I made pie! And, it's edible!

Ok, it's no big secret I'm not what you would call an accomplished cook. I come from a long line of good cooks on both sides of my family. I just didn't get that particular gene. Oh, I can cook enough to keep me alive. I have a few things that I make well, that my family actually asks for. I can make killer mashed potatoes, from scratch. That's my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner. I make a sugar cookie that my niece loves and has renamed for herself. (Which I thought was cute so I started making them in the shape of an "F" for Faithie, should have had forethought there, now I have to make them like that every time .)

Aside from that I am NO Martha Stewart in the kitchen. It has never really bothered me, I can't be all things to all people. My interests growing up were always elsewhere. I loved books and anything musical or mechanical. I was happy helping my dad in his shop. My dad is a welder by trade, and I learned how to weld. Not exactly my life's ambition, but I can do it. When computers came along I was in my element. So, when I say that I'm not an accomplished cook, you can see the pattern.

I was talking last week with J, she mentioned that she bought some squash she was going to make pies out of. We've had this particular discussion before. Her recommendation is that Hubbard Squash makes the best pie, better than pumpkin. I like squash as a vegetable, so after work I went to the grocery store to pick up something for dinner, and thought I'd look for a Hubbard squash. They actually had a golden Hubbard squash, so I bought it. It had to weigh about 5 lbs, it was huge but I thought, whatever, I like squash. I took it home and baked it, scooped it out, used my hand mixer (yes, I have one) to make it smooth and happily ate it for dinner. Pretty proud of myself for having done this, instead of buying the frozen block of squash, which is my usual wont. I was satisfied.

A few days later, I was again talking to J, I mentioned the squash. I think J was a little surprised. She is well acquainted with my lack of prowess in the domestic arts. I should say here that aside from one little soup snafu, J IS an accomplished cook. I've been in her home enough to witness it, and since I'm an accomplished eater I can attest to this first hand. She quizzed me a bit on my methods of baking the squash. I mentioned that I had quite a bit left over. She said make a pie. I said I wasn't sure I was ready for that. She assured me it wasn't that difficult and that I could follow any pumpkin pie recipe, and I wouldn't even really need a crust, because it was really more like a custard anyway. I said I just might do it. Especially since I didn't really need a crust. I knew I wasn't ready for that. (I've heard stories from experienced bakers lamenting their inability to make a flaky crust. I know my limits!)

So, last night I made the pie. I was a little nervous but decided no one really needed to know if it was terrible. Emboldened by my decision to bake, I Googled "easy pie crust recipe" and found one that had 4 ingredients that according to the directions, uh, recipe, was supposed to be made right in the pie plate. This was my kind of crust recipe! No rolling out the crust? Fantastic! Especially when I don't even own a rolling pin!

So, I did it. I waited impatiently for the pie to cool. (Which I remembered was important from something I read years ago.) I cut it and took a bite and surprise! It was edible! Not only edible it was actually good! I sent an email to J to let her know of my success. She sent one back that said "I knew you could do it." Now, that's a true friend. Anyone that can offer support and encouragement when all practical experience says opposite, you want to keep that person in your circle.

Today I'm taking a piece to my mom. That's the real test. If she thinks it's good then I'll know. If J lived closer I'd bring her a piece too, but I think driving four and a half hours to make her taste something I made is a bit extreme. :) And, in case you were wondering, the picture is actually my pie.