Our youngest son came to visit this past weekend. When we found out, one of the things we asked was if he had any special requests for a family dinner Saturday night. His reply was pesto chicken, and apple pie or apple crisp. I asked if he had a preference and he said to surprise him on the dessert.
I went back and forth between which one I wanted to do. At one point I was going to make both. Instead, I ended up making an apple pie and blueberry muffins as he also likes those a lot.
Rather than doing a simple two crust pie, I wanted to make a fancier top crust. Something of a lattice was my vision, but not the traditional weave. When the dough was ready, I rolled it out a bit and cut my strips.
Then I had to truly decide what I wanted it to look like before going in the oven. With no set plan, I did start a normal type of weave. A few strips in, I decided to rotate the pie a little bit and started another bit of a weave. There was some overlap that I attempted to meld together.
In the end, it was a little different, and browned up well, but wasn’t necessarily what I had in my head. Sometimes the vision and the construction don’t always match for me. That’s okay because that is what artistry can end up being, a new flow of sorts.
Although the look of a dish does make a difference, it is the taste in the end that matters the most. The pie had a good flavor. One person later commented how I can make a tasty pie without it being overly sweet. Now that is what I do go for in the end, so a success in taste.
Next up will be a peach pie from my preserves!
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 