Well then, I don’t really know how long it takes a cat to wink an eye, but Billy would probably have to wait a bit longer than that around here for his cherry pie. Besides, today’s pie is not for anyone named Billy. Sorry, Billy!

I decided to make two kinds of cherry pie today: traditional cherry with a lattice top crust and then a chocolate cherry pie–a new recipe I found on the web. When I searched for it, I was thinking fondly of chocolate covered cherries. My Dad loved those, and I do too. I remember my mom buying lots of boxes of those for our teachers at Christmas time. They were not expensive–maybe 85 cents a box–but boy, were they delicious.

Anyway, I made two batches(4 crusts worth) of homemade crust this morning in my food processor. Still seemed to work! I pre-baked one crust for the chocolate cherry pie, and I simply filled another for the cherry pie. The lattice top was something I’d never tried before, and it wasn’t too difficult at all.

I don’t own a pastry wheel, so I just made do with a pizza cutter. I did have to say out loud, “Over, under, over, under, over….” to make the weavy part work. It wasn’t perfect, but it looked pretty cool, I thought.

Now, the chocolate cherry pie is a chilled pie. I pre-baked the crust and let it cool. The filling is made of sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, a bit of salt, and cherry pie filling. All of that gets all melty in a saucepan, and then you just poor it into the pie shell. The recipe calls for 2-3 hours of cooling. Just enough time for a good Saturday afternoon nap… Before I lay down, though, I took the other cherry pie out of the oven. I love how this one looks! At the last minute, I brushed some butter on top and sprinkled on some sugar. I like the way this helped it to brown and to be a bit sparkly after it baked. 

Today’s pie recipients are the Turner family. I met these great people through the preschool where I worked. They’ve got five beautiful kids–4 boys and a girl. Being the youngest of five kids myself, I have a huge appreciation for large families–the love, the fun, the togetherness and…the WORK. Let me take this opportunity to say, “Thanks, Mom!” for all that you did to keep us all fed and clothed, doing homework, going to church, and just plain “actin’ right.”  It takes a lot of work to teach people to wash their hands, write thank-you notes, be quiet in quiet-type places, brush your teeth, say your prayers, keep your hands to yourself, say please and thank you, and for heaven’s sake, wear a slip if your dress is see-through! (Side note: some people did not learn this, I’m afraid, from their Mamas or anywhere else)

Anyway, the Turners are some fine folks, and I happen to know that at least one person over there likes cherry pie. The Dad of the family is getting home today from a camping trip with his boys that they call the “Be a Man” camping trip. Considering that most of the “men” involved were 6 years old or younger, I know one man that’ll be happy to eat supper, eat pie, and sleep in his own bed. And I know one mama that’ll be happy to have all her people under the same roof again.

So, thank you, wonderful Turner parents, for all that you do to raise your little ones right. May God bless your family richly in the days and years to come!