Pie of the Month Club: Cranberry Pie

Source for Pic

This month's pie will be Cranberry Pie.  The pie pictured is not my pie--it's a stunt double for the pie I WILL be making. I've linked the picture to its source, but I'm not using their recipe. Instead I will be using one from my 1956 edition of Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book. I plan to make it on Saturday and we will include it with our Christmas meal since it's red and all. (We also plan to make a Key Lime pie, so we'll have red AND green!)

Cranberry Pie (from down Cape Cod way)

Mix in saucepan:
1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar (I'm going to go for the full 2 cups.  They are, after all, cranberries.)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Add:
3 cups halved cranberries
1/2 cup water

Bring slowly to a boil, and boil gently 5 minutes, stirring constantly. 

Remove from heat and blend in:
1/2 tsp. almond flavoring.

Pour into pastry-lined pie pan.  Cover with top crust which has slits cut in it.  (The picture above shows a center hole.  That's kind of cool.  I may do that.)  Bake until crust is nicely browned.  Serve slightly warm.

Temperature: 425 degrees
Time: Bake 30 to 40 minutes.

The Men Know What They Like

I'm talking about MY men.

Today is National Pie Day. Yesterday I made them their pie of choice: Prize Prune Pie. Despite your skepticism (and mine), they really did WANT this pie. Both of them.

My husband got a sneak sample last night, fresh out of the oven. My son was already asleep.

This morning, Son said the following:

"Mornin' Mama. Did you remember that it's National Pie Day?"

He was ready.

After lunch, I served up the slices. Two slices. I declined my slice. Here are the reviews:

Husband: "It tasted like I expected it to. It had a rich prune juice flavor and the prunes plumped up into plums. I just wanted to try it since I wasn't interested in a cream pie and the berries would be frozen instead of fresh for a berry pie. It was pretty good."

Son: "Mama! That was the best pie I've EVER tasted! It's my FAVORITE pie now. My favorite pie used to be pumpkin, but now that's second! Can I have some more?"

Me: "No, Son. A little of this type of pie is plenty. You can have some more tomorrow."

(We all know why I said that.)

Just in case you should be convinced by the above quotes to try this recipe, let me give you a tip:

The recipe (from 1955) called for cooked prunes, pitted. The container I bought was already pitted, but I wasn't sure what to do about the cooking. I checked the cookbook and it said 2 hours of soaking and then a long period of stewing! I hadn't noticed that and I needed to make the pie right then! I worried for a moment and then looked at the container. Apparently that problem has been taken care of these 55 years later. The container said, "No soaking required. Just cover generously with cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer 3 minutes."

Whew!

I quickly simmered them and assembled the pie. The only thing I changed was to reduce the sugar a little. Husband is not a fan of sugar.

Do you think that's why he can still wear clothes he bought 25 years ago? Nah.

Pie Poll Results

Well, it appears that the saying, "Men Eat Pie" is more true than not! (See HERE for the poll query.)

According to the poll results, 44 % of participants noticed that their male relatives were indeed avid pie fans, while 22% were equally fond of pies and cakes. Only 11% were Cake Only.

22% didn't like either one. Really?? I don't even know what to think of that. It's beyond my ability to comprehend. I bet they don't like chocolate, either. I know it's hard to believe, but it's certainly a possibility. We'll just step away from that 22% and move on...

We could probably divide the Pie Men down further into two specific groups: Fruit Pie Eaters and Cream Pie Eaters.

Cream Pie Eaters, you know, could EASILY slide right over into being willing Cake Eaters. It's not a long slope. Where does it go from there? What about custards? Puddings? FLAN, for heaven's sake? It's just too much.

I'll put a stop to it here before the madness gets out of hand.

To wrap this up, I leave you with one of my favorite non-pie-dessert recipes: Perfect Southern Banana Pudding. If you like creamy and smooth, this is the recipe for you. The original recipe calls for folding in the whipped cream. I don't do this. It makes it light, yes, but it reduces the creamy texture. Creamy is one of my food groups.

Perfect Southern Banana Pudding

2 C whipping cream, whipped
4 oz. instant vanilla pudding
1 can condensed milk
1 1/2 cups cold water
3 medium bananas
Vanilla wafers

Whip cream and chill. Combine condensed milk and water. Add pudding mix. Fold in whipping cream.

Layer wafers along the bottom and sides of a bowl. Add a layer of bananas. Cover with part of the pudding. Repeat until all ingredients are used. Make SURE you cover the bananas with pudding or they will get brown and yucky.

Finally, decorate the top with an arrangement of the leftover cookies. There WILL be cookies left over if you don't sample along the way. Just sayin'.

A Poll!

It has been a month of Sundays since I last did a poll. This one is about the males in your life.

It has been said that "Men Like Pies." Has that been your experience? Do the men in your life tend more toward pies or cakes?

My husband is a Pie Man. Berry pies, especially. Give him a pie and he is a happy camper. Since I know this about him, I planned to make a blackberry pie upon his return from a week's trip out of state. I got all of the ingredients and was prepared to welcome him home with...PIE! He hovered at my elbow as I pulled it from the oven, fork poised. I reminded him that it was hot, so he backed off a bit. He waited a respectable amount of time and then disappeared into the kitchen. He's just polished off his second piece.

So, what is your experience? Think of all those of the manly persuasion in your life. Are they overwhelmingly Pie Men? Does cake take the cake for them? Is it half and half as long as it appears in front of them with a fork?

Do tell.