Today is Pi Day (March 14, 3.14), and I am in a mood to reminisce. I am thinking back to the very first pie I ever made. It was just seven years ago at Kate McDermott’s Pie Camp. Within three days I learned how to make a fabulous crust and a triple berry pie. It was May, but you will note we are all wearing sweaters. Among Kate’s many tips for making a good crust is to make the pie when the dough, the room and you are freezing, but the oven can be 425 degrees! Kate also taught us that in this world there are pie makers, pie seekers and pie eaters. I soon discovered I was a pie seeker. Since then, Kate has written three award-winning pie cookbooks, and I have written 50 pie blogs about the pies have been seeking! 
People: I am thinking back on the people…. my pie pals…. who joined me in seeking pies. Top of the list is husband Dick and sisters Jill and Carolyn. They indulged me by going down a path when I smelled a pie, sitting patiently while I took the “history and physical” of the pie from the chef or server, and then contributing adjectives as they enjoyed the pie. The same can be said for friends who traipsed all over cities and islands with me to find the well-hidden restaurant or who gave me a recommendation for a pie shop not to miss.
It is more fun to make pie with other people. My favorites are kids, they beam with a sense of accomplishment, and you’ve got to love those sprinkles! They prove that everyone can learn to make a pie no matter their age!
Places: Since I have honed my pie-seeking abilities, I have enjoyed pies in 17 states, including Alaska and I have eaten pie in an igloo in Indiana and at restaurants overlooking lakes, oceans, and back bays. The places that are the most fun to eat pie are those that are out of the way, where you least expect to find a pie and where the pie is made by the owner of the restaurant or café. Sometimes it is just nice to make a pie at home and eat it with family or take it to a party or give it to a friend.
Pies: My favorite pie to make is still cranberry walnut—a ribbon winner at the Indiana State Fair. The most challenging was mincemeat (it is so hard to find good mince these days.) The one pie that brings back the most memories is my mother’s black bottom pie, her go-to pie when it wasn’t Boston Cream Pie from St. Moritz Bakery (but I don’t think that counts as a pie). The one with the freshest ingredients is a pie with cherries straight from a tree in Indiana and the mile-high strawberry pie made with berries from the strawberry capitol of the world in Florida. The most unusual was the slice of pie stuffed into the end of an ice cream cone filled with two scoops of ice cream that I shared with my sisters on our trip to South Dakota. The earthiest was the morel mushrooms and ramp pie –I am determined to find morels again this year and enter this pie in the State Fair.
To celebrate Pi Day, I am having three courses of pie at the 5th annual Pi Day luncheon with my girlfriends and serving Pi at the 3rd annual Pi and Lattes day at the Pilates studio. I hope you will enjoy 3.14 with your favorite pie and your favorite people at your favorite place.
