Honey pie, this is your week.
The math geeks among us will be celebrating pi on Thursday, as in the mathematical constant that the ratio of any circle’s circumference divided by its diameter is always 3.14 et cetera.
So you can see why March 14, or 3.14, is always celebrated by these types.
This week, as you will read in Rich Heldenfels’ column next door, we also celebrate the release on home video of the Academy Award-winning Life of Pi — the tale of a shipwrecked Indian boy who must survive on a life raft with a Bengal tiger.
While the American Pie Council’s celebration of National Pie Day on Jan. 23 is over, there is still time to enter the council’s Crisco National Pie Championships, where amateurs and professionals compete for the title of best pie in America. Entry deadline is March 28 for the April competition in Orlando, Fla. Visit www.piecouncil.org/2013ContestEntry.
But if all this talk of pi and pie has made you hungry for one, you may want to check out the Pie Council’s new book, America’s Best Pies: Nearly 200 Recipes You’ll Love. The cookbook is filled with award-winning recipes from previous Pie Council championships.
Or you can just try out this recipe, a winner in 2006, and have a slice of pie to enjoy while watching a movie or working on math problems.
MAPLE PEACH PECAN PIE
For the crust:
⅓ cup plus 1 tbsp. shortening or lard
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1 to 3 tbsp. cold water
For the filling:
3 eggs
⅔ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. salt
⅓ cup butter or margarine
⅔ cup pure maple syrup
⅓ cup peach preserves
1 cup pecans
For the crust: Cut shortening into the flour and salt until the particles are the size of small peas. Sprinkle in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all the flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans the side of the bowl. Form dough into a ball. When ready to use, roll out and place in a 9-inch pie pan.
For the filling: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat together the eggs, sugar, salt, butter, maple syrup, and peach preserves just until smooth. Put the pecans onto the bottom of the unbaked pie crust. Pour the filling into the pie crust over the pecans. Bake for about 45 to 55 minutes.
Makes 1 pie.
— America’s Best Pies, Charlie Campbell
Lisa Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or at labraham@thebeaconjournal.com. Find me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @akronfoodie or visit my blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/lisa.