"Give a Piece a Chance." — Books. Blog. Pie Classes. And a Pinch of Activism.
My first pie class of the World Piece tour was in Napier, New Zealand. Brett Zimmerman (aka Mr. Z), a friend of Louise Watts (my host Grace’s daughter), is a cooking teacher at a local college. (College in NZ is high school in US terms.) Mr. Z offered use of his classroom — 6 large … Read more
Meg and Me, From pleated plaid skirts to pie T-shirts My friend Meg asked me if I would teach a pie class as an auction prize donated for her kids’ Catholic school. I could have considered the cons — that I nearly got kicked out of Catholic high school and no longer consider myself a … Read more
I went to New York City last week to meet with my agent and book editor. Five months out from my book being published (pre-order hardcover here), we had a lot of planning to do for the publicity and book tour. Since moving to Eldon, Iowa — into the American Gothic House — over a … Read more
One of my guest pie bakers, Marcia Mermelstein(left), was an whiz at rolling dough. I just wish she could have stayed all summer! Today was my last day of pie baking for the summer. By “pie baking” I mean mass production of pies for the Pitchfork Pie Stand. Running a humble little weekend pie stand … Read more
One snowy January day a television crew from BETTER TV showed up at the American Gothic House and wanted to film me making pie. Since I love making pie — even better, teaching others how to make it — I said, “Sure.” I showed them a few of my shortcuts, the ones I learned from … Read more
When I was 22 I took a career interest test. I had always wanted to be a writer but my parents didn’t consider writing a real job. But if not a writer then what would I be when I grew up? In a fit of desperation to find out I consulted a career counselor. The … Read more
I’ve had so many people ask me for my pie recipe I am finally getting around to posting a step-by-step Show and Tell. The credit for this apple pie-making technique goes to my Mentor of All Things Pie, Mary Spellman, who owned the shop in Malibu where I worked. I don’t think I’m broaching any … Read more