I’ll try and make this short and sweet.
I’ve always loved to eat. Not sure I’ve always loved to cook. I happily took the role of “food blogger” at my last job, despite it being outside my job description, to work on that. And that I did. It was a great op to de-stress, learn new recipes, impress my fam, and hang-out with the coolest kids in T-town (Toronto). And now, us friends re-unite now and then for an old-fashioned baking session, just like the good ol’ days (of June 2010).
I heard about Evergreen‘s Wild Blueberry Pie festival on Twitter, and I thought, “Heck, why not?” Not that I’m such a great baker, but I’ve found myself, at this stage of life, looking for challenges and adventures in everyday occurrences. So for 2 weeks I thought, planned, discussed recipe ideas with my brother. Then the Saturday before the big day arrived, and I spent 6 hours testing pies. 5 pies, to be exact. Lemon Poppyseed, Plain with Nut Crust, Plain Blueberry, Blueberry and Apple, and…this, a play on the classic PB + J sandwich. I knew it as soon as I tried it – this was good. I brought a panel of judges (i.e. 3 close friends) to my house for a sample test. 2/3 voted for PB + J (1 was iffy, but her heart leaned towards Lemon Poppyseed).
On Sunday morning, at 8 am, I awoke, and got busy making pie. I baked for 3 hours. We arrived at the Evergreen Brick Works, and faced 16 competing pies and about 8 celebrity judges, food writers from the Toronto Star, City Bites, Spotlight Toronto, and the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance. Those pies looked goooooood. I was nervous. But when the tasting began, and I watched over the shoulder of one particular judge, who snuck bite after bite of my pie (despite the allowance of a spit bucket), I felt good about the results. 4 runners up were announced, and then I heard it: “the vote was unanimous” – I won! Still hard for me to believe, but it was an awesome experience AND I walked away with 2 tickets to EBW Picnic this October.
“Not Your Momma’s PB + J” Pie
Graham Cracker Crust
Cheesecake filling
Blueberry filling
Shortbread Crust
Candied pecans
Oh my gosh! This looks like a wonderful pie with so many components. I think I’ll have to book off a whole day to bake this!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks! It took quite a while to make, but it was 100% worth it (I’ve got line-ups for the next batch!)!!
OMG…. “sounds” good and time consuming, for me it will be. lol… Any chance of having it made to order?
Certainly – first order being made tomorrow!
This is without a doubt the best pie of any kind i’ve ever had. Can i order more?
But of course (and merci)! For orders, drop me a line at alyfriedman AT gmail.com
O.M.G. I bought one of your “Not Your Momma’s PB + J” Pies at Liberty Noodle, yesterday, during Toronto Bakes for Japan… and can I just say: TOTALLY worth the extra workout & having to save calories for the splurge! Soooooo delish!
I’m not gonna lie – I may have just developed a wee bit of a crush on you.
Hehe, thanks Lisa!! Lots of labour, lots of love. Aren’t ya glad it’s over and it was a smash success? Woo!