It's a PIE HOLIDAY!

Did you know that Jan. 23 is a day set aside to celebrate pie?  What a great way to brighten up mid-winter!  We decided to make the day fun by inviting friends over to try some pie - both tried and true and something new.  I had some limes in the fridge and a pineapple on the counter, so naturally those went in to some pies.  I also had a can of pumpkin in the pantry so some easy pumpkin pies got thrown into the mix as well.  Our friends Curtis and Mary came over (they always seem happy to try some pie) and Paul and Lisa came by and brought some teenagers along.  So along with some good conversation and teasing of the teenagers, we enjoyed Lime Pie (I used the recipe on a key lime juice bottle, although I used fresh squeezed lime juice from the pile of limes lurking in my fridge), pumpkin pie (recipe from the Libby's pumpkin can, with a couple of small tweaks) and fresh pineapple pie.

Paul stated up front that he does not like pumpkin pie, so he didn't try it, but he said he liked the lime pie.  Everyone else gave all the pies a good rating.  Hayden, Paul's 15 year-old son, ate 3 pieces of lime pie and said it was his favorite but he liked the pineapple pie too.  Mary gave her vote to the pineapple pie.

Recipes:
I won't give the Lime and Pumpkin recipes here, mostly because I'm lazy and it's late on Sunday night.  The Lime Pie recipe was the basic one you can find almost anywhere containing sweetened condensed milk, eggs and lime juice.  We served it topped with sweetened whipped cream.

I always use the Libby's pumpkin pie recipe and Libby's pumpkin.  This pumpkin really is better than the rest for color, consistency and flavor.  I adapt it by using brown sugar (real brown sugar, not sugar colored/flavored with molasses - read the label) and throwing in a bit more of each spice than the recipe calls for.

The pineapple pie was delicious right out of the oven, and even better warmed slightly the next day.  I wish I'd had some ice cream to serve with it, because I think that would have been completely heavenly, but since I'd never made this before I wasn't sure how it was going to end up.  The recipe is a keeper!  Here it is:

Fresh Pineapple Pie

Pastry for 2-crust pie - 9 or 10 incehs
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 fresh pineapple - peeled, cored and chopped (about the size of canned pineapple chunks or tidbits)
1 tablespoon butter.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Beat the eggs until foamy.  Mix in sugar, lemon juice and pineapple.  Pour into pie shell and dot with butter.  Cover with top crust, crimp edges, cut slits to vent.  Brush top of pie with cold water and sprinkle with white sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake 50 minutes more.  The pie will be quite juicy, it thickens as the pie cools.