Crust Challenged

I woke up today knowing I had to make the dreaded pie crust.  I can cook many things well, but pastry has never been among them.



I followed the directions for an “All Butter Crust” so carefully, determined that this time might be different.  But once again it was a struggle.  According to the instructions for pumpkin pie from my Thanksgiving class, I pre-cooked the crust.  (Note: That is parchment paper and weights in the pie shell!) I think it will actually taste good, but it is not a pretty crust.





I also made one of my signature leaves, in the hope that it will distract people from the rest of the crust.  Tomorrow morning I’ll make the filling and bake the pie.



A little while later my daughter breezed in, threw together the most perfect crust with no hesitation whatsoever.  She then made a delicious sweet potato custard filling.  The pie-baking skills, for which her grandmother was so famous, must have skipped a generation.



It was great to have her company as we cooked together today.  Now that we are just about done, my son has decided to make yet another soup for tomorrow’s meal, so he is peeling and chopping and working diligently in the kitchen.

We are all enjoying each other’s company with absolutely no stress.  Of course my daughter smiled as she reminded me that it hadn’t even been 24 hours yet.