September 22 - The Carefree Gourmet
Janet Boyer
by Joyce McCombs

The name of this year’s Alaska State Blueberry Pie champion will be familiar to Delta Wind readers – it’s our own intrepid reporter, Janet Boyer.  I had a chance to sit down with Janet last week and talk about the contest, and we both ended up laughing at almost every twist and turn in the amazing tale.

I always want to know why someone enters the contest, especially since the thought of doing so terrifies me completely. Janet’s response makes perfect sense. Pies are a tradition in her family and her Grandma Boyer passed down the recipes to her mom, and she passed them along to Janet.

 Everyone in Janet’s family is on the pie wagon, even her 51 year old brother “finally” decided to take up the crust, so to speak, and is creating wonderful pies now, too. Pies are what the Boyers do best, all the want for dessert, and what she loves to bake. And it obviously turned out to be a good choice for Janet, and for the judges. According to judge Mary Saarloos, it was “a really good pie!”

Janet has entered the contest before, winning best tasting pie, and the thought it was time to try again. She was worried, though, because her secret ingredient – something called GI Joe Fruit Punch – wasn’t available. I’d never seen this exotic sounding drink before, so I had to ask what it was. It seems her some office pals at her former job took up a collection and put together a care package for their far flung friend in the north. Among the goodies was a plastic canteen of this G I Joe Fruit punch. When the pie that one the best tasting division was looking a bit dry during the assembly process, she dumped in some juice until the berries absorbed the juice and plumped up.

This year, however, she didn’t have any GI Joe Juice in stock, so she tried lemon juice – with prize-winning results. She also took former champion Anne Mauer’s advice and strained her berries well before baking, so the bottom crust wouldn’t get too soggy. Other things were different with this year’s pie, too. Last time she used a pie bird – a small ceramic bird shaped piece with an open mouth where the steam from the hot filling is supposed to escape. But she didn’t use one this year, as she felt all the blueberry “lava” that erupted from the bird and flowed over her lovely crust really spoiled the visual effect of the pie. Someone had told her to precook the berries on top of the stove before adding to the pie, and someone else told her to add an egg to the berry and sugar mixture to help it set up. But she cheerfully ignored all this advice and went with what she thought would work best.

Our conversation was rolling along nicely, and I was a little hesitant to bring up two topics, but because I knew you’d be interested, I dared to ask Janet both questions. The first one involves the secret of her great piecrust. I have had the worst time ever getting crust secrets from pie champions, and Janet was no exception. She told me crusts are not difficult and that she uses oil instead of shortening or lard. She said practice makes perfect and that she’s thrown away more than her share of crusts because she knew they hadn’t turned out right by the way they felt. She doesn’t stress about using ice water, as so many recipes call for and she always uses Gold Medal white flour. I was scribbling all this down hoping against hope she’d give me her ingredient list, and when I asked for it, she calmly said, canola oil, water salt and flour.

And then there was a pause big enough to drive a truck through, and I stopped writing, thinking she was going to at least tell me the proportions, or maybe continue on with a list of ingredients. Janet got a twinkle in her eye and told me there WAS one more ingredient in her crust, and it was the most important, SECRET ingredient, and she couldn’t tell me! I tried, I really did. I asked about spices and different flours and liquids, but she calmly sat there smiling and I knew it was a lost cause. I can’t say that I blame her, either. A family secret is a family secret!

Janet did share a bit more of her secret pie methods, and insists that glass pie pans work the best, even though you have to use a disposable aluminum pan for the contest. She often uses and egg or milk wash on the crust because it makes it so shiny and turns it golden brown. A sprinkle of white sugar across the crust also adds some lovely crunch and good flavor to her pies, also. She likes a pretty pie, and usually flutes the edges with her fingers, and was so relieved that this year her pie edges turned out so pretty. For the filling, she just followed the exact instructions on the back of the Minute Tapioca box – no big secrets there and something your CG has relied on for good pie fillings for years.

Our champion baked her pie very early in the morning, right before she ran the traditional Deltana Fair Pipeline race on Saturday morning. She brought it to Fair contest manager Ruth Abbot and tried to stay calm while waiting for the event to begin. She realized her pie was the very first entry, and she also noticed the deadline for entries was fast approaching – with there were no other pies in sight! It turns out Janet’s pie was the ONLY pie in the contest – but everyone involved assured her she was a genuine, but lonely winner. She told me she preferred to think that everyone knew she was entering and they figured “why bother? Janet will win hands down!”

I asked about the golden pie pan and where she was going to display it and Janet smiled big time and said wherever she goes, for as long as she lives, that pan will be prominently displayed. She also won $50 and well-deserved bragging rights – something that I think means more to her than she let on! Janet has special smiles for Mike Kingston, who bid $50 for her winning pie during the auction, and who also took great pictures of the historic moment (doesn’t he always do a great job?!).
Now, as for next year – YOU need to enter the Alaska State Blueberry Pie Championship. Fifty dollars is just waiting for you, and a beautiful engraved pie pan, too. Don’t let the fact that the winner supervises the next years contest stop you – it’s easy to do and you have LOTS of help. So save a couple bags of berries in your freezer, or pick early and often next summer, just enter and be part of a proud statewide tradition that all began at the Deltana Fair.

Our very best congratulations to Janet Boyer, Alaska State Blueberry Pie Champion for 2005 – atta girl!

Next time I’ll feature a few more Grand Champion recipes from the Fair that I’m sure you’ll like. I’m also working up a column on the best things to have on hand for emergencies – it seems a timely topic with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, doesn’t it? I have a feeling most folks have a basic list, and what I’m looking for are those special comfort foods you and your family need to get through those power failures we seem to have every winter. Be generous when your CG calls or collars you for a comment on this topic at the post office or store, or drop me a line at mccombs@wildak.net if you’d like to share your thoughts – thanks!

Index to Carefree Gourmet Articles

Sourdough Sensations June 29, 2007

Kitty Treats June 29, 2007

Dog Treats April 20, 2007

Sandwich Plan March 23, 2007

Carefree Wacky Ingredients March 8, 2007

Homestead Hearth January 25, 2007

Carefree Cooking 101 January 11, 2007

Holiday Punch December 23, 2006

Holiday Treats December 12, 2006

Thanksgiving II November 20, 2006

Standby Favorites October 16, 2006

Cabbage October 11, 2006

Apples September 22, 2006

Kids Cook July 6, 2006

Wacky Tips June 8, 2006

Graduation May 11, 2006

African Cuisine April 13, 2006

A Bit of Irish March 23, 2006

Crazy for Carrots March 9, 2006

February Vacation February 23, 2006

Easy Budget January 12, 2006

Christmas Treats December 22, 2005

Sweet Surprises December 8, 2005

Turkey Times  November 22, 2005

Grand Champions - Part 2 - October 13, 2005

Janet Boyer September 22, 2005

Grand Champions September 5, 2005

Blueberries  August 12, 2005

Halibut and Zukes July 28, 2005

Orange Juice July 14, 2005

Happy Birthday June 30, 2005

Honey June 9, 2005

Picnic Dishes May 26, 2005

Celebration Salads May 12, 2005

Kraft Foods April 21, 2005

Shrimp April 7, 2005

Carry on Airline snacks March 25, 2005

Sandwiches March 10, 2005

Back from Vacation February 24, 2005

Super Bowl Snack Attack  January 14, 2005

Ginger Snaps December 29, 2004

Christmas Memories - December 12, 2004

Thanksgiving November 23, 2004

Glen and Meat  October 29, 2004

Blueberry Pie Champion  September 30, 2004

Fair Winners  September 2, 2004

Glen's Knives June 11, 2004

Aunt Aggie Tells All... May 13, 2004

Crazy About Catsup April 29, 2004

Carefree Clearance Special April 8, 2004

Seattle Adventure March 26, 2004

Vegas, part 2 March 12, 2004

Vegas Wind February 12, 2004

Casserole Bonanza January 11, 2004

No Fuss Dishes  December 19, 2003

Fake and Bake Christmas  December 11, 2003