Pies of all sorts don the Thanksgiving Menu of most families, and children love to watch the process of baking pies. If your childhood was anything like mine, you loved watching Mom mix the dough, roll it out, and turn out several beautiful pie crusts. However, I didn't learn by osmosis, and I never made the pies, just mixed the fillings. I don't make very good pie crusts. I try, but with minimal success. I couldn't tell the difference between flaky and tough if my life depended on it. Still, I feel guilty at the costs of store bought pie crusts, and waver back and forth...do I or don't I make my own crusts?
My perspective has become more that it's okay to have an imperfect pie crust, and to provide a fun experience for the kids, and myself. Some years, that means I make the best from scratch crusts that I can, and let the kids help. Some years, that means that my teenagers get to try their hands at making crusts. Some years, it means saving myself time, and splurging on fancy Marie Calendar's crusts. There isn't a rule, other than the unwritten one, of trying a multitude of interesting pie recipes, eating too much pie through the next week, and bonding with my youngsters in culinary adventures. My Thanksgiving Menu must, at all costs, include lots of laughs and love!
