My pie story is really about my ex-husband’s grandmother who taught me how to bake. I was a young woman and had never done any baking before or much cooking either. Grandma Lily came to my house and taught me how to bake a challah bread without a recipe. WHAT? No recipe? She proceeded to use my kitchen counter as her work space throwing flour and yeast and eggs into a messy pile that she kneaded and tasted as she went. It was delicious but I never learned how to make this intimidating and wonderful bread. To me baking is science and I needed a recipe. But she did teach me how to make an awesome apple pie that my family enjoyed many times over. And each time I made it and ate it I thought of this amazing character of a grandma. She was flamboyant and funny and a great cook. It had a graham cracker crust and used lemon, heavy cream , lots of butter and cinnamon. A great memory. She told me to never buy yeast from the store but when I was at a restaurant I should ask the waiter to give me a piece from the kitchen. Loved her and think of her often.
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