was published by the Romans and was for a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie. :{
– The early pies were predominately meat pies. Pyes (pies) originally appeared in England as early as the twelfth century. The crust of the pie was referred to as “coffyn”. There was actually more crust than filling. Often these pies were made using fowl and the legs were left to hang over the side of the dish and used as handles. Fruit pies or tarts (pasties) were probably first made in the 1500s. English tradition credits making the first cherry pie to Queen Elizabeth I.
– Pie came to America with the first English settlers. The early colonists cooked their pies in long narrow pans calling them “coffins” like the crust in England. As in the Roman times, the early American pie crusts often were not eaten, but simply designed to hold the filling during baking. It was during the American Revolution that the term crust was used instead of coffyn.
– Over the years, pie has evolved to become what it is today “the most traditional American dessert”. Pie has become so much a part of American culture throughout the years, that we now commonly use the term “as American as apple pie.”
We unanimously agreed to make a lemon meranguie pie for dessert tonight. I only made it once before, but it had turned out beautifully. It’s not a special recipe, so I won’t include it here. I think it’s from Betty Crocker. We didn’t have any white sugar, and so I used brown instead. The only thing different was its darker color, and nobody seemed to mind! :)
Austin was a huge help. I couldn’t have made the pie without him. He manned the stove to prevent things from burning or spilling over, which would not have been good. :)
Pie crust with lemon filling.
Whipping up the meringue. And no, I did not do it with a spatula. In this picture I was about ready to spread it on the pie. :)
We popped it in the oven to let it brown just a little bit. You have to keep a close eye on meringue or it’ll get too brown.
And the finished product! Now although it’s me in the picture above, everyone at home contributed to making it. As I said before, Austin helped me make it, Jonathan was my official taster (making sure the filling wasn’t poisionous :), and Mom did the dishes (which is a huge blessing as they have a terrible tendency to pile up whenever I’m in the kitchen).
Yum! Everyone was thankful for Pie Day after dinner tonight! Maybe this is the start of a new Noble tradition…
