2-BSide

2B — Thursday, November 17, 2016
the b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

My pie odyssey began last 

Wednesday at a pie dough class 
taught in the basement of the 
downtown branch of the Ann 
Arbor District Library. I had a hard 
time dragging my heavy heart the 
few blocks from my apartment — it 
was Nov. 9 after all.

I can’t bake. I can’t even cook. 

I really like microwaving frozen 
meatballs and eating cereal. I love 
takeout and those pink frosted 
cookies from Meijer. But a week ago 
I made an oath to a beautiful Senior 
Arts Editor that I would bake a pie 
for the B-side.

That’s how I found myself 

squishing a chunk of butter in my 
bare hands in the basement of the 
library on the worst day of the year. 
And I am so glad I did.

Before I dive into the details of 

flaky crust and cheesy pie toppings, 
I want to express my gratitude for 
the other people who attended 
the event with me. Nothing could 
have reaffirmed my beliefs about 
the innate goodness of people 
more than baking pie dough in a 
basement with 12 strangers — most 
of whom were women and not 
native English speakers.

The 
woman 
sitting 
across 

from me asked me what I do for 
Thanksgiving. She was new to the 
class, and she was trying to master 
an apple pie before the holiday. She 
scrolled through photos on her 
iPhone to show me pies — pies with 
sunken crusts, pies that were burnt 
and pies that looked beautiful but 
were (she assured me) not good at 
all. It felt good to know that in the 
midst of so much division, strangers 
still want to show you pictures of 
food on their phones. People still 
want to connect with each other.

“I started when I was about 

six at my grandma’s knee making 
chocolate 
chip 
cookies,” 
said 

Keegan Rodgers, head baker and 
bakery manager at the People’s 
Food Co-op, as well as the class’s 
teacher. “That started my love.”

Rodgers has been teaching 

baking classes through the co-op 
for five years. He began last 
week’s class by going over the 
dissimilarities between various 
types of dough.

“These are the greatest baking 

instruments you’ll ever need,” he 
said, lifting two butter-covered 
hands into the air.

We mushed the blocks of butter 

and began to mix them into the 
flour. Rodgers teaches a technique 
from this mixing called frisage.

“Fan money with your fingers,” 

he instructs us. The process 
involves coming up from under 
and pressing the butter through 
the flour and salt until the mixture 
is the consistency of cornmeal. 
The process of encapsulating 
the flour in the butter is what 
creates flakes. It’s also a reason 
to use additional flour sparingly 
when rolling out the crust. Flour 
that does not get encapsulated in 
butter is what makes the dough 
dry or hard.

The next step is to add the water. 

Rodgers suggests adding a tiny 
bit of vinegar to the water before 
adding the liquid to the dough, 
then just dumping it in. None of 
the sprinkle and mix method that 
many food writers promote.

And then you just mush around 

the dough, folding it in on itself 
over and over, until the dough 
no longer sticks to your fingers. 
That’s when you know it’s done — 
when your hands aren’t covered in 
dough any more.

And that’s it. The first half of my 

journey was complete without any 
injury or tragedy. Maybe baking 
pies can be easy — a sentiment 
Rodger agreed with. For students 
trying to bake in smaller kitchens, 
he recommends sticking with the 
Thanksgiving staple.

“Pies really are the way to go,” 

he said. “They’re so versatile.” 
His personal favorite is a lemon 
meringue, but more traditional 
fruit pies are often easier for 
amateur bakers (like myself).

Now I had the dough, but I 

didn’t know what to fill it with. So, 
I called the best chef I know — my 
dad. He passed on a recipe for an 
apple pie, an American classic.

I knew the recipe he sent would 

make a very good, very normal 
apple pie. But, I tried something 
a little different for my pie. The 
first adaption was pretty tame 
— my dad likes to use half apples 
and half pears when he is making 
his pies. The risk level for this 
culinary swap was low. Apples and 
pears are basically the same thing, 
right? 

The second change was a little 

more dramatic. My grandfather 
used to eat his apple pie with a 
big slice of cheddar cheese. When 
my dad passed that mental image 
down to me during our phone call, 
I was disgusted. Dairy in general 
is something I don’t like to think 
about too much — people who 
can drink plain milk are the worst 
kind of mythical creature. 
But I 

tried it. What is Thanksgiving all 
about if not familial oddities?

The recipe my dad passed 

along included instructions for 
making a cheese topping for the 
pie, so I decided to try that. I had 
to trek across town to get a cheese 
grater. I was originally going to 
use my pre-shredded Mexican-
blend cheese mix from Trader 
Joe’s, but a quick Google search 
told me that would be “completely 
gross.”

When I sat down to actually 

make the pie, I realized I didn’t 
have a pie tin. I almost had a pie 
tin, but I accidentally broke the 
ceramic one I was going to buy 
in the checkout line at Meijer and 
was too embarrassed to go back 
for another one. Alas, I went to 
CVS and found a cake pan that 
seemed sufficient.

Back home, I peeled and cut 

my apples and pears. I mixed 
my sugar and spices and coated 
the sliced fruit, but when I got 
out my dough I realized — yet 
again — how grossly unprepared 
I was for this adventure. I didn’t 
have a rolling pin. So I used a 
combination of a wooden spoon, 
a potato and my hands to roll/
smash the dough into sort of a 
circle.

Instead of covering my pie with 

a second crust, I baked it open 
like a tart (but, very different 
from a tart!) at 450 degrees 
Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Then 
I grated my sharp cheddar over 
the top. The recipe told me then 
to put the pie in a broiler. “What 
is a broiler?” you might ask. I’m 
still not sure, but it sounds like a 
mixture of baker and boiler. My 
oven (miraculously) has a broil 
feature so I set out to use that. I left 

my cheese-coated pie in the oven 
on broil for about five minutes. 
When I took it out, it looked — and 
smelled — surprisingly delicious.

Then I went to cut myself a 

piece. I wanted so badly for my pie 
to be a success. It looked beautiful, 
and it smelled beautiful. I sunk 
the knife in expecting to hit the 
crisp lower crust but I got nothing. 
Nothing. The pie was liquid 
goo all the way through. I still 
dolloped a mound of apple/pear 
mush with cheese onto my plate. 
It was good, it was really good, but 
it wasn’t a pie. The dough on the 
bottom hadn’t hardened like I had 
expected it to; it had absorbed the 
moisture of the apples and pears 
and turned into mush.

I was so close. I had the perfect 

dough and a great recipe. I was 
going to make the kind of pie my 
dad would make, the kind of pie 
my grandfather would’ve eaten. 
But 
somewhere 
between 
my 

ancient oven, hand-rolled dough, 
cake pan and “broiled” cheese 
topper, 
something 
had 
gone 

horribly wrong.

Since eating the sad (but 

delicious) lumps of cheesy, sugary 
fruit with my roommate, I’ve 
called my dad. He assured me 
that anyone with a better kitchen 
and real baking tools could have 
tremendous success. So, never 
fear, reader! A cheese-covered pie 
and a slice of my weirdo family is 
within reach.

Recipe:
Crust:
· 5 cups all-purpose flour
· 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
· 1 pound unsalted butter, 

room temperature

· 1 cup cold water
· 1 tablespoon vinegar (mixed 

into water)

Combine flour and salt in a 

bowl. Work butter between hands 
until it is malleable but not melted. 
Mix the butter into the flour using 
the frisage technique mentioned 
earlier. Once the mix is the 
consistency of cornmeal, add the 
water and vinegar mixture. Knead 
dough until it no longer sticks to 
your hands or your work surface. 
Refrigerate for up to a week or 
freeze for as long as food products 
can usually be frozen — I do not 
know how long that is.

Filling:
· 5-6 cups apples, peeled, 

cored and cut very thin (I used 
half apples and half pears)

· 1/2 cup white or brown 

sugar (tart apples like Granny 
Smith might need 2/3 cup; I used 
Honeycrisps with 1/2 cup brown 
sugar)

· 1/8 teaspoon salt
· 1 tablespoon cornstarch
· 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
· 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
· 1 1/2 tablespoon butter
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine sugar, salt, cornstarch, 

cinnamon and nutmeg. Sift over 
the apples and pears. Place them 
in layers in the crust. Dot with 
butter. Add vanilla on top.

For no cheese: Cover the pie 

with the second crust and prick 
the center. Bake for 10 minutes 
at 450 degrees. Reduce the heat 
to 350 degrees, bake for another 
45-60 minutes.

For cheese: Bake pie for 20 

minutes at 450 degrees without a 
top crust. Take pie out and grate 
cheese — sharp cheddar works 
well — over the top. Broil until 
cheese is melted. As the pie cools, 

FOOD COLUMN

T

his past weekend, my 
friends and I made 
the straining seven-

hour drive to Iowa and back 
for the football game only to 
return disappointed, heartbro-
ken and hungry.

As we desperately sped past 

The Largest Truck Stop in the 
World, the Mississippi River 
and the Indiana border, eager 
to return home to Ann Arbor, 
our conversation shifted to the 
dense smattering of billboards 
advertising fast food. Signs 
indicating exits to McDonald’s 
and Arby’s popped up over a 
dozen times, each time beck-
oning us to stray off our path 
and satisfy our hunger with 
greasy, salty food. Cracker 
Barrel called out to us with its 
“Country Fried Comfort.” It 
sounded better and better the 
more signs we passed.

I recall being pretty much 

infatuated with McDonald’s 
from an early age. I was always 
excited by the prospect of eat-
ing there, especially since it 
was a rare (once or twice a 
year) occurrence. The nov-
elty of eating at McDonald’s 
made it seem like a treat to be 
awaited, and any family mem-
ber or friend who took me there 
instantly won brownie points. 
The crispy fries and mystery 
toy prize triggered some part of 
my brain that made me yearn to 
go back again each time I went.

I couldn’t understand why 

my mom wouldn’t allow me 
my coveted Happy Meal more 
often. If it was so good, why did 
she act like it was something to 
be avoided or limited to infre-
quent indulgences?

This memory crossed my 

mind as my friend and I began 
discussing how totally and 
completely 
disgusting 
the 

poor excuse for real food the 
grease-soaked, 
sodium-laden 

combination of chemicals is 
that these establishments serve 
their customers. I mean, who 
do they think they’re fooling 
into thinking that it’s real food?

Six-year-old me, that’s who.
Though from an early age 

we’re told to eat our vegetables 
and restricted from choosing 
any of the highly appealing 
sugary items in the grocery 
store cereal aisle by our par-
ents, there’s a basic instinct 

we all share — the desire to eat 
what tastes good. That desire 
has been tapped into and com-
modified by the vast majority 
of the American food indus-
try and the corporations that 
oversee fast food chains like 
McDonald’s. 
Advertisements 

and packaging designed to 
appeal to our desires permeate 
the food landscape, infiltrating 
our homes and our newsfeeds 
and littering the margins of our 
highways.

These monstrous fast food 

chains 
market 
to 
increase 

consumption and reduce con-
sciousness. Their ultimate goal 
is to profit. And if people are 
willing to subsidize places like 
these in return for a cost-effec-
tive, gratifying meal, no matter 
the form in which it’s present-
ed to them, these companies 
don’t have much of an incen-
tive to do otherwise. They sure 
do know their audience. Can 
you think of anyone else who’s 
made the news recently that 
does as well? (Hint: the new 
president-elect of our country, 
Donald Trump).

While we scrutinized the 

phenomenon that is the fast 
food industry for several miles, 
it hit me — the political sphere 
has become a lot like consum-
erism, selling us platforms that 
we’re believed to want, not 
necessarily the less shiny, less 
enticing policies and candi-
dates we actually need.

In a sense, Trump’s cam-

paign platform offered up a 
heavy serving of political fast 
food — promising to boost the 
economy and reinforce nation-
al security. The simple tag line, 
“Make America Great Again,” 
repeated over and over again 
and stamped across bright red 
hats acted as a fast food mar-
keting slogan, extending the 
promise of comfort and sat-
isfaction through superficial 
means. 

I’m by no means a political 

expert and don’t claim to know 
the many reasons prompting 
individual voters to support 
Trump, but I can attempt to 
assess the mass appeal of the 
most prevalent ideas purport-
ed by him and his campaign. 
Within the framework of the 
fast food industry, Trump is 
a Big Mac. He appeals to hun-
gry voters (white middle-class 
individuals who feel disenfran-
chised and disillusioned with 
their system of government) 

with a simple, yet resounding 
promise of satisfying them. 
The frequency and repetition 
of his campaign slogan and 
auspicious rhetoric strategical-
ly made him appear favorable 
to an audience craving a seem-
ingly easy, quick fix (like a 
cheap, readily available meal).

Surely by now, everyone’s 

sick and tired of hearing about 
the election and about Trump 
(especially in the form of 
online rhetoric), but it’s diffi-
cult to push the events of the 
past two weeks out of my mind 
as I think about the role food 
plays in our society and every-
day lives, because the media 
and our political system inex-
tricably play a similar role.

In the past few years, the 

media 
(particularly 
social 

media) surrounding the elec-
tion has been inescapable, and 
its content has grown more 
sensationalized, more disrup-
tive and more nonsensical than 
has ever been before. Rather 
than working to the detriment 
of a candidate who utilized 
this absurdity to its extreme, it 
worked to his benefit. And that 
says more about what charac-
terizes our country culturally 
and socially than it does about 
the candidate himself.

It’s 
easy 
to 
disseminate 

information and ideas through 
simple means, just as it is to 
mass produce frozen burg-
ers and sell them to consum-
ers. Now that we’ve become 
consumers of mass media and 
social media, it’s more impor-
tant than ever to selectively 
choose what we consume and 
how we consume it — just as we 
do with food.

At the end of the day, people 

are being sold a facsimile of 
what they want — whether it’s 
a flashy new vision of America 
that may be unrealistic or det-
rimental to its people, or a bev-
erage containing enough sugar 
to knock out a small child for 
an hour — regardless of wheth-
er it’s really what they need.

So, to six-year-old me, the 

golden arches and red boxes 
promising an exciting new toy 
may have fooled me into want-
ing McDonald’s, but I know 
better now. As a country, we 
should know better by now too.

If Trump is a Big Mac, 

Avinadav is a filet mignon. To 

apply for a Michelin Star rating, 

email savinad@umich.eduw 
 

American fast food: Selling us 
what we want, not what we need

In a mirror to our political landscape, McDonald’s is a quick fix to hunger

This playlist is for those who 

might be feeling alienated, 
rejected, 
disheartened 
or 

scared; your validity is not 
lessened by your race, gender, 
religion, or sexuality. You are 
loved and you belong here.

“Undefeatable” — Young 

Rising Sons

We’ll start out with a pump 

up song: rousing beats, a catchy 
melodic 
line 
and 
fiercely 

empowering 
lyrics 
come 

together to form Young Rising 
Son’s 
“Undefeatable.” 
Lead 

singer Andy Tongren’s voice is 
emphatic and motivational as 
he sings “We are the stars and 
the sun / The unforgettable 
ones.”

“Famous Last Words” — 

My Chemical Romance

“Famous Last Words” holds 

a special place in my heart 
because it was my preferred 
rainy 
day 
song 
of 
choice 

throughout all four years of 
high school. Whenever I feel 
especially down, I can count 
on this song to invigorate me 
again. 
Gerard 
Way’s 
voice 

is candidly passionate as he 
proclaims “I am not afraid 
to keep on living / I am not 
afraid to walk this world 

alone,” an inspiring message 
that is especially important in 
the tumultuous days after the 
election.

“Kill V. Maim” — Grimes
Grimes 
delivers 
an 

energetically 
fast 
paced 

anthem that urges listeners 
to go against the grain. The 
song glorifies rebellion, and 
is 
noticeably 
brighter 
in 

comparison to many of the 
other songs in this playlist, 
due in part to the breathy, 
sometimes 
piercing 
quality 

of 
Grimes’s 
voice. 
Grimes 

champions the weird; most of 
her music videos are downright 
bizarre, yet she always exudes a 
creativity and confidence that 
we all hope to emulate.

“My House” — PVRIS
A 
playlist 
without 
my 

favorite band? PSYCH! YOU 
THOUGHT! All jokes aside, “My 
House” is about reclaiming one’s 
personal space and standing 
up to someone that previously 
seemed unchallengeable. This 
isn’t 
PVRIS’s 
most 
famous 

single for no reason; vocalist 
Lynn Gunn’s voice is vibrant, 
strong and effortlessly smooth.

“Shut Up!” — Simple Plan
When a situation gets to 

be damaging, frustrating or 
disheartening, it can be good 
to take a moment to step out, 
take a deep breath and reaffirm 

yourself. This song perfectly 
captures how one feels when it 
all gets to be too much, while 
simultaneously 
encouraging 

listeners to embrace the unique 
parts of their individuality.

“You’re Going Down” — 

Sick Puppies

“You’re Going Down” is a 

violently intense piece filled 
with ominous, heavy guitar 
and 
seething, 
angry 
lyrics. 

Lead singer Shimon Moore’s 
voice oozes a rich vengefulness 
that comes across in his lyrical 
delivery, especially at the crux 
of the song, when he sings “One 
of us is going / One of us is going 
down” and “You’re the one 
that’s going down.”

“begin again” — Purity 

Ring

Purity Ring is unique for its 

elegantly poetic lyrics, many 
of which come from vocalist 
Megan 
James’s 
personal 

works that were originally 
not intended to be published. 
“Begin Again” is a captivating 
piece from start to finish, with 
a beautiful and distinctive 
underlying bass buildup that 
brings out the delicacy of 
James’s voice. The song is filled 
with references to rebirth and 
renewal, a reminder that there 
will always be good things to 
come, no matter how dark the 
world seems at the moment.

SAMANTHA LU
Daily Arts Writer

You are loved and you belong here

A playlist to help you search for validation in the post-election wake

 The xx are known for mel-
low, chilled-out indie music 
that is beloved by hipsters and 
the mainstream alike. A band 
hailing from London, it’s been 
a few years since we’ve heard 
anything new from them, with 
their last real release in 2012. 
“On Hold” is the lead single 
from their upcoming new 
album, I See You, and the band 
have spent a while apart. With 
Jamie xx having produced 
one of the most accomplished 
albums of 2015 as a solo proj-
ect, there is a lot of expecta-
tion for this new album to 
meet the same standard.
 Something that Jamie’s solo 
album missed however, was 
the joint vocals of both Romy 
Croft and Oliver Sim, a trait of 
The xx that has always made 
them stand out. Throughout 
“On Hold,” the trio swap 
between taking the lead, and 
the lyrics, talking about lost 
love, wouldn’t work without 
the other two singers and 
Jamie brings his top level pro-

duction to the 
table, almost 
as a third 
singer.
 The song 
itself is slow, 
with calm-
ing lyrics and 
delivery, which is nothing 
groundbreaking. However it’s 
the build up and the overall 
sound that is unique to The 
xx. When the song gets going, 
there’s an unusually fast beat, 
but it doesn’t detract from the 
haunting guitars and synths 
that frolic in the background 
of the vocals. This is definitely 
a song that is better listened to 
through headphones.
 It’s also a lot more honest 
and upfront than anything this 
band has produced before. The 
lyrics are bolder, and Jamie 
xx’s production is second to 
none. The sample of the 1981 
hit “I Can’t Go For That (No 
Can Do)” by Hall & Oates 
exemplifies the new areas 
this band is exploring, being 

only the second 
sample the band 
has ever used, 
and the only one 
to really take the 
forefront. The 
sound may be 
more poppy than 

before, but this diminishes 
none of the band’s original 
charm that made them so 
highly acclaimed.
 This band has been away 
for quite some time, and this 
upcoming album has been “in-
the-works” for the better part 
of two years. But this song cer-
tainly presents an intriguing 
insight into what the album 
could entail; a perfect com-
bination of The xx’s patented 
ethereal vocals and slow pace, 
working perfectly in conjunc-
tion with Jamie xx’s beats and 
pop-tinged style that proved so 
successful on In Colour. Let’s 
hope this album is as good as 
this first single.

- MEGAN WILLIAMS

SINGLE REVIEW

A

“Hold On”

The xx

UOFMIXTAPE

SHIR AVINADAV
Daily Food Columnist

PIES
From Page 1B

