What's your kitchen nemesis? I'm not talking about figuring out what to make for dinner -- that's everyone's nemesis. I mean the thing that you haven't figured how to conquer. The thing that defeats you over and over.
For me, it's pie. The very first pie I ever made was a beautiful, glossy strawberry pie. It was a work of art. That somehow completely cemented itself into the pie plate. How does that even happen? Crust has so much fat it should slide right out of any pan, but this one was not budging. My friends and I literally just sat around the pie right out of the pan, chiseling the crust out with our forks.
I didn't make a pie crust again for years. I resorted to the shame of store bought. (Side note -- I KNOW there is no shame in store bought pie crust! It was shame directly solely at me, not judgement directed at anybody else).
Over the past few years, I've started dabbling in pie crusts again, and it's been quite hit and miss. Shrunken tart shells have made me curse. Crumbly graham cracker crusts have caused me to shake my fist in fury. But the successes, as shaky as they've been, have slowly built my confidence.
But there's something all of these pie crusts have been teaching me. To lean into the things that I'm not great at -- but could be.
I'm good at baking. It's a gift. I could be good at pies. But they haven't come easily to me. So I've had to make a decision. Do I lean into the hard? Or do I just buy premade crusts for the rest of my life?
You know how I force myself to lean in? I volunteer to do the hard thing (make pies) for someone's BIG DAY (a wedding).
I don't lean in, y'all. I fling myself over the edge.
I have until December 29 to master pies. I spent this weekend making crusts and braiding and lattice-ing. I sliced and cursed and laughed flour handprints on every surface.
But at the end of the day, I had two pies that showed progress. They're not perfect. But they're getting there. Just like me.
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