Presidential Pie

While poking about on the history of Hoosier pie, I came across a great historical newspaper editorial about President Benjamin Harrison and pie that I had to share. I’ve transcribed it below with some very minimal annotation. The article mentions Hoosier pie, but I suspect here that the author is not specifically referring to a sugar cream pie, now known as a Hoosier pie, but is talking about Indiana pies in general. See what you think. Harrison’s relationship with pie was apparently life long. His obituary in the New York Times of 14 Nov. 1901 tells that while he lay dying, his young daughter from a second marriage brought him an apple pie that she had made. The former president smiled his recognition, but could not speak. He died not long after.

Milwaukee Sunday Sentinel, 27 Oct. 1889
Raising a Pie Issue

We doubt if that Democratic newspaper in New York which is interviewing a discharged Whitehouse cook can make any large amount of political capital out of the charge that the president and Mr. Halford[i] eat pie for breakfast. Most people in this happy land will ask with Emerson, “what else is pie for?”[ii] The notion that pie is something to be avoided, that it provokes dyspepsia, has been urged with assiduity for thirty years, yet pie continues to be the most popular of all the products of the bakery. It is worthy of note that pie is the horror, real or pretended, of those who have foisted on society those modern pastries that have done more to derange the human stomach and starve the human body than even hot mince pie. It was a proper distinction that was drawn by the Western man who, when asked what pastry he would have, replied: “I don’t want any pastry – gi’me some pie!” Pie is important enough and good enough to hold a place of its own without being classed under those modern abominations that are served under French names as food for human beings.

We are glad to observe that a reaction has set in against fancy desserts and in favor of pie, and we owe something to Mrs. Harrison[iii] for a noble example. When Gen. Harrison entered the Whitehouse, some anti-pie person persuaded him that it would not do to eat the plain and wholesome cookery of Indiana, including pie. Pie, he was told, was not only injurious, but was under a social ban. What was the result? “The new cook’s dishes laid him out.” He neglected pie for the croquettes, soufflés and other atrocities of the anti-pie element, and fell into the sharp clutches of dyspepsia. ‘Lige Halford, also, succumbed. Then Mrs. Harrison asserted herself. She fired the two French cooks and sent back to Indiana for her old negro cook,[iv] whose picturesque bandana now brightens the kitchen where the white cap of a gesticulating Frenchman recently bent over pylorus-vexing dishes. No more perfidious soufflés and croquettes for the president. He can have corn-beef boiled with cabbage, turnips and potatoes if he wants it; potatoes with the skins on, salt rising bread, corn-pone, hominy, baked apples, apple-dumplings and pie – good old-fashioned Hoosier pie, about which there is no fraud, and which makes a man feel that, whatever trials beset his path, life is still richly worth living. We look to see an improvement in the administration of national affairs, now that the president’s internal affairs are arranged.

If the Democratic party wants to switch off from the tariff issue and raise a pie issue for the next campaign, all right. If that party chooses to make war on pie and become a party of white-cap French cooks, well and good. This country will vote for pie every time.

[i] Elijah Walker Halford was Harrison’s aide/secretary (The Presidents: A Reference History [2002], 300).
[ii] This anecdote seems to originate in James Bradley Thayer’s A Western Journey with Mr. Emerson (1884) which recounts an 1871 journey Thayer made with Ralph Waldo Emerson.
[iii] Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison was Benjamin Harrison’s first wife.
[iv] Dolly Johnson was the cook that the Harrisons brought to the White House from Indiana to replace the French chef.

Ask a pie girl....

We here at pie central get all manner of pie queries. I reproduce one below with my response, for the benefit of the greater pie community.

Dear Ellen,
Since you are my favorite, smartest, funniest, most awesome cousin, I throw myself on your mercy and beg you to share your pie wisdom with me. What pie does one take to a Indy 500 party? I only wish that I could be as wonderful as you,*
-Cousin Lee

Dear Cousin Lee,
After much consideration, I stick by my original suggestion of a Hoosier pie. Alas, Nascar does not seem to have a traditional pie the way that the Kentucky Derby does, but at least you can make a nod to the great state of Indiana. You may need to put on a pot of coffee to go with this though - beer and brats followed by a mostly sugar pie may be a bit much. As to being as wonderful as me, well, more pie will surely help.
-Ellen

(*May not be a literal transcription of original query)

Rhubarb Season

Oh, how I love rhubarb. It always seems like such a huge treat, probably because fresh rhubarb is relatively hard to come by. I've spent the last few weeks trying to corner the local market on rhubarb, and may even freeze some for later if I can convince myself not to eat it right away. A big thank you to all of the folks who have been reporting their rhubarb sightings or who have purchased rhubarb on my behalf. I think the other main reason that I love rhubarb is that I associate it with family and friends. Rhubarb is not something that you find served commercially that often, so most of the occasions that I've eaten it have been with my grandparents, aunties, or parents. It turned out to be nice then, that Mom and Dad came to visit last week and I was able to serve them rhubarb pie. For crust, I used the same Cuisinart all-butter crust that I have been making a lot of lately. Unfortunately the dough I used had been sitting in the fridge for a week which had some ill effects. I kind of cheated on the filling and topping - I was really craving rhubarb crisp, so I used Aunt Susie's rhubarb crisp recipe and put it in a regular pie shell. The filling and topping were great, as expected, but the crust was a little leathery. Fortunately, it was a pie that aged well, and with each passing day it was better than the day before.

My second rhubarb pie of the week was eaten at work. I was sitting at my desk one morning and Jeff came up and handed me a piece of rhubarb pie. Nothing says "this is going to be a great day at work" like receiving pie from your boss first thing in the morning. I asked Jeff if it was okay if I posted a picture of his beautiful slice of pie here, and he modestly claimed that if I posted that as a "before" picture, I might need an "after" picture of myself spitting out the pie in disgust. Which, of course, was not necessary, as the pie was delicious. However, I think his kids might be disappointed, because it sounds like they were eagerly anticipating said "after" picture. Jeff managed to find rhubarb that was actually pink in color (what I bought was mostly green) so his pie has a lovely rosy color. Once again, his crust was lovely and flaky as well, not like the old boot that my rhubarb pie was cooked in. I also approve of the fact that Jeff, like me, is generally opposed to the combination of strawberries and rhubarb. Personally, I think strawberries and rhubarb is for rhubarb haters with a palate so unrefined as to be unable to enjoy rhubarb alone. It's one of those combinations where the two parts are actually worsened in combination. I took a rhubarb cake to a coffee at work on Friday, and was surprised at the number of people who told me that they were afraid of rhubarb! More for the rest of us, I guess. (Pictures: Dad with my rhubarb pie, Mom and Dad at Natural Bridge, Jeff's rhubarb pie, top view and profile)

Strawberry Pie mini-odyssey

The Pie Odyssey is something like the Tour de France, in that there is an overall project (a lifetime of perfecting pie baking) composed of smaller trials of varying natures. This year, apple pie is the long endurance race over flat surface. Right now, I am commencing a strawberry pie sprint. Over the next month, I must find and bake the absolute best strawberry pie recipe for the Lady Helen's birthday. Here are our requirements:

Helen:
1. It may not be a tart
2. No other fruits besides strawberries shall be included in said pie. This is not a mixed berry pie, nor is it a strawberry rhubarb pie.
3. Pastry crust is preferred, but if a graham cracker crust or equivalent is deemed most suitable, allowances will be made.
4. There will be a side of whipped cream.

Ellen:
1. Filling ingredients shall enhance the strawberries, and not obscure them. This will not be an ice cream pie, a cream pie, a no-bake strawberry cheesecake pie, or berries suspended in gelatin. This requirement generally knocks out any pie with "chiffon" in the name.
2. Since the emphasis is on the berry, and we're in the right season, only fresh and not frozen berries will be used for the final pie, although any test pies may use frozen.

Now that we've laid our ground rules, what do you think I should make? I have some great looking recipes, but I'm torn between what I think of as the classic strawberry pie (a baked pie shell, with uncooked berries covered in a light glaze mounded artfully in a pyramid) and some more daring recipes that call for actually baking the strawberries and adding crazy ingredients like "white creme de menthe." I don't know how I feel about cooked strawberries. Oh, and is it acceptable to put a crumb topping on an berry pie? I think I've had blueberry pie with a streusel topping, but I don't know about other types of berries. What strawberry pies have you made, eaten, or dreamed about?

Happy Derby (Pie) Day!

Apparently I cannot tell you that I made a Derby pie in honor of the Kentucky Derby as there is some controversy over who has the right to call their pie a Derby pie. So I will just say that I made a lovely pie with which to celebrate the day. My inspiration for this pie comes from that famous friend of pie, Lady Helen, who first introduced me to an actual Derby pie last year in Kentucky. Once I realized that the Derby was today I started looking for recipes online and found a few that looked okay, but not great. Without prompting however, Mom sent me a recipe that looked much better than any I had found, most especially because instead of corn syrup, it called for bourbon. How well does my Mom know me that she knew I was thinking about Derby pie?

If you've never had a derby pie, err, excuse me, "thoroughbred pie," it is like a cross between a pie and a chocolate chip cookie. Unlike a fruit pie, it feels too rich to eat for breakfast; I think the ideal way to eat this is warmed slightly, with real whipped cream and a cup of strong coffee. I've been dreaming about bourbon whipped cream too - does that exist? Let's get right on that, shall we? I'm posting pictures of the pie pre- and post-baking so that you can see how the filling resembles chocolate chip cookie dough. When baked, it is a slightly gooier than a chocolate chip cookie, and slightly less sticky and chocolaty than a fudge pecan pie. Hmmm, I have a sudden desire to create a wall chart to sort out the continuum of chocolate nut pies.

It's a special day not just because there is a seasonally appropriate pie, but because today is the first day that I used both levels of my double-decker pie basket at once!! Behold pictures of basket with "thoroughbred pie" on bottom and spinach pie on top. If you've visited me or eaten dinner at my house anytime from June 2005 to the present, there's a 50/50 chance I made you a spinach pie. What can I say, I'm a creature of habit. But hey, I finally found a new recipe! And I think I'll go back to the old. This one was okay, but when served at room temperature, the ricotta was a little too gritty. It was a lovely day for a daytrip and picnic here in central Virginia; please see picture of "thoroughbred pie" at Thomas Jefferson's country home, Poplar Forest.

Honeypie: Results of Pie Tasting #3

Filling: 6.5 out of 10 (average of 8 voters)
Crust: 6.5 out of 10 (average of 8 voters)
Overall pie: 6.63 out of 10 (average of 8 voters)

It’s very exciting for all of us here at the pieodyssey (i.e. me) to get back to our apple pie roots after a bit of a hiatus. Which is good, because I’ve got a stack of tasty looking apple pie recipes to work through. Now to business. This pie got solid, but not gushing reviews. I think it comes out as slightly better than commercial pie, but nothing to write home about. Nobody really felt that they could taste the honey flavor, which is perhaps good if you are using this as a sugar substitution recipe. The most noticeable difference was in consistency – the filling was drier, with less gooey stickiness, which several people missed. The apples were drier and harder too – just not a juicy pie. The good news is I just got another honey apple pie recipe from one of our visiting researchers and from what he says it’s a much juicier recipe. I’ve moved this recipe up in the queue. In regards to crust, our tasters agree that it could still be much flakier, but seem to think it’s getting more aesthetically pleasing at least. For my part, one of the main things I would change about how I did this pie was the application of spices. The recipe called for you to pour honey and spices over top of the apples once they were arranged in the pan. The dryness of the pie meant that the spices didn’t migrate evenly throughout the pie and deposited in an even layer across the top of the apples, which both looked and tasted weird. Thanks to all who tasted and sent comments! Now, I must dash to the farmers market because I’ve been hearing rumors of rhubarb.