This a guest post, by Robin Catesby
Before I talk about the specifics of pie, I need to make a confession: Our maiden voyage to the Portland Pie-Off almost didn’t happen. Up until the Thursday before Pie Day we weren’t certain. Indecision and scheduling snafus plagued us and even now I scratch my head and think how the hell did we pull that one off?
The Road to Pie started when I mentioned the Pie-Off to Dave sometime mid-summer. Although he’s worked as a pastry chef in the past, he doesn’t bake pies often and had no family recipes to rely on. My own family pie tradition consisted of a single cherry pie every year on July 14th, the day the cherries on our pie cherry tree reached ripe perfection. “Bastille Day Pie” Mom christened it, and I have a feeling I wouldn’t be able to duplicate the taste unless I could sneak into my childhood yard on an early morning Bastille Day raid.
We used our daily dog walks to brainstorm pie ideas and two things immediately became apparent:
1) Dave wanted to bake a savory pie because of his love of the savory pies at his favorite local pub, the Horse Brass.
2) We could not for the life of us agree on what sort of savory pie to bake.
Time was running out. A week into August we were still debating over the merits and pitfalls of a lemon caper lox quiche. Sure it might sound tasty, but could we afford the cost of all that smoked salmon for a test pie and a competition pie? Our tight budget said not a chance.
Lamb, on the other hand was slightly more affordable. “Lamb with Moroccan spices,” I urged Dave. He toasts, grinds, and blends spices for home-cooked meals quite frequently and his “Moroccan spice blend” is my favorite. Cumin, coriander, cardamom, turmeric, oh how I love you.
We kept brainstorming: Currents and raisins and dates… imagine! Savory and sweet all at once. Oh, and pine nuts! Don’t forget pine nuts!
At long last, just five days before the Pie-Off, Dave made his test pie. Our schedule allowed us one shot at this before Sunday so we knew we had to get it close from the start. And, happily, it was pretty darned close. More spices… more dates, a tweak or two to the crust, another egg… that should do it, right? Well, we’d know on Sunday!
Meanwhile, Dave was in the middle of interviewing for a job. On the Thursday before Pie-Day, he received a call requesting his presence on Sunday morning. For a few moments we thought this was the end of our Pie-Off aspirations — that is, until Dave called back and found out he had not yet been given the job. No, the chef wanted him to cook a trial shift. Dave would be paid for that shift if he got the job and oh by the way, we’re going to be really vague about your pay rate.
The Pie-Off was back on! We scrambled to pick up last minute ingredients and planned out our tight schedule. Initial prep would take place Saturday afternoon because Sunday morning would be sleep deprivation hell. The one other thing we couldn’t give up that weekend was our usual Saturday night karaoke gig.
So, with four and a half hours’ sleep we were up and at it… and at it… and at it. Down to the wire. At 12:30pm with the pie still in the oven, I was desperately tweeting and checking Google Maps to make sure we could get to Peninsula Park on time. We arrived frazzled and exhausted and exceedingly grateful for the camping chairs we’d left in the back of the minivan.
Two hours of fretting and pretended relaxation later, Dave joined the other category winners in the Pie-Off circle of deliciousness. Fifteen minutes after that, his pie was reduced to crumbs. I snapped pictures of the frenzy, forgetting to make the rounds and taste the other winning entries. I did snag a smidge of the grand prize Cucumber Honeydew White Chocolate Icebox Pie and let me tell you, it was truly astonishingly delicious and Alison’s prize was well-deserved.
Later, we poked at each other and admired Dave’s Pie-Off ribbon with exhausted grins. Still later than that, a conversation with Gregg Abbott from Whiffies Fried Pies led us to this week’s excitement: Dave’s Moroccan Lambstravaganza, featured as a “signature pie” at Whiffies (till supplies run out – stop by and try one!).
I recently told Pie Commissioner LeAnn via Twitter, “Entering the pie-off was perhaps the best decision Dave & I made all summer,” and I mean it. It was touch and go, nerve-wracking, but ultimately pure joy. If anyone asks, I’ll say do it! Even if you don’t know what you’re baking till a week before the event, do it! Even if you’re half inspiration and half improvisation and a bundle of frets and doubts… do it! Bake a pie!
