Limited Edition Foods

Marie Callender’s has a limited edition pie available in its restaurants in January called the Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Pie. As you can see from the photo above, the pie is a decadent combination of cheese cake and apple pie seasoned with cinnamon.

The restaurants regularly have an extensive pie menu, featuring traditional fruit pies, cream pies, and cheese cakes. The Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Pie is one of the seasonal offerings that are added throughout the year.

On Wednesday, January 23, 2008, the United States will celebrate National Pie Day. Well, maybe not everyone in the United States will celebrate, but the folks at The American Pie Counsel certainly will be happy about it. These are the tips from The American Pie Counsel for celebrating this day of “warm comfort foods.”

1) Share pie. Whether you make or buy pie, share it. By its very nature, pie is meant to be eaten with others.

2) Pay it forward. Hand out pie slices to strangers and encourage them to do the same for others. It could spread the peace on earth and goodwill to mankind that we all hope for.

3) Be a good Samaritan. Buy an extra pie at your local grocery store and give it to the person behind you in line. You may just change their life!

4) Reach out to new neighbors you haven’t met and bring them some pecan pie – it says your thoughtful. Stay awhile to get to know each other over pie and fill them in on the neighborhood.

5) Indulge your co-workers. Bring some pie to work – you’ll create a lot of good rapport and maybe even get a raise.

6) Surprise your significant other at work and bring him or her a pie to share with their coworkers.

7) Say thank you. Know a special someone who deserves some thanks? Maybe it’s a friend who did you a favor, your child’s teacher or your postal worker. What better way to say thanks than with a warm hug wrapped in a delicious crust?

9) Delight your family. Share the love and share your favorite memories together over a warm, fresh pie. Have older family members talk about the history behind the family favorites. Start a new tradition and publish pie memories and recipes, then send them to family members.

10) Spend time with your kids and make a pie together. Let them pick their favorite pie and show them how it’s done. They’ll be proud of their creation and have fond memories of you as the best parent ever for years to come!

11) Get caught up with friends and invite them over for some afternoon pumpkin pie. You can dish on all their latest news.

12) Throw a pie potluck get-together. Have everyone bring their favorite pie and exchange recipes. We’ve heard of events where more than 100 folks come with 100 pies. Have a contest to see who can come up with the most pie songs. The winning prize? A pie!

13) Hold a charity pie-throwing or pie-eating contest or a pie auction. You can donate the proceeds to your local community food bank.

14) Hold a pie-making contest. Invite the best pie makers in town to compete for prizes in various categories. Ask cooking teachers, pastry chefs and pie lovers to be judges. Be sure the kids are involved – you can include pie poetry and pie art contests for them.

15) Eat pie. Whether you make it yourself, buy it at a supermarket or bakery or order it at a restaurant, perform a random act of pieness on yourself and enjoy some pie on National Pie Day – it’s great with lunch, dinner or as a late-night snack.