Perfect straw-rasp-black-blueberry pie!

For the cast party yesterday I offered to bring a pie. I wasn't sure what kind of pie, but I'm good at them and let's face it, what kind of weirdo doesn't like pie? Dad suggested berry might be appropriate for the beginning of summer, so I gathered the supplies to make my lattice-topped straw-rasp-black-blue, the showiest pie in my repetoire.

The one thing I was concerned about was that the last few pies I've made have come out a little bit burnt on the top. Not sure what the problem is. It never happens to my mom when she bakes it, because everything she makes is always better, so she had no insight. I didn't want to bring an ugly pie to the party, so I was determined to fix the problem with this one. I made the pie as usual, rolling out the bottom crust to lay in the pan, then filling with the mixture of berries, cornstarch, a little bit of sugar, and a splash of Chambord. Even unfinished as it was, it looked delightful.

The instructions said to bake it at 450 for forty minutes. I popped it in and set the timer for twenty. Then I went about making the top crust. The lattice is so pretty and festive-looking, and it's a lot easier to do than it looks. You roll out the top crust like you normally would, then you slice it into long strips. You lay five of them parallel across the pie, then lift up every other one to lay five more across perpendicular, so that they weave in and out of each other. The effect is lovely and sure to impress.

After twenty minutes, I gingerly pulled the pie and laid it on a cooling rack. Working carefully so as not to burn myself, I laid out the lattice and then brushed it with egg wash so that it would brown. Then I put it back in for the remaining twenty. I confess I kept peeking at it, which you're not supposed to do, but I wanted to stay on top of whether or not it was burning. But to my pleasure, my trick worked, and the crust came out golden rather than black. Here is the lovely finished product.

It went over very well at the cast party and got a lot of compliments. I was especially happy with how many people noticed and enjoyed the fact that it is meant to be a slightly tart pie, with only three-quarters of a cup of sugar for a ten-inch pastry so the tanginess of the berries comes out. It's the best pie I've made in ages, and it came out so well I know I'll have to make more to enjoy this summer. Pie is, after all, the very best form of food.