Pies of the Hand

First, let me explain the title. It was only after about a decade of marriage and a lot of movies, old and new, that I realized all of Verne’s really good lines and most of his good lines were from movies or music. Initially, I just thought he was incredibly clever. Then I started to hear his words when we’d watch an old movie together or listen to one of his favorite CD’s…although, scratch the music…I have and always have had a problem hearing the words when I listen to music. But, at times he has recited the entire lyrics of a favorite song and, lo and behold, I’ll hear one of those clever lines I’d credited to him. Understand, even after discovering most of his lines are not original, I was no less charmed by the man. His delivery is excellent!

As for “pies of the hand”, think back to The Witness when the grandfather talks to the young Quaker boy about a “gun of the hand” that was discovered after they took in the injured detective recovering in their home. It follows (at least to Verne) that the small pies we started making in June should be called Pies of the Hand. He refers to the book we bought entitled Handheld Pies by the same name, Pies of the Hand. Cute!

It has taken us years since the girls left for college to adjust our cooking for two. It’s especially difficult with desserts. Not so much cookies, because I freeze the cookie dough and bake a few at a time. Cakes and pies are a different story. I’d stopped making them unless we have company, because “sharing” to Verne means one piece for him and the rest for me. The pies we started making in June are sized for one to two servings, as are all of the pies in the book, Pies of the Hand aka Handheld Pies.  We started by making a single standard-sized pie crust, dividing and freezing it in quarters for future use as a small crust for a freeform, rustic tart. As the process evolved, we began making and freezing the rustic tarts (complete with filling) on a cookie sheet, bagging the pies individually after they were frozen, and then baking them whenever we got a hankering for pie.  We’ve now perfected this process and can go from the hankering to eating pie in 45 minutes!

We’ve enjoyed apricot, plum, and peach tarts this summer. Fall has arrived and so have the apples. This past week Verne helped our friend Otti harvest apples from her orchard. He wasted no time and within 24 hours had put by a dozen apple rustic tarts. It’s always wise to taste test, so we had one last night with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Just imagine…a flakey butter crust filled with just-picked apples generously seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a bit of lemon juice HOT out of the oven topped with French vanilla ice cream. The serving is just enough to leave you wanting for more. It was nummy! We just may need to do one more taste test tonight…