Pretty Pie Contest.

I was determined to enter a pie into this years Emile Henry "Pretty Pie"  contest.  So, I bought my Emile Henry dish and got to work on testing pies.  Although I cringed when I saw the price tag on this dish, I have to say that it does make an amazing pie.  It cooks evenly and the fluted edges help even the most novice pie baker in the quest for a pretty pie.  As far as pies, I chose to stick with what I knew.  My double crust Blackberry Apple.  For the photo, I knew I needed to enlist the help of my friend and amazing photographer Sarah Cook @ http://cookwire.blogspot.com.  This girl knows her way around a camera.  She took amazing photos of my family just months prior. 

We learned together that there is a lot that goes into taking photographs of food.  We had to time it just right.  The pie had to have that "just out of the oven puffed up" look.  We searched locations throughout the house and settled on the kitchen--how appropriate, right?  It had the best light and Sarah was wise to remind me that it was a pie, after all, and it belonged in the kitchen--even if I happen to hate my kitchen cabinets in the background. 

Just like people, food--pies--have a good side and a not so good side.  Food demands a lot of primping and propping to get just the right angle.  It was a tough task, but we pulled it off.  It turned out gorgeous.  Really, really gorgeous. 

Photo taken by Sarah Cook-- http://cookwire.blogspot.com/

We were happy to find out that our little project won a runner up spot in the contest.  The recipe and photo are featured at http://www.emilehenryusa.com/recipe/Blackberry-Apple-Pie-recipe-rid262.html

Pie, anyone? 

Enjoying the "pretty pie."

See this pie/photo come together at Sarah's site::  http://cookwire.blogspot.com/search/label/mer%27s%20kitchen

Sarah and I continue to work together on recipe/photo contests.  More to come!