In my family, knowing how to cook is an essential skill we all must master. For many, including myself, knowing how to cook in the family is a survival skill. If what you make is good enough, you may be saved from future “uncle” embarrassment. So cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews work and bake away until they have that one dish they make better then the rest of the family. To show off these culinary talents we usually parade them around the holiday season.
My case is no different and in recent years I have discovered my wondrous ability to make pies, especially blueberry, better then any other member of my competitive family. Every summer I venture back to Michigan where my family lives. The summer months are a great time to pick and buy fresh produce and fruit. Certain fruits are only in season for a few weeks and I always go out to pick fresh blueberries, my favorite.
The recipe is simple, yet every time my mother (who is an amazing cook) tries to make this pie it comes out less appetizing then when I whip it together.
For this “How To” video I made my delicious blueberry pie but I also decided to try a new decorative crust design. Lately I have been obsessed with ruffles, I’m also obsessed with potatoes but we won’t get into that now. What better way to enable this new addiction then to incorporate it into my food. This design comes from none other than the mother of baking herself, Martha Stewart.
The pie has very little ingredients but how you make it is the most important part to this recipe. Any one can follow these instructions but just remember to bake carefully and to have fun with it. If it doesn’t come out perfect the first time, keep trying. It may be messy but once people taste it, there’s no doubt in my mind they will love it.
Ever since I mastered this pie it has been my go to dish for family get-togethers and our annual dessert contest, although, that prize has eluded me, thanks to my uncle’s suspicious ability to make a dessert that causes euphoria. I love the feeling of success when members of my family praise my masterpiece and beg for more. It’s a cheap and simple pie that will impress your friends, family and enemies.
To make this magical dish you will need 3 pie tops, butter (of course), blueberries (fresh if you can), one-minute tapioca package, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon.
The movie “Waitress” chronicles a young woman going through the struggles of life and finding happiness in baking pies. I too find happiness in hearing that oven timer go off, putting on my baking mitts, opening the oven door, smelling bursting blueberries and seeing that perfectly golden crisp dessert bubbling. So I decided that to celebrate my culinary achievement that I would watch the film. Call it a themed meal if you will.