Grandson David had the day off, and we decided to have a short day trip after the car was serviced. Being in Asheville would give us a quick start. The car place didn’t take long, but as we drove away, David was called into work. We knew that might happen. Rain was in the forecast, anyway, so we drove home. It was a lovely drive to nowhere.
John thought perhaps we might do a little gardening, and that’s exactly what I did. He took the garbage to the trash center, while I clipped some over-zealous tendrils that were trying to invade the garage. A light drizzle fell, gradually wetting my back. This was perfect for my first day in the garden this year. Twenty minutes was enough to make me feel quite virtuous. Doing the garbage run took him longer. I enjoyed a fresh cup of mocha coffee on the porch as the drizzle turned into a downpour.
This was as good a day as any to make a Christmas pie. I promised John a Cranberry Mince Pie last December and never made it. Surely this is not as theologically askew as you might think. We wouldn’t have Easter without Christmas, and Christmas would not be celebrated without Easter. John won’t quibble, and David won’t either. Besides, it will all be gone before Palm Sunday.
In case you are wondering, I will not tag grandson Nathaniel on this. Even for a family-only dish, he would strive for perfection. I should not have dumped all the filling in the shell, because I suspected it would overflow. It did, but the cookie sheet caught it. There wasn’t enough dough to make a proper lattice crust. Nathaniel would have made another batch. I didn’t and went from batch to botch. I won’t bitch about the botch, because almost any Butch would eat it.
Mehrling Muse 
Cranberry Mince sounds good. I won’t tell it ran over if you won’t.
After a few hours scratching out some weeds I was bushed. Takes time to get back into the grove of gardening or house cleaning ….which still need to be done.
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I think one shouldn’t do both housework and gardening on the same day. It’s too demoralizing. Playing in the kitchen or sitting at the computer are antidotes.
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Cranberry mince pie is my kind of delicious. And I think it looks perfect.
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We cleaned our plates and left plenty in the pie plate. Thanks for your vote of confidence.
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It looks like a homey yummy pie to me!
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The pie was homemade and home-eaten.
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Gone pie. Good title for a book.
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Would you like to write the book, Gone Pie? I’m not likely to.
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I love your “Get ‘er done” baking philosophy. Not one to stand on seasonal sensibilities either, cranberry sounds like something I must try right soon also. As for the spillover, it shall remain our secret. 😄
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Thanks for keeping the pie spillage a secret. You are a true friend.
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😁
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It sounds like you bake like I do. If it is for someone else and I need to bring it away I will try make it look perfect else I am good as long as it tastes good! My husband always says he will take taste over presentation.
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Your husband has good taste, voting for the taste buds over the eyeballs. I would feel comfortable with y’all at our table.
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I am a firm believer that taste is way more important than presentation and it’s a good thing my family agrees. Tthey probably would have starved to death. LOL.
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Never! I feel sure you are a great cook.
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Yesterday when I made pumpkin pie and overfilled it and it ran over the sides (as it usually does) I thought of you. 🙂 ♥
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Do you suppose we will ever learn not to overfill a pie?
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No but don’t sweat the small stuff. 🙂
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Right!
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I think your pie looks gorgeous and your enthusiasm to make one after a hard day’s work in the garden is truly virtuous. Where does the cranberry filling come from ? Do you make it yourself ? Is it a problem that the filling runs over the pie crust and pie top ? Does it make it soggy? Is a pie a main course or a dessert ? Having never eaten a pie, I ask these questions so I don’t appear so ignorant another time.
Susie
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I worked only 20 minutes in the garden before being rained on. I made the pie filling myself — cranberry sauce, raisins, sweet spices, sugar, cut up apple, and lime zest. The pie would have looked better if the filling hadn’t run over the edge. It was not soggy, and it is a dessert. You’ve never had a piece of pie for dessert?????
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I was as shocked as you Anne! Poor thing!!!
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It still looks and sounds amazing!!!
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Sounds like a lovely day Anne and well topped off with cranberry pie. Love your use of b’s -😀did you have oodles of thick cream with it?
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Cream would have been wonderful with the pie, but we didn’t want to pile the guilt that high.
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The pie looks delicious! I also enjoyed your alliteration at the end of the post!
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It looks delicious to me, juicy and full of the yummy factor.
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The fellows liked it, and that’s all that mattered this time.
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Boo on David’s employer for making him come in on his day off! Glad yall had a good day anyway. I have never heard of or tried that kind of pie, but it sounds delish!
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The recipe was in an old Betty Crocker cookbook, I think.
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I have never heard of such a pie, but it looks yummy. I prefer pie over cake any day. It just somehow seems healthier, don’t you think? After all, the main ingredient is fruit.
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I like your thinking. To me, a pie is easier to make than a cake. Cakes take forever. The work is done once a pie is in the oven.
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That looks delicious Anne – my mom loved her pies once the berries would come in season. I’ve never had cranberry and raisin pie. Did you ever have red currant pie? That was my mom’s favorite, but hard to find those tart berries.
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No, I’ve never had red currant pie. Sounds great.
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It was delicious – quite tart and tangy. It was difficult to find the currants though – only one produce market carried them and only had them maybe twice a season. We would have to call to pinpoint the arrival time. Then they closed unexpectedly eye(shuttered the doors on 12/31 and left the employees speechless as it was a popular place and on a busy street corner, plus they sold flowers in one part, so a thriving place … in fact, the owner told the employees to take what they wanted and shut the doors … the owner never went back, rats and mice got in and ate the food and it spoiled – it still stands to this date but likely would need to be razed if someone bought the property … I remember reading stories about the health department and the rats and mice discovery).
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That is quite a story!
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Yes it was and I didn’t know that happened until I joined a Facebook forum called “Things That are No Longer Downriver” (the part of town I live in is comprised of about 5-6 cities collectively called “Downriver”). So it is a constant string of people asking if others remember stores, events, restaurants, etc. – mostly restaurants or bars long out of business. So there was chitchat about Andy’s Produce Market in this forum. My mom had read in the local paper they closed suddenly, but no details. In this Facebook forum people who were employees, or knew employees, gave the lowdown. Employees were just assembled as the store was ready to close for New Year’s Eve and told. End of business and end of job, take whatever you want of the stock. But why did the owner just up and leave … did he win multiple million dollars and just walked away? No one knew the answer.
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What a mystery!
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I think your pie is lovely and I bet it is delicious!
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There is a third of the pie left.
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Looks perfect to me..:)
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