“Can we cut the pie yet?”

When I offered to make my mom’s classic blueberry pie recipe for our Fourth of July celebrations this past weekend, I didn’t realize I was taking on the responsibility of making that call. I had to decide when to make the first slice.

As my brothers finished eating their burgers, the question started coming up about every 90 seconds from different sources. Everywhere I turned, someone else wanted to know how soon we could eat it. And I understood why. That pie smelled good. Really good.

The only problem was that it was my first time making the recipe, and I hadn’t realized how much time the pie needed to chill in the fridge, bake and then cool to make sure the filling had set. Which meant it had only been out of the oven for about 30 minutes by the time I carried it up to my mom’s house, where my hungry brothers were waiting. It still needed to cool for another hour and a half, if not more.

At first, I just laughed and told my brothers to finish their burgers first. There was still more lunch to enjoy. Dessert would be ready soon. Wait a minute, and I’ll serve it.

But the savory foods could only hold us over for so long. Eventually, I had to fess up, and let everyone know that it really needed to cool down longer for the filling to not be a runny mess.

But that led to more questions, like “How much longer?” and “Can’t we just eat it warm?”

I gave all of the reasons this would be a bad idea, and I convinced my brothers to play cards for a bit while they waited. But I knew I was in deep trouble when my dad started asking about it.

See, my dad is not someone who enjoys sweets, generally. He’ll take a box of Cheez It crackers over a chocolate cake any day. But he has a few exceptions – including my mother’s blueberry pie, with its perfect balance of sweetness to lemon zest that anybody is bound to love.

My father, bless him, has been on a keto diet for the past few months for his health. And here I was with the temptation of all temptations in his house, but I was not letting anyone eat it. We all just had to sit and smell it.

It was his request for “just a small piece” that finally broke me. I had to set aside my ideas of perfectly-formed slices, but it was time to cut the pie and put the man out of his misery.

So, no, I didn’t end up with any pictures of perfect slices of blueberry pie. It mostly appeared like a big pile of blueberry goo with a few pieces of stray crust on it by the time it ended up on our plates. And yes, I’d hoped for better results to show for all my time baking.

But as I sat eating my own pile of blueberry goo, after serving it to the rest of my family, I thought about how my mom served it in years past. While occasionally we have gotten vaguely triangle-shaped slices of pie on our plates, I felt like I could remember just as many times that it had looked just like it did on the plate in front of me.

I could also remember all the times my brothers and I had pestered my mom with the same question about whether the pie was ready to slice. I could imagine her many eyebrow raises. And I also remember the joy I felt when she finally relented and served us our piles of blueberry goo because we JUST couldn’t wait any longer.

The shape of the slice has never, even once, affected the taste. And let me tell you, this one tasted good. Really good. Even served in piles.

If you’re looking for a delicious fruit dessert to try this summer, I’d highly recommend this one. I can’t say it’ll always turn out beautiful, but I can say it is always a crowd pleaser. And if you manage to get that crowd to wait long enough for the filling to set, I’m sure you will manage more triangular slices than I did.

BLUEBERRY PIE

Ingredients
2/3 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar (I do closer to 3/4)
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons fresh grated lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
6 cups fresh blueberries (about 2 pounds, or 2 large boxes from the grocery store)
1 Tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk
1 Tablespoon heavy cream
2 boxed or preprepared pie crusts

Directions
■ Prepare 9-inch pie plate with one of the crusts lining the bottom and sides. Poke holes in crust for venting. Par bake the crust, following directions on package. (I baked mine at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.) Set aside and allow to cool.
■ In a large bowl, mix the first seven ingredients together until well combined. Then, add the filling into the prepared crust in the pie plate.
■ Flour another work surface and roll out second pie crust. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut crust into long strips about 1/2 inch wide. On top of the baked crust and filling, weave strips into a lattice crust, applying the longest strips across the middle of the pie first.
■ Once lattice is woven, place dots of butter between the lattice squares formed. Whisk egg yolk and cream to make an egg wash, and brush it over the lattice.
■ Refrigerate for 20 minutes or freeze for 5 minutes before baking.
■ Heat oven to 400 degrees. Position oven rack 1/3 from the bottom of the oven. Place a baking sheet on rack to heat.
■ Bake chilled pie on hot baking sheet for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 35-45 minutes, until crust is golden and juices are bubbling. If crust starts browning too quickly, cover those areas with foil.
■ Cool for 2 to 3 hours to allow to set before cutting. (If you can bear to wait that long. I couldn’t.)