And the Oscar goes to....

Pie. Pie always wins.

The crispy crust-laden dessert has held a special place in my heart since my stint as a pie girl at Marie Callenders. I maintain that if I were to win the lottery, I might just return to my days of doling out whipped cream creations. The pie life was a fun life.

My love deepend a couple years ago when my former coworker Vickie lent me a copy of Beth Howard's "Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Pie." Beth is a former journalist (hey) and pie maker to the stars. She now lives in the American Gothic House.

[Remember this? Yep. Her house.]

There, in rural Iowa she runs (well, used to run) the Pitchfork Pie Stand. Beth's memoir is a great read that I highly recommend, and the timing is perfect with Pie Day (3.14) fast approaching. The book begins with the sudden death of Beth's husband. The story unfolds as Beth struggles to cope with her loss, equipped with an old RV and pie. Her story is both heartbreaking and uplifting, and leaves you desperately wanting to go to the Midwest for a slab of banana cream.

I recently found out that Beth Howard has a cookbook... and I needed to have it. Thanks to my cousin, Hannah, I am now a proud owner of Ms. American Pie--and that is exactly my aspiration for 2016. Last year it was all about the Baking Bible, Rose Levy Beranbaum's holy grail of gourmet desserts. This year, I am baking my way through the Pitchfork Pie Stand's all time best, and other crumbly creations.

I began in January with a breakfast pie, using Beth's pie crust recipe, but then venturing off on my own with the rest. Matt requested french toast for his birthday dinner this year so we ran with a breakfast for dinner party theme (pajamas required).

[Welcome to the dark side, Matt]

Because Matt loves chorizo so I made the filling with chorizo and cheddar.

[Terrible photo, tasty pie]

Here are the ingredients:

1 Tbsp chicken flavor bouillon

8 oz sour cream

6 eggs

1/2 cup chorizo sausage, cooked and finely chopped (I used soyrizo from TJs as a healthier option and I promise you, it's delicious)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

9-inch unbaked pie shell

The directions are easy:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Combine the bouillon, sour cream,eggs, chorizo, and cheese in a medium bowl; pour into pastry shell.

3. Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

The pies were a huge hit. Not a crumb left.

This month I thought I'd make a blue ribbon-winning pie in celebration of my favorite award show: the Oscars. My mom and I are serious about the Oscars. A while back we were lucky enough to enjoy the show from the red carpet

[Thanks, Fox Family!]

Those years will always hold a special place in my heart. These days we have a more casual seat to the show (our couch), but we continue to celebrate in style, and by style I mean in pagamas with a royal feast of delicious food and champagne. I added to our bounty by baking a Toffee Pecan Pie, an award-winning pie featured in Beth's cookbook.

This pie recipe is an award-winner at the Iowa State Fair, known for its top-knotch baking contests. Thanks to Beth's memoir, and reading all of her tantalizing tales, I now have the Iowa State Fair on my bucket list. In the meantime, I am enjoying a slice at home. And holy moly, what a slice. Cutting into the pie was like tapping into a creme brulee: you break through the delicious top crust to find a ooey, gooey filling that is satisfyingly salty and sweet. The heath bar bits melt into a delicious consistency.

[Bubble, bubble]

My slice was gone pretty quick. There was no trace of Matt's slice either, a good sign. Matt isn't a huge pecan pie fan so I took that as a major compliment. Here's how to make your own:

Filling for two pies:

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup dark corn syrup

1/3 cup light corn syrup

3 extra-large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup whole pecans

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup Heath Bar bits (I used Bits o Brickle)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. In a saucepan over medium to low heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar, salt, and corn syrups, continuing to stir until heated through.

3. n a separate bowl, beat the eggs until blended. Whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into the eggs. Continue to whisk while you add a bit more (say, a tablespoon) two more times. This tempers the eggs so they don't curdle when you pour them into the hot mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan, whisking constantly, and continue to cook, stirring well, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

4. Combine hot mixture with nuts and toffee bar bits and pour into pie shell.

5. Bake for 45 minutes or until set.

Serve that sucker with some vanilla ice cream and have yourself a party. So dang good. If you're feeling adventurous and want to try your hand at tackling homemade pie dough, here's Beth's delicious recipe:

[Beth Howard agrees, a wine bottle mkes an excellent substitute rolling pin!]

Ingredients for Beth's Basic Pie Crust (makes one double crust or two single crust pies):

2-1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup Crisco Dash of salt Ice water (fill one cup but use only enough to moisten dough)

1. In a deep bowl, work the butter and shortening into the flour with your hands until you see marble-sized lumps form.

2. Add ice water a little at a time, sort of “fluffing” the flour. When the dough feels moistened enough do a “squeeze test” and when it holds together you’re done. Do not overwork the dough! It takes very little time and you’ll be tempted to keep touching it, but don’t!

3. Now divide the dough in two, form each half into a disk shape and roll flat and thin to fit your pie dish.

4. Sprinkle flour under and on top of your dough to keep it from sticking to your rolling surface. Trim excess dough to about 1 inch from the dish edge with a scissors, leaving enough dough to make crimped, fluted edge.

Fill, eat, repeat!