At the end of September, which was ridiculously long ago, my sister was in town and I felt it necessary that we do a PFR together, especially since I did pie solo in Montana. I was going to post this in October to celebrate two years of pie field research (two years!), but October got busy and I never got around to it. Now I think we should have a slice to celebrate the election. Anyway, here's our PFR, number 10 for this blog.
Every weekend this summer my Dad would buy a pie and some savory tarts from the sweetest little old lady at the farmer's market. Alix and I decided to judge a couple of slices of one of her pumpkins.
A little about my guest judge. My sister loves pumpkin pie. She said she considers herself to be more of a cake person, but she would make an exception for a slice of pumpkin. Unfortunately, this slice was not one of her favorites.
Ultimately she gave it a 2.5 out of 5. She found it different than most pumpkin pies she's had, and I have to agree it didn't taste up to the LOL's normal standard. She wanted more spices, and she found the filling more custardy than she was expecting and the crust hard and chewy.
I have to say this pie was a let down for me, too. You never want a poor pie experience, especially when you have prior expectations. All pies were not made equal, even the ones made by the little old lady at the farmer's market. She can't always be on target. But that is why we are continuing on our quest for good pie.
By the way, do you like logo I made for the PFRs?
The pie may not have been very good but your photos in this post are, Claire! Very pretty. I love that white plate.
Also -- love your pie logo/icon drawing thingy!
Posted by: blue girl | November 14, 2008 at 07:42 AM
LOVE the pie logo :)
Posted by: Amy | November 14, 2008 at 01:05 PM
I love the logo!
Posted by: Jennifer | November 14, 2008 at 06:05 PM
You know something? I got a pie pumpkin from our last CSA veggie share this year that I have yet to use. Maybe I'll have to make some pie. I've been experimenting with new pie crust recipes recently and think I have a good one. Not to give away too many family secrets, but adding a bit of nutmeg to the dough does wonders.
It's the time of year for bad pie. I think you need to get a little soap box (pastry box?) on which to rally against this. People seem to think that it is too time consuming to make pie and buy the $6 Jewel pies in a panicked last minute run to the grocery store. The truth is that even store bought crust and cans of pumpkin can be doctored to make a fairly kick-ass pie.
LOVE the logo. The chicken lives!!
Also, you should consider doing a post on "products we love." I need to go all infomercial on my winter facial cleanser. The Burt's Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser. It's changing my whole attitude toward winter. I just bought it this weekend and need to preach.
Posted by: Natasha | November 18, 2008 at 11:02 AM
I love the PFR logo! Very cool. Too bad that pumpkin was only 2.5--I fancy sweet potato myself!
Posted by: Sharon | November 18, 2008 at 02:48 PM
"You never want a poor pie experience."
Your logo is great and the pies look delectable. The only poor pie experiences that bother me are when I've made the pie. Store bought pie? No big loss. Making Manny's birthday pie with a broken finger and having it look less than spectacular, with the blueberries a little runny for the third year in a row? That's sad.
Posted by: Kathleen | November 24, 2008 at 07:06 PM