Celebrate Pi Day on March 14
Three Fourteen
Every year, March 14 is recognized as Pi Day. Pi is the Greek letter used in mathematics to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the circle’s diameter, which calculates to approximately 3.14159 (3/14…get it?) The day is marked by mathematics enthusiasts as a time to unabashedly talk about math, recite the infinite digits of pi, and to enjoy some delicious pie, so let’s celebrate Pi Day!
What is Pi?
The number Pi has calculated to over one trillion digits beyond the decimal point. It is an irrational number meaning it would continue without end and without ever establishing a pattern. For those of us without “math enthusiasm,” the idea of an infinite and irrational number is mind-boggling. Thankfully, the culinary part of the holiday is easier to understand. With the following recipes, we will try to keep the measurements to a minimum to give your brain a break.
Watch the YouTube Video. What is Pi Day? The video below offers a simple history of Pi Day.
Celebrate Pi Day with a Day of Pie
In order for the Pi/Pie celebration to span the entire day, we present recipes and restaurant suggestions for an all-day pie fest. Please note that these recipes are not the healthiest, but they will keep you full as you spend the day adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.
Easy Breakfast Pizza Pie
Ingredients:
- One 12″ Boboli Pizza Crust
- Kraft Easy Cheese spray cheese (pick your favorite flavor)
- 4 large eggs
- 5 slices of bacon
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- 3 sliced green onions
Directions:
Place the strips of bacon on a parchment-covered baking sheet and place in the oven at 400 degrees. Watch the bacon and remove it when it is near your desired level of crispiness. Pat extra fat from cooked bacon with paper towels, then dice the bacon and set aside.
Crack eggs into a bowl, add a ½ tablespoon of water, and whip them. Add salt and pepper to taste. Scramble the eggs a frying pan coated with nonstick spray, keeping the eggs slightly undercooked since they will continue cooking in the oven. Set aside.
Spray the Easy Cheese all over the Boboli crust. Spread with the back of a spoon as one would spread pizza sauce. (Another option instead of the spray cheese is to use canned gravy).
Over the spray-cheesed crust, evenly spread the scrambled eggs and diced bacon, then sprinkle the diced green onions. Top with the cup of shredded cheese, and place in the 400-degree oven.
Since the ingredients are cooked and the crust is pre-baked, just check the pizza starting after 10 minutes until it reaches your preferred level of doneness.
Order a Lunchtime Pasty via Grub Hub
For lunch, try delivery from the Pasty Shack, a Sacramento staple since 1952. Located at 4646 J Street in Sacramento.
The Pasty Shack serves several variations of a Cornish pasty, which is also known as a hand pie. It is similar to a chicken pot pie in that it is savory, filled with meat, vegetables, and spices and encased in a pastry crust. The Pasty Shack offers pies filled with diced beef, ground beef, chicken, and a vegetarian filling. They also serve non-traditional Mexican flavored pasties on certain days of the week. Though pasties were common with miners in the 18th and 19th centuries for their portability and ability to be eaten on the job, we recommend sitting down with a fork as the Pasty Shack loads its pies with messy goodness.
If you order your pasties through Grub Hub, you don’t even have to put down your calculator.
For Dinner, Why Don’t You Actually Leave Your House
There are several places in town where one can enjoy a mean shepherd’s pie, which is another hearty dish containing meat and vegetables, this time with a mashed potato topping. To continue the trend of old-school Sacramento joints that we started at lunch, head to Fox & Goose at 10th and R Streets. Their Shep Pie is served with a side of field greens and features Niman Ranch Beef, onion, peas, gravy, carrots, and cheddar mashed potatoes.
By now, you may be thinking about the mathematical figure that may reveal itself on your scale tomorrow, but we can’t stop now, Poindexter. It’s time for dessert.
Tart Lemon Pie with Almond Crust
Crust Ingredients:
- 1 cup white flour
- 1/2 cup toasted and sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 6 Tbsp. cold butter
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 to 3 Tbsps. cold water
Filling Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 cup of cane sugar
- 3/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest
- Salt – a dash
- 6 Tbsp butter
Directions:
- Pulse flour, sugar, almonds, butter, almond extract, and salt in a food processor until blended. Gradually add the water a tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the mixture forms a dough.
- Press the dough into the bottom and along sides of a buttered or greased 9-in pie pan. Bake the crust until golden brown (15-20 minutes) at 400°, then cool crust on a wire rack and reduce oven to 325°.
- Whisk eggs, yolks, lemon juice, sugar, zest, and salt in a small saucepan until blended. Add butter. Cook while whisking constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pour mixture into the crust, then bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until the mixture sets. Cool before serving.
Happy Pi(e) Day!
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Photo by Aitoff on Pixabay
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