Pies have long been a tradition of my family, with fond memories of my grandmother Vera Aileen's graham cracker pie. I fell in love with her sugary graham cracker crust and rich cream filling when I was knee-high and never turned back. Her special graham cracker pie was nothing more than a vanilla cream, but in my opinion, it was the crust that took center stage and made the pie worth naming, not the filling. In fact, every time she'd whip up one of her pies, she'd leave me a bowlful of crushed graham crackers and sugar to devour with a spoon.
About five years ago, I got the biggest craving for pie - both to savor it, myself, and to share it with friends (what pie is best for). I baked up five in one day, and we had what became our first annual Pie Day. Every year, it's gotten a little bigger, and finally this year I took my head out of the oven and let everyone else do some baking. As of this weekend's event, we've now gone from five homemade pies in our first year to... brace your sweet tooth, friends... eighteen!!
This year, we co-hosted the daylong party with another friend-couple, Sarah and Nat, who held the pie-eating portion in their own kitchen. I brought a Shaker Lemon Pie (pictured with the striped kitchen towel, below), a new recipe with thin slices of whole lemons and a flaky double crust. But the winner of the day (yes, we vote - pie chart coming): Laura's Spinach-Proscuitto Pie. Mmmmm, savory pies are delicious!
Here are both my and Laura's recipes, and later this week, I'll share more of the party activities that spanned two houses and the whole neighborhood in between: Pedals and a Picture Show!
