Lucky for me, I'm working from home this week so I've had lots of time to rent tables, rent cars, buy plates, email all my friends constantly asking for help and do everything I can to make this years Pie in the Park event the best ever.

Some news - along with some homemade Horchata, there will be coffee from Oslo Coffee Oslo coffee and some delicious soda from Brooklyn Soda Works Brooklyn Soda Works. Also, Bacon Marmalade has donated some jars of their ridiculous bacon marmalade as a prize. But beware - they are also bringing a pie!

I've decided to donate the funds raised from the event to SCRATCHbread in their endeavor to grow their great business and build a space in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Check out (and fund!) their Kickstarter project here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1105420724/scratchbreads-right-to-deliciousness-campaign...

Their bread is amazing, all handmade (from scratch!) and like nothing you've ever tasted. The founder Matthew is amazingly passionate about what he does, and about bringing good food to all. His passion is contagious and inspiring and really what Pie in the Park is all about - sharing ourselves through the sharing of food. You can find his bread (and eat) his bread every weekend at the Brooklyn Flea.

Below is an invite to Pie in the Park, please RSVP to the Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php...

I've also included a map of where Pie in the Park will happen - right near the Tennis House South, at the South end of the Long Meadow. To get there, take the F/G to 7th Avenue and walk up 9th street to the park. Walk down the paved path, cross the 'street' and walk a little more and you will see Pie in the Park on your left (on your right will be the baseball fields).

Lauren

It's that time (again? finally?) for Pie in the Park!

Come to Prospect Park on Sunday, August 15th to enjoy a beautiful summer day, the company of old and new friends, a game of croquet and lots and lots of pie.

$5 to enter and eat, $10 to eat.

Prizes include: goodies from local food purveyors, books on cooking and the local food and farming movement and a week veggie share in Clinton Hill CSA.

Please RSVP to the Facebook Event here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php...

Tell your friends!

I know this is a bit late (new job, wedding!), but THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all those that contributed and lent their support and made this pie in the sky cookbook dream start to become a reality.

I'll be working with the designer and illustrator beginning next week to get this book made for you in time for before the holiday season -- just in time to make lots of yummy pies and to give them as gifts! Or maybe give the cookbook as a gift? Whichever you prefer...

In the coming weeks, I'll also be sending out requests for information for me to send you your rewards!

Also - don't forget - Pie in the Park 2010 is August, 15th in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. I will post the flyer for the event here shortly!

Love and (Crusty) Pie,

Lauren

Hey Backers!

So yesterday I did a radio interview (via my cellphone on the streets of New York, no less) with Heirloom Meals with Carole Marko, a community radio channel in Massachusetts.

Despite the noise, we had a great conversation about the Kickstarter project, food memories and, of course, pie.

Check out the link to the audio here: (the program runs for 1 hour)

http://heirloommeals.blogspot.com/2010/06/we-are-live-wednesdays-on-heirloom.html

And check out their awesome Kickstarter project here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/862690215/heirloom-meals-savoring-yesterdays-traditions-toda

4 days to go for the Pie in the Park cookbook project and I'm 61% there!

Thanks so much for your continued support and don't forget tell your friends about the project!

Lauren

Hello Pie in the Park Supporters!

5 days to go before the Pie in the Park cookbook project is finished and I have $3247 to go before I reach my goal!

Thanks so much for pledging and supporting my pie love project, your support is greatly appreciated and I can't wait until I can start sending out some awesome cookbooks/pins/recipe cards to you soon!

I do still have a ways to go before I reach my goal, and if I don't reach $7500 by Monday night, I don't get the funds.

Since I know you guys are into the project, and of course, into pie, I'm asking that you spread the word about the Pie in the Park cookbook project as much as you can. So, please, Facebook, Tweet or email the below link to anyone you think might be into it too:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/LCucinotta/the-pie-in-the-park-cookbook-stories-and-recipes-o...

We're almost there! And tomorrow I'll post the recipe for an amazing BBQ Chicken Pie to help you start off your weekend early...

Lauren

Make sure you have some extra room in your stomach on Sunday, August 15th, because that is the date of the 4th (!!!) Annual Pie in the Park event in Prospect Park, Brooklyn!

In exactly 2 months, we'll all be eating some amazing pie, enjoying an end-of-summer day in the grass and hopefully playing some croquet.

Mark your calendars and start planning your prize winning pie now!

Some more exciting news - Pie in the Park has teamed up with the awesome Brooklyn Brainery (who have their own kick-ass Kickstarter project to get a permanent space, which you need to fund here) to host a pie crust making workshop!

This coming Monday, June 21st at 7:30pm come to the Gowanus Studio Space to learn how to 'Don't Fear the Crust' and learn tools of the trade from me, lattice making from the lovely Alex Arnold, the secret of the infamous vodka pie crust of Anna Muessing and unique crusts (cookie, graham cracker!) from First Prize Pies baker Allison Kave.

Also, the lovely ladies of Gowanus pie shop Four & Twenty Blackbirds - sisters Emily and Melissa Elsen - will introduce the demos and entertain the crowd with stories of their own pie crust adventures.

And of course, lots of pie will be available for eating during and after the event. Plus, drinks!

Sign up for this awesome event here!

Only 13 more days left to fund the Pie in the Park Kickstarter project, tell your friends to pledge and let's get this book made!

After shelling out for an external hard drive (a very good investment), I now have a whole slew of excerpt videos from the day where I made 5 pies and fed them to my friends. ie - Kickstarter video day.

I'll be posting a few of these videos in the next 19 days for your viewing pleasure.

Below, a link to the Pie in the Park Facebook page where you will find a video of me talking about how I got my beloved pie plate and my super special rolling pin. (Hint: from my Italian great-grandmother Lucy who was an amazing cook)

Bella's barking makes a vicious cameo at the end. Enjoy!

Pie in the Park Kickstarter Excerpt - Tools of the Trade

Hello Everyone!

With 20 more days to go, the Pie in the Park book project is 37% funded at $2900! An amazing number, but we still have $4600 to go if we want the project to get funded (remember if the project doesn't raise all the money, it doesn't get funded!).

Some amazing pie news has been happening lately. It seems like 'pie' is the word of the moment (my Gmail keeps advertising pie recipes to me and I think if I did a tag cloud on my Twitter the largest word by far would be 'pie').

Two weeks ago I attended a delicious pie potluck at Eagle Street Rooftop Farms, and Stacy, visiting from the wilds of New Jersey, brought some strawberries from her dad's ridiculously wonderful garden, as well as some rhubarb. We each made a Strawberry and Rhubarb Pie with Rhubarb Cream, but done two different ways. That is what I love about pie - the same ingredients can produce very different outcomes.

Wait, don't stop reading yet, there's more!

This Saturday, I, along with the lovely ladies of Four and Twenty Blackbirds in Gowanus, Allison Kave of First Prize Pies, Joann Kim who runs the awesome Greenpoint Food Market, Kat Selvocki of Piety and more will be bringing two pies each to Jimmy's No 43 in the East Village for the 'Pie Lovers Unite!' pie fundraiser for BK Farmyards.

Check out the invite here!

I haven't decided what to make yet, I'm thinking savory, but all of your ideas are welcome!

Sometime in the next week I, along with Allison Kave, Alex Arnold and Anna Muessing (no fair, I'm the only non 'A' name!) will be hosting a crust workshop in alliance with the awesome Brooklyn Brainery, who are also in the midst of a Kickstarter project. Stay tuned for updates, and you won't ever fear making a homemade crust again!

Check out some of their awesome classes (and their Kickstarter quest for a home!) here!

I'll also be talking about heirloom baking on Heirloom Radio on June 23rd. I'll post more details as they come!

In conclusion - spread the word about the Pie in the Park book project, buy fresh vegetables and fruits (maybe from your CSA, I'm starting mine this week!) and bake and share a pie.

I'll be posting way more updates here, and possibly even some recipes within the next three weeks counting down to the project's conclusion.

Lauren

I received some feedback regarding the pledge/reward structure, so I am adding a $30 Pledge option that includes an invite to the Pie in the Park event, an invite to the cookbook release party and a copy of the book.

The $50 pledge includes all of those things, plus a set of Pie in the Park pins and a limited edition specially printed recipe card of a recipe not included in the book.

Also, from now on, anyone that orders a Pledge option that includes the book will get their name and a thank you in a special Kickstarter section of the book. I love you guys and your support is what is going to make this project happen!

For those that want to upgrade their pledges to get the $30 book option, you can simply pledge the difference and specify that you want the over $30 pledge option.

If you've pledged over $30, but not up to $50, please message me to specify which reward you want (the $30 option or the $25).

For any other questions/issues, please message me directly as well.

After only 4 days, the Pie in the Park book project is already 20% funded!

Thanks to all of those who have donated, and also to those who have tweeted, Facebooked and emailed about the project, your support is very much appreciated. Keep it up, and Pie in the Park should be at 100% in no time!

Inspired by watching what Kickstarter is calling "the most delicious video we've seen yet" (thanks guys!) over and over again, I decided I needed to make some pies this weekend and share them with my friends.

The kind of pie that I would make came to me like all good things do, on the subway - Rhubarb Curd and Meringue Pie.

Delicious.

Taking some rhubarb I bought at the Grand Army Plaza farmers market last weekend, I chopped the stalks - about 3 cups worth - into tiny cubes, mixed it with sugar and heated the mixture on low heat on a pot until soft.

After setting the mixture aside, I added 6 egg yolks and 12 tablespoons of sugar to a heat safe pan and beat the mixture consistent submerged in a pot of boiling water. I slowly added the rhubarb mixture. After removing the mixture from the heat, I added a stick of butter that I had cut up into little cubes. I then put the rhubarb curd in the fridge to cool.

I had already made two sweet crusts, using a recipe from my pie crust bible Sweetie Pies, so I rolled out one crust, and pre-baked it in the oven. When the crust was done, I added more than half of the curd, and put the topless pie back in the fridge.

Now for the meringue.

I took the excess egg whites after using the egg yolks for the curd mixture and added about a cup of sugar. I poured the mixture into a heat safe pot and submerged the mixture in water, beating continuously until the mixture was sufficiently warm and incorporated. I then beat the mixture with an electric mixer until it was thick. I took the cooled now simply just Rhubarb Curd Pie from the fridge, added the meringue on top and placed it in the broiler in my oven to lightly brown the top.

I did all of this on Saturday, and ended up taking the pie to a rooftop gathering of some of my favorite ladies before jetting off to a performance art show.

On Sunday, I was heading to some friends' backyard for some gardening and grilling, and I pre-baked the other crust, added the remaining curd mixture (which was less than there was in the first pie) and then added a layer of strawberries before adding and broiling the meringue.

I had to go all the way from Ft. Greene to Greenpoint on the shuttle with a pie carrier in one hand, and a dog in a bag on arm, and although the pie got moved around a bit (and some sticky rhubarb curd somehow found its way on Bella's ear?) we all got to Greenpoint safe and sound and the second pie was enjoyed by both old friends and new.

So, this weekend - Rhubarb Curd and Meringue Pie for all, some lessons learned (like keep your eye on that broiler so as not to blacken meringue when making a pie with meringue in it) and 20% funding - hooray!