It's Pie Time

The North Fork Is Truly King When It Come To Fresh Baked Pies, Here Are Some Experts

By Phyllis Lombardi

"Gosh. No thanks. I couldn't eat another thing." Somehow I can hear that all over the North Fork on Thanksgiving Day. Folks pushing back from the table, cautiously adjusting their belts, and shaking a "No" in the direction of dessert.

"Well, maybe a little piece. With just a bit of whipped cream." Funny how the appearance of Thanksgiving pies can change one's resolve not to eat again until tomorrow morning!

Me? I'm a mince person. It wasn't always so. As a kid I thought mince pie looked plain ugly and always opted for my grandma's lemon meringue. The yellow was so bright and cheery, so different from the gooey, dark, full-of-raisins mince. Now I know better. Ya don't judge a pie by its color.

So how do you judge a pie, especially one destined for Thanksgiving dinner? North Forkers, like all Americans, take this holiday meal seriously. Not just because it tastes so darned good - but because, for a few hours, we acknowledge publicly our blessings. That's good, too.

Finally to the pies. If you invite Cutchogue's Carol Buhler to your home for Thanksgiving dinner, bet she'll bring a blueberry pie. It's her favorite, true, but once you taste Carol's blueberry pie it may become your favorite, too. Yes, the crust is flakey, but what is special is the just right amount of blueberry "runniness." That's my word. And it means the blueberry filling isn't all jelled up, stiff as a board, as are some store-bought pies.

Put some ice cream on Carol's warmed pie and you'll have a dessert you start with a fork and finish with a spoon. It's plate-licking good but we don't do that on the North Fork. At least not on Thanksgiving Day when we're all dressed up.

Now Joan Audrey of Riverhead is adamant about her Thanksgiving pie. It has to be coconut custard, and slightly warmed. It's been her favorite since childhood. "So smooth and not too sweet," says Joan. Trouble with coconut custard is, I think, that ice cream just isn't compatible. Maybe Joan doesn't like ice cream?

Another coconut custard person I encountered in Riverhead is Ronnie Rutligano. Unfortunately coconut custard causes some disagreement between Ronnie and her husband, Joe. He's an apple pie man, says his wife. Even after 62 years of marriage, they haven't resolved the pie problem.

A second apple pie fan is Marion Sutton, a nurse at Eastern Long Island Hematology, Oncology in Riverhead - with little time for baking. She relies on a sister to bring the apple pie at Thanksgiving. Oh, how I wish I had a sister! I have a great brother but all he makes is noodle soup.

Working with Marion in Riverhead is nurse Cathy Glover. Cathy makes a mean pecan pie using a recipe she came across in a "Dear Abby" column years ago. Turns out it's her husband's favorite. Now pecan pie is way too sweet for me, but I do admit it looks a bit like mince. Maybe I'll ask Cathy for the recipe.

Strange, I think. So many pie people cluster in Riverhead. And not one of them mentioned pumpkin pie. With all the pumpkins on the North Fork, you'd think pumpkin pie would head the list. Maybe pumpkin pie people congregate at the other end of our fork - out in Orient. If that's the case, I'm heading east. I've some whipped cream and when it meets with pumpkin pie I'm almost ready to abandon mince.

Well, from beginning to end, Thanksgiving's one delicious day, a day on which surely more than 20,000 pies will be placed on bountiful tables all over the North Fork. If you have dinner at home, you've got leftovers to enjoy. But if you are a guest in someone's home, I've a suggestion for you. As you prepare to leave, as you struggle into your coat and search for your car keys, comment on how much you enjoyed the dinner, especially the pie. Pause and look longingly towards the dining room table where remnants of pies remain.

Your pleased, perceptive hostess will undoubtedly tell you to wait a minute - she'll wrap up some pie for you to take home. Give her a hug and offer your thanks. That's what it's all about.

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