Travel with pies or try to cook in a less than optimal kitchen?

14 years ago

I'm making 2 pies to take to my nephew's who is hosting Tday. He's in Michigan, same town as my 87 yr old Mother where I'll be staying. I'm in southern Ohio (GO BLUE!)

I can drive up tonight or early tomorrow morning and try to make them at my mothers which would mean taking all implements, spices, ingredients, food processor, oven thermometer etc etc with me and cook at my mothers whose oven I don't know and kitchen I don't like.

Or I can cook early tomorrow morning and drive up with pies - 4.5 hours of road jiggling the pies.

Making a key lime and pumpkin. I could trade out the pumpkin for apple which might travel better but I haven't made one in awhile. I have freezer packs I can use for the key lime but both are short of jiggly pies.

Not sure which way to jump.

Thoughts?

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Comments (15)

User
14 years ago
I'd bake them before I go. Well packed and braced, they should travel fine. Trying to bake them when you get there will drive you nuts and then you'll be cranky (or at least I would be) and I'd hate to have that chore hanging over me during the trip. And I always forget something.

Have a happy Thanksgiving.
jessicavanderhoff
14 years ago
I would too. I bought something from Wal Mart for about 5 bucks. It's a flat metal circular pan with a big colored plastic dome that clips onto the pan. It's just bigger than a pie pan, so the edges don't get squished, but it doesn't slide around much. They had the same thing with a pie pan and the plastic dome that clipped on, but it would have messed up the pie edges. Also, if you can, use real pie pans instead of foil. Those crumple and mess up the pie. I found some really cheap tin ones ($1.50 at shoprite) that are solid and I'm going to try one of those this year. I'd recommend sitting them flat in the trunk (can put them in a laundry basket or box first, if you want)- they seem to stay just fine in there
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loves2cook4six
14 years ago
If you bake them at home and they are well refrigerated won't that eliminate some of the jiggle factor?
cloudy_christine
14 years ago
I'm planning to drive 4 1/2 hours with two pumpkin pies.
If the pie pan is in a box just a little bigger, it doesn't slide around too much. Of course I'm careful that it's level.
Of course the pies will be cold.
Jessicavanderhoff, I'll look for that carrier. Every pie or cake carrier I've priced is pretty expensive.
donnar57
14 years ago
If you can get them balanced nicely, I'd travel with them. I'm making an entire meal in a kitchen I don't know, but that's less than optimal. (Yet, the option was also less than optimal.)

I have an old Tupperware pie carrier that I'd picked up one time at a garage sale or flea market.

Donna
marys1000
Original Author
14 years ago
If I bake the day of they won't be very refrigerated...I don't like cooking in advance, I think it affects the crust but maybe I'm wrong and should cook tonight?
They won't fit in a cooler (I don't have a big one anyway) so I think towels in the bottom of a big grocery bags, pies, freezer packs around them, closing the bag and hoping that keeps the cool in.
cloudy_christine
14 years ago
I used to bake the pies on Thanksgiving and it just is too hectic getting them out and the turkey in on time with only one oven. So I always make them the day before even when I'm going to be home.
User
14 years ago
I would absolutely be cooking them in advance. To bake them at your Mom's will be way too stressful and could upset your day.

Both pumpkin and key lime should travel well as they are both "solid " pies.
Bizzo
14 years ago
You've gotten a lot of good answers to your question, but I just had to stop by and say Go Blue!! back at ya!
pfmastin
14 years ago
Whenever I carry food in the car, I use a piece of that waffle foam rubber liner (for cabinets) between the bottom of the dish and whatever it's setting on. Maybe that would help?
lizbeth-gardener
14 years ago
I have had good luck with using one of those low cut boxes like a case of canned vegetables or a case of bottled water would come in. I just use packing paper or newspaper around the sides to keep it from sliding. I'm in the process of baking mine now--too much to do tomorrow and they always get eaten quickly!

Good luck and happy T-day!
foodonastump
14 years ago
You probably don't need another bake-ahead vote, but I'm going to suggest a modification to lizbeth's suggestion: Turn that box upside down and cut appropriately sized holes in it in which to set the pie plates such that the lips rest on the cardboard. No need for any other buffers.

A full 8-sided box would be ideal as they're more sturdy, like those flat-ish Fedex boxes.
mtnester
14 years ago
FOAS, that's a brilliant idea! (I mean the one in your first paragraph; I think FedEx boxes--and most others--have SIX sides, LOL!)

(Sorry, I don't mean to be snarky. My day isn't going as planned; I just spent the last hour cleaning up broken glass in the kitchen, and I had to toss out a pan of stuffing because it was dusted with glass fragments. :-(

Sue
foodonastump
14 years ago
LOL Sue! Maybe I was thinking of those two flaps that close it? Or am I just making excuses. BUMMER about your stuffing!!! Good luck with the replacement.
mtnester
14 years ago
Oh, the flaps! Yeah, that's the ticket! ;-)

Fortunately, I still have one pan of stuffing for tomorrow; the dish that got spritzed with glass fragments was an "extra" pan, intended for the freezer.

MaryS, sorry for hijacking your thread. Good luck transporting your pies, and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Sue

Travel with pies or try to cook in a less than optimal kitchen?

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