Louisa Kamps
From Every Day with Rachael Ray
November-December 2005
Blue Ribbon Pie Prize Winner
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 This is the pie that won our competition: Little Pie Company's sour cream apple walnut is a deliciously rich, impeccably built pie that's heartfelt and homey, every bite containing the ideal blend of tart, thinly sliced apples and buttery, nutty topping. ($25; littlepiecompany.com). |
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THE BAKER
You can't take the country out of this city boy. Michael Deraney, a North Dakota native who learned how a good pie should taste from his mom ("a farm girl from berry country"), originally moved to New York City to pursue a master's in education. But after the pies he baked on the side developed a cult following, he co-founded Little Pie Company in 1983. Since then, Deraney has achieved big-city success, opening three branches in Manhattan. Today, the company sells almost 12,000 pies the week of Thanksgiving. |
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Thanks to express mail (and one grocery store run), I was able to taste-drive, with help from a dozen friends happy to lend their pie holes, 52 exceptional pies. Some were rich and elegant, others tart and forthright, all made by bakers committed to carrying forth my Grandma's torch-―that is, a rolling pin. Here's the winner, plus six more that I'm telling you, you gotta try, especially the all-around favorite, which tastes as American as, well, you know.
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