Common Cuisine |

I think that when someone coined the phrase “Easy as Pie,” they didn’t appreciate how complicated a pie can be. Sure, it’s just crust and filling, but seriously, who really knows how to crimp a perfect edge? Or how to cut just the right size vents in the crust? Or for that matter, how to make the crust in the first place? It seems to me that pie making is more of an art form than the easiest thing in the world.

For the pie-craft impaired, as well as for the pie artists among us, there are many more accessories than I ever knew existed. Aside from a wealth of sizes and types of pie pans, and pastry making tools, there are beads for holding down air bubbles while you pre-bake a crust. There are rotary cutters that give you the perfect crimped edge. There are rings you put over the edge of your crust to keep it from overbrowning (after you put all the effort into the perfectly crimped edge, you want to save it). And for the truly impaired (or compulsive), there is a little tool that perforates your pie in just the right places so you can cut professional size pieces!

One of the favorite accessories I have discovered is a ceramic blackbird that you build into the center of your pie, that vents the top crust. What a terrifically cute idea! It makes me want to bake a two-crust pie just so I can use the little bird to vent it. Perhaps next summer, when I bake my first annual fresh blackberry pie, will be the perfect opportunity.

Once you have baked your perfect pie, there are even special pie baskets for carrying the pie to the party. I love mine and don’t know how I would live without it. It even has two layers, so I can take either two identical pies or give my tasters their choice of culinary temptation. Unfortunately, Royce Craft Baskets, who made my pie basket, is no longer in business (although you can still find their products on eBay). However, there are several brands of pie baskets if you choose to look for one. Just be sure to look for those two levels, because making two pies is as easy as one pie, and it doubles the rewards when you show up with your scene-stealing masterpiece.