My dearest and best friend used to always say that when she grew up and bought a house, she would love to have a pie window. With this pie window, she'd be able to put a pie to cool and then shout "WHO WANTS PIE?!" in her most southern accent imaginable.
This used to always make me laugh- what a great idea! What an eccentric window! Who has a window just for pie? I know I want one!
Fast forward 10 (ish) years later...
I'd always been way too scared to make my own pie crust. I had heard horror stories of how you had to get everything just right, and I had no idea how to do that. I didn't want to waste a perfectly good filling and end up with a bad crust! So I stuck to buying a pie shell and filling it with lovely things.
I would judge a baker on how "good of a baker they were" if they could make a pie crust. And by judge, I mean I would be rather impressed/intimidated. It was my standard of baking, I suppose. Needless to say, I was intimidated by those who could.
When we made pie dough in class, understandably I was quite nervous. I was Chef's partner that day, which meant that she would see how everyone else was doing before seeing me. So naturally, I worked the shortening (we use it for most things because it's easier to handle than butter) too far into the flour before she could stop me. Eeep! I had to remeasure everything out and start again. This time, I knew what the paste shouldn't look like, so I could make my second batch with confidence. And it turned out alright! I was quite proud.
I've made a few pies since then, and I'm still learning! It's been really fun, and I'm glad I got over my fear.
I won't lie. I still want a pie window.
Me with my stylin' Christmas apron and my mincemeat pie!
