Twenty-five adults and four smallish children arrived yesterday afternoon. Most came at 3 pm. They know that for the best selection you arrive right on time. They left about three hours later. Of the 16 pies that made it onto the buffet table, the leftovers added up to only 2 pies. That means that 14 were consumed, so this year’s crowd managed to eat more than half a pie per person.

I made 3 savory pies: Chicken Pot Pie, Butternut Squash and Spinach Tart (baked in a custard with feta and heavy cream), and a Classic Bacon Quiche (the bacon sourced from a local farm which raises pigs on pasture.)

I most enjoy making the apple and fruit pies. This year I baked: Apple with a Cheddar Crumble Topping, Peach and Apple Spiked with Ginger, Apple and Cranberry, and a Peach and Pear Pie with Almond Custard.

There’s always chocolate. The most complicated pie was an Almond and Chocolate Tart topped with pears and an apricot jelly glaze. I also served a classic dense Chocolate Tart, and a Tollhouse Cookie Pie (consumed by kids and adults alike with vanilla ice cream).

Also on the buffet table were a Lemon Tart, a Sweet Potato Pie in a Gingersnap Crust, and a Banana Cream Pie in a billowy Meringue (had to do something with all of those excess egg whites!)

I had the last slice of the Cranberry and Apple Pie for breakfast. There’s never enough leftovers.

Photos are on Steve’s camera – I’ll post them when he downloads them to my computer!