New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Sweet and savory ways to celebrate Pi Day
Pi Day on March 14 is either a holiday for math lovers (commemorating the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, approximately 3.14.) It’s also a holiday for pie lovers. Whether or not math was one of your favorite subjects in school, you can celebrate Pi Day with a full day of meals: breakfast pies, savory pies, snack pies and dessert options.
Quiche
You can eat pie for breakfast anytime you want (we don’t judge) but it’s a little more socially acceptable if it’s quiche. The savory egg custard is baked in a flaky pie crust, with traditional versions like quiche Lorraine (bacon and Swiss cheese) or Florentine (spinach and cheese.)
Sample housemade mini quiches during brunch at French-inspired bistro Cocotte in Old Saybrook, where the 4-inch housemade versions are served with a petite house salad, or at Isabelle et Vincent in Fairfield, where quiches are served in multiple varieties: ham and bacon, smoked chicken and parsley, bacon and onion and vegetables like artichoke, mushroom and broccoli. Vegetarian quiche is also always on the menu at Claire’s Corner Copia in New Haven, served with bread and choice of green salad or sliced fruit.
Mini pies and hand pies
If you want a pie all to yourself, consider a mini-pie, or even a portable hand pie.
Michele’s Pies in Norwalk
will be open for Pi Day, according to its website, and offers 5-inch small pies for every version of its flavors, organized into fruit, nut, cream and savory categories. Award-winning recipes have included maple pumpkin with pecan streusel, apple caramel crumb, chocolate pecan bourbon and Oreo, with savory choices including chicken pot pie, Australian beef pie and various quiches.
At Harrie’s Jailhouse in Middletown, the dessert menu features a rotating selection of sweets made by its sister business, Nora Cupcake Company. Hand pies are on the menu daily, said co-owner Carrie Carella, with flavors like cookie dough, strawberry Nutella, lemon raspberry and traditional apple.
At Tous Les Jours in New Haven, the first Connecticut outlet of a global French-influenced South Korean bakery chain, the menu features cylindrical cornet pies, filled with blueberry, chocolate and milk creams, along with yuzu and caramel apple hand pies.
Savory pies
Flaky crust, hearty gravy, meat and/or vegetables: A savory pie is a satisfying dinner while the weather is still frosty.
At J. Timothy’s Taverne in Plainville, the twice-fried “dirt wings” have gotten national attention — but the restaurant’s chicken pot pie was also featured on Food Network’s “Food Paradise” several years ago. The pie is made with white and dark meat chicken, potatoes and vegetables, topped with pastry.
At White Horse Country Pub & Restaurant in New Preston, the chicken pot pie, baked in a “rich sauce with a little chardonnay and cream,” is presented with a piece of horse-shaped baked pastry standing atop the crust. The menu also features a shepherd’s pie with ground sirloin and a seafood pot pie with shrimp, lobster and sea scallops.
Flanders Fish Market in East Lyme is known for a lobster pot pie, once voted “best seafood pot pie in America” by Rachael Ray Magazine.
The pie with lobster, vegetables, potatoes and lobster cream sauce in a biscuit crust is served at the restaurant with a side salad, and is also available to take home from its fish market (or for shipping on its website.)
At Flinders Lane Kitchen & Barin Stamford, the modern Australian restaurant features a meat pie of the month, with mashed potatoes and Bordelaise sauce. Recent meat pies have included beef and black pepper, roast ham with ground beef, chunky beef and caramelized onions, and rotisserie chicken with herbs.
An Irish pub is an ideal spot for comforting shepherd’s pie, made with a stew of meat and vegetables and topped with a layer of creamy mashed potatoes.
Classic sweet pies
You don’t need to wait for a holiday to enjoy a dessert pie from these Connecticut bakeries.
Granny’s Pie Factory in East Hartford offers a full range of flavors from traditional apple, blueberry and pecan to assorted cream fillings (coconut, banana and chocolate) and decadent cheesecake, Swiss chocolate almond and peanut butter cup creations.
The pie menu at Luann’s Bakery in Ellington offers similar variety, with traditional fruit and fruit crumb pies, cream options (including key lime) and seasonal treats, like grasshopper, lemon meringue and black bottom pumpkin.
At Oronoque Farms Bakery in Shelton, the regular pie menu features fruit fillings (apple, blueberry and cherry, also available in crumb versions) and classic cream pies like chocolate, banana and coconut. Seasonal options include pumpkin and pecan, chocolate pecan, coconut and plain custard, and assorted chiffons: chocolate lime, strawberry, lemon and pumpkin.
At American Pie Company in Sherman, the pie menu is extensive, with classic fruit versions (crust or crumb) cream options and other picks like black bottom banana, pumpkin mousse and Italian ricotta.