If At First You Don't Succeed

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again was an old proverb I heard from both my mother and my teacher. They had the authority to make me keep trying to do something even when I wanted to give up, but once I was out on my own, I was my own boss. I could give up if I wanted to.

Which brings me to pie baking. I've always preferred pie over cake and my mom was an excellent pie maker. Her pie crusts were tender and flaky, made with lard.

I still remember the first time I tried making a pie on my own after I was married. It was a pineapple pie for which I probably used a recipe from the Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book I had received as a shower gift. Let's just say the pie was less than a hit - due mostly to the awful crust.

Mom probably showed me how to make crust and I may have tried another pie or two but if I did, they didn't turn out either and I gave up. I didn't make another pie for twenty-five or thirty years - not until I married Hubby Dearest and learned his favorite pie was pumpkin and it was almost Thanksgiving - AND - there was this marvelous new product in the grocer's freezer - frozen pie crusts in an aluminum pie pan. They weren't great, but at least I hadn't failed making them.

Then a few years ago a friend told me about these - refrigerated pie crusts you just had to unroll and use. Funny thing is I hadn't used them to make pies, only for quiches.

This is a ham, cheese, pineapple, onion quiche I made for lunch last week. It was really good.
Those pie crusts come two to a box so I was thinking of making another quiche when a few days ago I remembered I had been wanting custard pie. Well, duh, I had the eggs and I had the pie crust. When I looked up a recipe for custard pie there was one for Coconut Custard Pie. Oh, my, coconut pie is my favorite.

The crust got too brown around the edges and I removed it, but other than that the pie is very good. Next I'm going to make a Coconut Cream Pie.

And, you know what, after that I'm going to make a Pineapple Pie! It's only been fifty five years since that first try, and I'm a-gonna try, try again.