Cake is to cool, as pie is to perfect.

Here is a snapshot of my first “American” pie in Moldova. Like my brownies, cakes, cookies, bread pudding, French toast, and sweet breads, it too is made in our all-purpose cast iron skillet. It’s as amazing as it is heavy. I’ll admit it took longer to pit the cherries than to pick them for this pie. These are sour cherries from the tree outside my window. Big shout out to all the other gospodine (bakers) back home that helped me modify my pie crust recipe! Thanks! I can tell when my host mom likes something or doesn’t based on how quickly she returns to it after she’s tasted it. Let’s just say, those were some CLEAN plates.

For comparison, these are Moldovan pies (placinte; pla-chin-te). My host mom makes the best placinte around and she knows it too. She makes them with chopped onions and potatoes inside, or cheese ( right now she is making them with cheese and fresh dill), apples, or cherries. In the fall, everyone seeks out the pumpkin placinte. Tomorrow is Saturday, so I know I’ll be waking up to a fresh batch.