We have two Thanksgiving traditions about pie. The first is that we make pies from scratch. Wednesday is the pie making day. Pie crust isn’t that hard, but it is a little time consuming. I make a big batch of crust and refrigerate it. As the day goes on, we almost always have one pie or another in the oven. Our standard pies are pumpkin and pecan. We usually do an apple or a cherry one too. And all those pies make the house smell wonderful. I can just pull out the dough and use it as I need it for the next pie. Making our own pies crusts is special. I usually don’t have the time to bother the rest of the year.
The other pie tradition I’m going to tell you about happened by accident. We don’t save the pies for Thanksgiving, but get to have a slice on Wednesday. I’m pretty sure it was my husband who started this tradition. I think he just didn’t want to wait for a yummy slice of pie. Getting into the pies early makes sense in some ways though. Homemade pie is so special. At the end of a big dinner no one has room for dessert and they don’t really appreciate it as much. It feels a little decadent too, getting to eat our dessert a day early. This tradition has come to mean the start of Thanksgiving for me.
If we are having guests, I do make extra pies that we don’t start on until after Thanksgiving dinner. It doesn’t seem very festive or polite to put out a half eaten pie on the table for guests. If it’s just our family though, three pies are plenty to have a slice on both days. And there are always leftovers to share with coworkers on Friday, too.
Now I just have to decide which slice I want to eat first.
Also See:
Everyone Helps With Thanksgiving Dinner
Thanksgiving Forums – all sorts of advice and tips!
Variations on the Traditional Pumpkin Pie