For the love of pie
Katie Anderson
Eileen Trovato cuts into an apple pie, her family鈥檚 favorite. She also taught her two daughters, Caterina Levato, left, and Margarita Glaum, how to bake pie.
Photo courtesy of Margie Ross
The late Margaret Gregorakis was an excellent cook who specialized in Greek cuisine. Her family still makes her cream pie every Thanksgiving.
Photo courtesy of Caterina Levato
Eileen Trovato teaches her 10-year-old granddaughter, Milana Glaum, how to make pie.
Photo courtesy of Caterina Levato
A slice of peach pie baked by Eileen Trovato, of Houston
Eileen Trovato, 78, of Houston, cuts into an apple pie, a favorite recipe that she鈥檚 been perfecting over 45 years.
This year, why not start the Thanksgiving meal with everyone鈥檚 favorite part 鈥� the pie.
For these Washington County families, eating pie and fighting over that last piece has become a holiday tradition for which they鈥檙e thankful all year round.
A piece of the pie
Eileen Trovato raised her family on a foundation of love 鈥� love for God, love for each other and love for pie.
The 78-year-old Houston woman has been baking pies for her four children for more than 40 years with fresh fruit from the trees in her backyard 鈥� apples, peaches, pears and cherries.
鈥淲hatever our dad grew out there, he would bring it in and Mom would make a pie,鈥� said Margarita Glaum, one of Eileen鈥檚 daughters. 鈥淲e always grew up this way 鈥� having homemade pie. It鈥檚 what we look forward to at Thanksgiving.鈥�
Eileen鈥檚 been making pie crust the same way for decades, and the one request she gets from family each year: 鈥淣ever change it.鈥�
Eileen said she had always been told to use two-thirds of a cup of Crisco to make pie crust.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know, maybe it was God, but I decided to do a full cup,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the secret.鈥�
She鈥檒l never go back: It makes for the perfect pie. And her children all agree that it鈥檚 because of the crust.
鈥淚鈥檝e never tasted a better one,鈥� said her son, John Trovato.
John said that while working as a high school football coach in West Virginia, he once brought a single pie to a party.
鈥淚 brought one of her pies to a coaches party, and people were fighting over the pie, even though they don鈥檛 even know my mom,鈥� he said.
John said one of the first dates he and his wife went on as 17-year-olds was in his mother鈥檚 kitchen baking pie. Eileen made them bake pies instead of lounging on the couch watching television.
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 have time for a single smooch,鈥� Eileen said.
Her oldest daughter, Caterina Levato, said that in middle school, she signed up for a pie-eating contest 鈥渏ust so mom would have to make a pie.鈥�
Pies were also a birthday tradition for their family, Levato said.
鈥淲e鈥檇 have cake, too, but the pie was our birthday gift 鈥� the whole pie was ours; we didn鈥檛 have to share it,鈥� she said.
Sharing the pie isn鈥檛 always easy, even though Eileen usually makes four pies for the 20 people present for their family鈥檚 Thanksgiving dinner. Glaum said her husband, Eric, will go as far as licking his finger and putting it in the piece of pie he wants, to ensure he gets a slice and no one else will eat it.
Raise a glass to pie
Sometimes those favorite recipes aren鈥檛 a birthright, but rather the result of fate finding a golden nugget in a small Kentucky town.
That鈥檚 what happened to Kay Longdon, of Deemston, in 2005, when she and her husband were there for work 鈥� they distribute goods to general stores. They stopped for lunch at one of the stores, where whatever the owners felt like making that day was on the menu.
鈥淭hey brought out a Kentucky buttermilk bourbon pie,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檇 never heard of it before.鈥�
It鈥檚 like a sweet, creamy custard, Longdon said, but has an unusual consistency, dependent on the bourbon used.
鈥淵ou get the smokiness and sweetness from the bourbon,鈥� Longdon said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a weird pie to make 鈥� You don鈥檛 think of putting milk and alcohol together.鈥�
She asked the baker in the store for the recipe.
鈥淪he said it was in her head, but she wrote it all down for me on the back of my receipt,鈥� Longdon said.
A few months later, while going through receipts, Longdon found it. It鈥檚 been a Thanksgiving tradition for her ever since, especially since bourbon is 鈥渕ore of a fall drink.
鈥淚f we go visit relatives, they always ask for me to make the pie,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I make those, I can鈥檛 just make one 鈥� they鈥檙e that good. I always have leftover bourbon to drink, too, so it鈥檚 a win-win.鈥�
Pie for days, generations
Those favorite pies are made from recipes that live on forever, even when their initial bakers have passed.
That鈥檚 the case for Canonsburg鈥檚 beloved Margaret Gregorakis. Though she鈥檚 been gone for nearly a decade, her family鈥檚 favorite cream pie has been passed on to several generations.
鈥淚 had it all the time growing up,鈥� said Margie Ross, Gregorakis鈥� granddaughter. 鈥淭here was never a holiday when it wasn鈥檛 there.鈥�
Ross, of South Strabane, said her grandmother was an immigrant from Greece who had been making pies since the early 1950s. Before her death, Gregorakis was a known culinary contributor to the annual Greek Food Festival at All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in Canonsburg.
At Thanksgiving, she always made the traditional pumpkin pie, but she also always had to make two of the custard cream pies because they were the favorite.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so simple and easy,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淚鈥檝e taken over the tradition of making it, and if I don鈥檛, I get grief.鈥�
One Thanksgiving, Ross said her dad noticed a void on the dessert table. Ross hadn鈥檛 made the cream pie that year.
鈥淢y dad said, 鈥榃ell where鈥檚 the cream pie?'鈥� Ross said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 have Thanksgiving without the cream pie. There could be 12 other desserts with several other pies but that one has to be there.鈥�
Ross, who was named after Gregorakis, said she learned 鈥渁 lot鈥� from her grandma, including how to make the cream pie. Since she usually does a pre-made graham cracker crust, Ross said the only tricky part is the meringue top.
鈥淚t was all in her head, but I wrote it down, so now I have the recipe,鈥� Ross said.