Humble Pie

Listen Now:

“The Splendid Table” applauded this recipe.

This week you’ve been hearing tales of Thanksgiving plans gone awry. In today’s story, told by Kim Green, her husband Hal, and her parents, Dave and Faye, we learn what happens when a little too much hubris goes into a pie.

Kim: It was probably about ten years ago,

Faye: As I recall it was our first blended family Thanksgiving, which became over the years, a tradition.

Kim: Anybody who doesn’t have family in town just comes to our house. We call it orphan Thanksgiving.

Faye

(“Gritty Shaker,” by David Holmes)

Faye: All of us contribute as best we can. Hal always has the turkey covered. I have the dressing covered, and then David usually has the recliner covered.

Dave: That’s pretty true. And from time to time, I do leave the recliner and supervise.

(“Gritty Shaker,” by David Holmes)

Dave

Faye: So Kim was gonna do a very special dessert. An apple pie.

Kim: I had never made a pie before. And I decided I wanted to make the best pie ever. I got up really early in the morning and worked on this pie.

Faye: She worked on it all day. It was to be the apple pie to end all apple pies.

(“Gritty Shaker,” by David Holmes)

Faye: So we had several guests that day, maybe 15 total. And so Hal had to add to the turkey, and he had smoked a chicken as well. But the chicken wasn’t getting done.

Hal: So I had to put the chicken in the oven to finish cooking. So she had this pie in the oven, and I put the chicken in the oven on the rack above the pie because that was the only place we had room.

(“Gritty Shaker,” by David Holmes)

Kim: Apparently our friend Nick couldn’t wait for dinner.

Faye: So he kept opening the oven door to snag a little bite of the chicken.

Kim: And little bit of chicken juice got poured into the pie.

(“Gritty Shaker,” by David Holmes)

Faye: The dinner was delicious, and it was time for The Pie.

Hal

Hal: Everybody’s been hearing about this pie all day long.

Kim: Got it out, and it was beautiful. I was so proud of this pie.

Hal: And everybody sits down at the table to eat this magnificent pie that Kim has made. And forks go into the pie, people put a bite in their mouth, and crickets.

Kim: A great silence fell on the room.

Hal: And everybody starts looking around kind of uncomfortable and there’s just this…I don’t know, it was awkward.

Kim: I’m still clueless, I’m thinking, ‘Oh, they’re really enjoying this pie! They love the pie!’

Hal: And then finally, I think it was my friend Tony who said,

Kim: No, I think it was Nancy,

Mom: Carrie, I think said,

Hal: This pie’s good. Tastes like chicken.

Kim

(“Gritty Shaker,” by David Holmes)

Host:That story by WPLN contributor Kim Green, her husband Hal Humphreys, and her parents Faye and Dave Green. Kim Green produced our series of Thanksgiving bloopers and mishaps – to see them all, go to our web site – wpln.org.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

More: