pies pies pies

this morning in the shower i started thinking about pies. i admit, at first i wasn't nearly as into them as a wedding cake replacement as my boyfriend is, but the idea is growing on me. we were arguing last night over whether or not an avocado is a stone fruit or a nut/seed, and i won (stone fruit! yeah!), and that got me thinking about avocado pie. i was introduced to avocado pie in texas by good friends, and while it sounds strange, i loved the creamy tartness of it; the way the avocado, lime and sweetened condensed milk came together. although to be fair, i'd eat anything with avocado in it.

we've been talking through the numbers, and to feed our guests pie we'll need about 20 pies. oddly enough, that number doesn't intimidate me at all. D is great at making pie crust, and i tried his mom's home-canned sour cherry pie this thanksgiving and realized i have a canning wonder in the family, so i think we'll be fine. most of the actual work can be done in advance, and the pies thrown together and baked the day or so before the wedding. since we both love love love cooking, giving our reception dinner over to caterers is probably the best and worst thing we can do. best because really, i do want to focus on getting married and enjoying our day. worst because we'll both be thinking about things we would do differently, and dealing with the food will probably bring out the bridezilla in me. doing the pies ourselves is like a happy medium; we get to actually feed our guest something that we made, and enjoy our own wedding.

here is a list of pies so far that i'm thinking would be good to have;

1. avocado. it's weird, it's lime green, and it's delicious.
2. peach.
3. sour cherry.
4. apple, for people who like that sort of thing.
5. pear. with maybe some cardamom.
6. pecan. you have to have a nut pie!
7. berry.
8. coconut creme. i love coconut, even if D is convinced i'm in the minority.
9. lemon meringue. or key lime. something citrus-y.
10. ooh, you could do a citrus and cream cheese tart. i bet that would also be good, and more like a rustic pie.
11. rhubarb strawberry.
12. grape. i'd never even heard of a grape pie until this holiday season, but they are actually really good.
13. some sort of chocolate pie for the chocolate lovers.
14. do they make tomato pies? because i also really love tomatoes.
15. sweet potato.
16. pumpkin.

of course, we'll have to have multiples of some (apple and cherry, i think), and some might not be big hits. the more i think of it, the more i love the idea of a long table covered in pies and people wandering through, picking out either something new or an old favorite, sharing bites, and going home thinking pie at a wedding isn't a half-bad idea.