The Pie that Launched a Thousand Ships

After celebrating National Pie Day (January 23rd) in grand style by baking two pies, sampling five pies, and hosting a pie appreciation contest, I've really been in pie withdrawal. Without the high of National Pie Day, the days have been greyer, the birds have chirpped less and I've been picking at all of my non-pie meals with disdain. Will Pie Day ever come again? Will the nation's windowsills ever hold delicious, steaming hot pies again? The answer must be a resoundng YES! In my post-Pie-Day melancholy, I have been contemplating a crazy dream - a way to pass the misery between now and next January - a great Pie Odyssey!

What, you ask, is a Pie Odyssey, and how do I sign on for such a journey of deliciousness? Well, to answer the first question, as with any great journey, we cannot know it's full scope at the outset. But I'm starting with the following goal: To spend the year improving my somehwat limited pie-baking skills, with the ultimate hope of creating an original recipe to enter in some manner of baking contest! Now, if we're going to be serious about this (and we are) this means that we've got to be focused and scholarly. And we're going to have to start with basics. Which means that I'm declaring 2008 to be....Ellen's Year for Apple Pie! All year long I'm going to study, experiment with, and taste apple pie recipes. Hold onto your forks, because there is going to be so much pie this year. Also, keep your library card at hand, because there will be footnotes. (photo: lovely local Stayman apples for the first (aka control) pie.)