Winners from the 2014 Pie Throwdown

We had a tie this year! The Best Sweet Pie was tied between Barb O'Donnell's All-Berry Pie (featuring raspberries, blackberries, and cherries), and Julia Mickley's Blue Comet (with lime zest and whipped cream!).

The four judges had a very difficult time choosing among the 34 entries. Becky Anderson, who brought tiaras and boas for all the other judges, said that every single one was delicious—except the one that they didn't have the nerve to try, which was Kristen Sullivan's pie crust for canines and humans (human-grade ingredients, including barley and carrots) and featured a stylized pawprint in the center. The judges gave it an award for Best 4-Legged Entry, and it went in the auction for $60. According to Maggie Billington, the winner of the auction, it was VERY popular with the dogs. (Sullivan operates a business, Ruby Snacks, that specializes in doggy treats.)

The Best Savory Pie was Carla Helfferich's Tomato Pie for Grownups (Helfferich had previously submitted a gooey pie called Easy Tomato Pie, made with Bisquick and especially formulated to appeal to youngsters—this one is for the adults in the family).

Most Unusual Pie was made by Sarah Furman, and was a Raspberry Jalapeño Pie decorated with nasturtiums.

The pie auction raised $310, and the judgeship auction raised $150 (helped along because Nick Gassmann's left hand started bidding against his right hand). Along with the generous donations of pie bakers and eaters, musicians and people donating at the door, we earned $4,600! Thank you, everyone!

Pie throwdown 2014

Nancy Burnham is once again the Berry Pie Throwdown organizer. She's gotten three fine local women to participate as judges this year:

• Becky Anderson, an artist who works in fused glass, has extra crowns for herself and the other judges, and is making a prize for the event. And she has a new kitten.
• Marlies Guest, who is new to Ester and wants to get involved in the community. Ester's all about the can-do, volunteer spirit, so she'll fit right in, we can tell already!
• PJ Strawther, who loves pugs! She's a fan of the Dog Park, and, obviously, loves pie too.

There will be room for a fourth judge, but you've got to get to the LiBerry Music Festival no later than 2 pm, because we'll be auctioning that seat off to the highest bidder!

Bring your homemade pies to the Golden Eagle between 12:30 and 2, and stick around for the awards at 3:30 (and the subsequent auction of the top winners!).The rest of the pies will be available for people to eat at requested $5 per slice donation.

Now, suppose you were here last year, or three years ago, and you recall a delicious pie that you'd like to make at home, but you're not sure how it was made? With so many original and unusual recipes, the LiBerry pies might be hard to replicate—that is, unless you had the Throwdown Cookbook!

For only $25, you too can make pies like these:

• Porknberry Pie (winner 2012, Best Savory Pie)
• Lenin Meringue Pie (winner 2011, Best Sweet Pie)
• Miniature Tomato Jam Pies (winner 2009, "Most Sophisticated" Award)
• Blueberry Chocolate Pie (winner 2009, "Most Surprising Ingredients" Award)
• Parsnip Custard Pie (winner 2010, "Most Unusual Pie" Award)
• Zucchini-Lavender Pie (winner 2010, "Most Savory Pie" Award)

and many others, including: Blu-Barb Crisp, Blueberry Rhubarb Pie, Cheesecake Pie with Blueberry Reduction, Chocolate Lingonberry Pie, Dark Chocolate Cloud Pie with Blueberry Topping, Easy Tomato Pie, Fauxberry Pie, Flower Power Pie, Fruit Pizza Pie, The Green Monster, Mixed Berry Pie, Raspberry Poppers, Spicy Blueberry Pie, and more!

Every year, you can add to your collection with individual recipe pages, available for a nominal price. Buy them all in a handy binder, or pick and choose from previous years and buy only the ones you want to create a cookbook to match your tastebuds. Available at the music festival!

Contact Nancy at 479-2507 for more information on the pie contest or to volunteer.

Yummy berry list for pie making

So what constitutes a berry? Botanically speaking, it's a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary containing one or more seeds. Examples include:

• avocadoes
• bananas & plantains
• citrus fruits: lemons, oranges, limes, kumquats, Buddha's hands, grapefruit, etrogs, clementines, pomelos, red finger limes, papedas, mandarins, kinnows, etc.
• bearberries, bilberries, blueberries, cranberries, crowberries, honeyberries, huckleberries, lingonberries
• coffee (roasted coffee berries!)
• cucumbers (that means pickles!)
• currants, gooseberries
• elderberries
• grapes
• kiwis
• melons: canteloupes, honeydews, muskmelons, watermelons
• persimmons
• squash, winter & summer: pumpkins, zucchinis, gourds, luffas, etc.
• Solanaceae family fruit: Cape gooseberries, chiles, eggplants, groundcherries, peppers, tomatillos, tomatoes, etc.

Then there are fruit commonly referred to as berries that are not true berries, such as aggregate or accessory fruits. These can include:

• blackberries, cloudberries, raspberries, salmonberries, etc.
• highbush cranberries
• mulberries
• rose hips
• strawberries

More types of berries will be added here as we find out different varieties!

First bid on pie judgeship!

HomeGrown Market proprietor Jeff Johnson has put in the first bid for the pie judgeship seat auction, event though the auction hasn't officially opened, with an offer of $50. "I'm GOING to get that seat," he exclaimed to the volunteers putting up posters for the LiBerry Music Festival and Berry Pie Throwdown.

We'll see, but he seemed pretty determined. (Pre-auction bids may be sent to events @esterlibrary.org, and then we'll know where to open the auction at! Remember, you have to actually be there to bid--and taste the pies!) Check out our event page on Facebook to RSVP to find out more about the music festival; see below for pie contest rules.

Berry list!

Berry season, folks, and it's time for pie and some great local music!

Date & Time: Saturday, August 25, 2 to 10 pm
Location: Golden Eagle Saloon, 3630 Main Street, Ester, Alaska
Cost: $15 donation requested at the door, $5 donation requested per slice of delicious, homemade pie! 
Pie contest entry fee: $2 per pie (savory and sweet categories, no limit on number of entries, but all must be homemade and include berries)
Pie registration: noon to 1:30 (don't be late!)
Pie judgeship seat auction: 
Reason: good fun, good music, good pie—and raising funds to build a library! 

Here's the scoop:

• PIE THROWDOWN: Bring your homemade pie with berries in it to the Golden Eagle Saloon between noon and 1:30 pm, pay your $2 entry fee and register your pie (and bring your recipe for publication in the Throwdown Cookbook!). Winning pie makers receive FABULOUS prizes, and the top pies are auctioned off to the audience. Awards are presented between 3:30 and 4:30 pm (we hope the judges can finish that fast!) and then the other pies are sold by the slice ($5 donation requested per slice). And if you'd rather just eat pie, one of the judge's seats is up for auction, too, so get there early to have a chance at tasting every pie entered! 
• BERRIES: Most people know what berries are: blueberries, cranberries, etc. But did you know that things like strawberries or raspberries aren't actually berries, botanically speaking? And that avocadoes, watermelons, tomatoes, bananas, and lemons are? Pies submitted for the contest must have berries in them, but the berries may be either by the botanical definition or those fruits commonly thought of as berries. The pie judges will be the final arbiters of what constitutes a berry for purposes of the contest, so be prepared to sweet talk them if necessary (large donations to the library sometimes help in this matter).

• MUSIC FESTIVAL: music starts at 2 pm and goes until 10 pm, with some really incredibly good local bands and performers, including Ptarmagin, Zingaro Roots, Tim Robb, Almost A Minyan, and many, many more. 

LiBerry Music Festival & Berry Pie Throwdown!

The annual music festival and berry pie contest fundraiser for the library is being emceed by none other than Bob Miller this year! Held as usual at the Golden Eagle Saloon, we have a marvelous lineup in store for you, with some popular faces returning and some new surprises. The festival starts at 2 and ends at 10 on Saturday August 25; more details coming soon!

Pie!

Melinda Harris has written up an article about the pie contest for The Ester Republic, and I posted it at the Friends of the Ester Library website. (I wrote a story about the 2010 LiBerry Music Festival, but haven't put it on line. It's in the September issue of the paper, too.) Bob Huebert took portraits of all the pies and put them on Facebook.

Pies, people, and music

The music festival was fabulous, and made about $500-$600 more than last year (final count over the next couple of days may increase the tally of day's take, which was in the realm of $3,150). We again had 17 pies entered in the contest, and TWO of the three judges' favorites went for $100 each! The funds raised will got to our site preparation, happening in September. We'll keep you posted on the details.

The information table is still up at the gazebo, so if you are passing by and would like to find out a bit more about the library, please stop in and rest awhile.

Photos from the event are on Facebook and a few will be posted here soon. Thank you to everyone who helped out, and to all who came to enjoy the great music and the yummy pies.

LiBerry Pie Throwdown!

Part of the LiBerry Music Festival is our fabulous pie contest! Last year, 17 pies were entered, with the big prizes going to the top three winners (and other entries won prizes, too), which were then auctioned off to the audience. The top-earning pie went for a $75!

The Pie Throwdown is a delicious way to support the library: bake a pie (or two, or three!) using berries and bring it to the Golden Eagle Saloon at 2 pm on August 21 for judging. Awards will be presented at 4 pm, and the grand prize winners will be auctioned off to benefit the library. The other pies will be sold by the piece.

Here's the particulars:

• pies must be homemade (no storebought) and must include berries, preferably wild Alaska ones. Berries may be those traditionally thought of as berries or any by the strict botanical definition (such as tomatoes or watermelons). Savory or sweet pies accepted.

• entry fee is $2 per pie. Multiple pie submissions by the same cook are perfectly fine.

• "Bribes," or extra donations to the library, may earn special note and an award (as happened last year: there was a Largest Bribe award). Just let the judges know how much and for which entry!

• Award categories will be determined by the judges at the time of the contest. Winners will be announced at the Golden Eagle starting at 4 pm.

• Judges are Judie Gumm, David Guttenberg, and one other to be determined by auction. If you would like to judge pies (and thereby have the duty to taste all of those delectable entries!) please arrive at the Golden Eagle no later than 2:40 pm. Bidding for the position will start at 2:45.

• Leftover slices will be offered up to the audience for donation. Top-winning pies will be presented whole (minus judges' sampling) to the audience for auction.

Jeremy Harrod, guitarist, will provide music after the awards. For more on the other great musicians who are playing, go to the music festival webpage. For more information on the contest, contact board member Melinda Harris, pie contest organizer, at 455-4359 or 378-6744.