Harvest Pie Party

During Pie in the Park in August, Maria and I decided that we needed to host a harvest pie party in order to enjoy pies of the fall variety. So, we invited a few friends over to my house with one request - that they bring a home-made pie. For some of our friends, just the thought of baking is overwhelming. But those who accept the challenge, generally surprise themselves with their home-made creations. I lovingly bullied my close friend into baking rather than using a ready-made pie crust and she proudly showed up with a key lime pie made from scratch.

The spread was amazing. We had traditional pumpkin, pecan, sweet potato, cranberry tartlets and cranberry cake, pumpkin cheesecake, and more. Jake made mulled wine again – a warm, sugary beverage to accompany our pie.

I made a pumpkin streusel pie, my favorite fall pie since I discovered the recipe in Sunset magazine a few years ago. It is like having a traditional pumpkin pie with pecan pie on top. I roasted a sugar pie pumpkin from the Farmer's market to make puree for the filling. Then, in order to keep the pie local, I substituted the evaporated milk for heavy cream from a local dairy. I used cookie cutters and a knife to embellish my pie with leaves of crust. I had to cook it for about 30 minutes longer than it calls for in the recipe in order to get a knife to come out clean, but I suspect that the cream substitution might have had something to do with it. And though it was a little deflated in the middle, the filling was amazingly flavorful and even more delicious than I remembered.

I couldn't be more delighted with our celebration of the seasons – Pie in the Park, to enjoy the fruits of summer, and now Harvest Pie Party, to taste the fruits of fall. So what do we have up our sleeves for winter? Savory pies!