Thanksgiving Pies Polls

Let's face it, for some, Thanksgiving is about the turkey, but for others, it's all about the pies! I have vivid memories of Thanksgiving activity when I was a child, and the best of it was watching my mid-West raised Mom make her crusts, fill her pies, and bake. Sadly, I never learned the fine art of pie crust making, though I wing it most years (pun intended)!

This lens is dedicated to the thrill of creating, displaying, and eating great Thanksgiving pies...or if you are from a math-y family, Thanksgiving Pi!

I love making good pies, even if my crusts are a little questionable some years. I currently have a slate of 10 on my list (if you count a cheesecake as a pie, which I do). Of course, there are ten of us, so I suppose that mathematically, you could figure out that this is a ratio of one pie per person....we can get more math-y from there, but I'll save some Thanksgiving Math for later!

The right tools can be a blessing, and kid sized tools are perfect for giving your young bakers the opportunity to participate. My 18 year old daughter bakes the best bread and desserts, and is planning to study pastry arts. She started simply, with a bread machine...when it broke, she moved into kneading her own dough, and now, no one comes close to her quality and understanding of the process in the household.

The sil-pins pictured are kid-sized, perfect for allowing your youngsters to work their own pie dough. Hands on experience will teach them what works, and what doesn't...beware, though. When they get good at the art of making pies and crusts, your waistline may suffer!

I try to make my crusts from scratch...but they usually don't turn out well. Nevertheless, I try.

Is the Thanksgiving Pie plate or tin important? Or is it all about the Pie?

Pumpkin pie is the star of the season...how many?

When I was a youngster, our family always had pumpkin pie for breakfast on the big day, and as a Mom, thats my approach, too. That's why I make so many pies, because they serve as breakfast for a couple of days, in addition to being a part of the dessert table at whichever home hosts the big feast.

Some Thanksgiving pie choices beg for toppings, whether it's whipped cream, heavy cream, or ice cream. What's your fave?

Last year my sister surprised me with a Thanksgiving package, which arrived early Thanksgiving week:

I'm a former middle school math teacher, and she knew I would love it...I did! My mom also taught middle school math, and received an identical package. Also included were a book about Pi, a set of handwritten pie recipes, a beautiful pie server, and a box of pie dough mix. If you need a great hostess gift, or if you know a math geek, I can't recommend a Pi pie plate enough.

Now that you've participated in my Pie polls, you know you have some Thanksgiving Math under your belt...the polling and graphing are fun math activities, and you and the kids can create your own pie polls for Thanksgiving Day! Survey the relatives, and create a colorful chart...perhaps a "Pie Chart"...to display what your findings are. And if you just aren't all that into math, and don't like Pi all that much, then simply enjoy the great company and good times!

Of course, if you don't like Pie, my question is, why on earth are you here?