Tex-Mex Hand Pies -- A Pi Day Main Dish

One of the fun challenges of Pi Day every year is trying to come up with something new to serve for dinner.  It has to be pie, of course, but what kind?  Pizza pie, pot pie, quiche?  We have had a lot of pot pies over the years--and since I frequently make a shepherd's pie in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I was looking for something else  to fix for dinner.  This year, I ran across this recipe at the Homesick Texan's food blog. 

Grasshopper Pie -- A Pi Day & St. Patrick's Day Classic

When I was six, my family moved to Idaho for a year while my father taught economics at Idaho State.   When you are a child and missing your old home and friends, it seems like your new town has very little to offer.  One thing, however, that Pocatello had, was an abundance of grasshoppers.  My older sister and I would capture them by the quart jar full and bring them to my mother.  Then we'd tease her that she should  make grasshopper pie with them. 

Making grasshopper pie on Pi Day almost seems like a cheat after rolling out pastry for pumpkin, pecan, apple, or berry pies.  Paired with a chocolate crust (which I almost always just purchase at the store), the mint filling is spring-like.  It's the perfect compliment to a St. Patrick's Day feast, too.  The best part--you can make it ahead of time, pop it in the freezer, and forget about it until the day of your event.

Beware the Pi of March -- Perfect Pumpkin & My Mom's Fabulously Flaky Crust

All right... I'll grant you that pumpkin pie in the middle of March is pretty unconventional.  But hear me out.

I love pumpkin pie.  I really do.  When I was growing up, I looked forward to Thanksgiving for one and only one reason:  pumpkin pie.  I kid you not.  My mother's crust was to die for and the filling was perfect--not the blonde, barely pumpkiny fillings of some pies, nor the dark, overly spicy fillings of others.  It was right in between.  But then Thanksgiving was over.  No more pumpkin pie for another year.  This was not to be borne. 

Beware the Pi of March -- Blackberry Mini Pies

Happy Pi Day!  (3/14 = 3.14)  With a math professor in the family, we take Pi Day seriously here.  There has been a lot of baking & filling of pie shells here for the last few days, and I thought I'd pass along a few of our successes.

First up is the Mini Blackberry Pie you see before you with the holes cut to look like pi.  Heh.  Didn't see that one coming, did ya?

Made in tartlet pans, these mini pies are perfect for one, or could be shared by two.  They go together fairly quickly for what they are.  Unlike apple pies, berry pies don't need any peeling or chopping for the filling--just toss the berries in a little sugar, etc., and you are good to go.  I made them as one idea to give away to our children's math teachers.  Though I ended up doing something else altogether, the fact that they can stand to be out of the refrigerator for a while made them a good candidate.  If Pi day is being celebrated in your town, consider this recipe for the pies you hand to your children to bring to school.