A Pie Party with Friends: Lemon Chess, Cranberry Sage, and Old Favorites

For the past nine months, I have blogged about pies, specifically pies from the Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book by the Elsen sisters. I have enjoyed making and reviewing various pies from the book. But I decided to try a different challenge of hosting a party of fellow pie lovers. My idea was to prepare several of my favorite pies from the book and try a few for the first time. Most of us (at least, those who are so called "normal") think of eating pie as a dessert, after a regular meal. But my idea was to have an event where everything was about the pies. Fortunately, I have friends who like pie as much as I do, so a pie party was planned!

Hosting a party is enjoyable to me and I usually look forward to the challenge of trying out a new recipe or two. One pie from the Elsen sisters' book that I had been wanting to try was the Lemon Chess pie. Chess pie is an old southern pie that my mother-in-law used to make. But I had not tasted the lemon version. The main ingredient is, of course, lemon juice and plenty of lemon zest. Added to this is sugar, cream, eggs, flour and a little yellow cornmeal. Finally, there is a pinch of orange and vanilla extract. The result was a lemony custard that was really refreshing, according to my guests.I was surprised that this pie turned out well for my first attempt. No whipped cream is needed for this pie - it tastes great all by itself!

The other "new" pie was the Cranberry Sage pie. I had actually made this pie once last winter, but I served it only to my husband and sister-in-law. We liked it very much, so I decided to make it for guests. This pie uses dried and fresh cranberries, sugar, one apple, allspice, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and arrowroot. The arrowroot is the thickening agent, as opposed to cornstarch. Finally, there is fresh sage, which is a rather unusual combination with the cranberries. The crust was my usual butter crust from the book. This pie is really very lovely, with the red color peeping through the lattice top. It is fairly easy to assemble, compared to other pies in the Elsen pie book. The party guests really loved this pie, with several wanting to  make it for Thanksgiving. To me, it has a flavor similar to cherry pie. I would certainly make this pie again. But I would consider adding a little extra fresh sage, as some said that they couldn't really taste the sage. My friends said that a slice of the cranberry pie followed by a slice of lemon chess was perfect!

The other pies I made were the Bourbon Pear Crumble pie and the Salted Caramel Apple. I still love these tasty pies, particularly the Salted Caramel Apple. The Salted Caramel pie is very labor intensive, but worth the effort, in my opinion. After the pies had been served and my friends had finished stuffing their faces with pie, I took a poll to determine the group favorite. The result: a tie
between the Cranberry Sage and the Lemon Chess (4 votes each), 2 votes for the Salted Caramel Apple, and one vote for the Pear Bourbon. I was torn, but my vote is still for the Salted Caramel Apple, so it technically got 3 votes.  I decided that another Salted Caramel Apple will be served at Thanksgiving.

So, thank you, my friends, for helping me celebrate pie eating, and for giving me a good send-off from Asheville to Florida for a few months! Speaking of which, all of that pie eating necessitates my getting back on my exercise regimen so that I can hang out on the beach. Look for my next blog, in which I will talk about a "zumba party" that was almost as much fun as the pie soiree! Remember my motto when you indulge in your Thanksgiving meal: if you exercise, you can occasionally indulge in eating pie!!