Three years to the day

Today is three years from the day that Yilin and I first met on that fateful night at a bar in Manhattan. It is also two years from the day that I proposed marriage to her.

Tonight we might try to go back to that bar, Musical Box, for a celebratory drink.

PIE!

Yesterday, Yilin and I bought rhubarb at the grocery store. When we got home I printed and used this strawberry rhubarb pie recipe originally printed in Bon Apetite. I modified the recipe slightly, as follows:

1. I used pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour since we had an open bag that recently expired and I wanted to use it instead of throw it away. Besides, we didn't have all-purpose flour.


2. We didn't have shortening, so I ran out to our corner store and bought lard. That's right, a block of animal fat. Is it worse for me than a block of vegetable fat? Perhaps. (I also had the idea of using solidified bacon grease in the crust of a pot pie. How amazing would that be?)


3. I used my hands to press the dough into the pie plate since we don't have a rolling pin, and our improvised rolling pin (a sturdy cardboard tube wrapped in wax paper) didn't work well at all. Besides, the dough stuck to our butcher's block countertop. (I probably didn't use enough flour.)

Otherwise, I followed the recipe, and let me tell you that this pie is freaking amazing. Yilin couldn't stop raving about how good it was. I gave it a 9/10. I feel the crust could've been a little better somehow. It is very flaky and crumbly, but lacks a bit of flavor perhaps. Yilin feels that the crust could have more bite. If anyone has any suggestions on improving the crust I am all ears. I want to make this again and have it be a 10/10.