One way for myself to survive Thanksgiving is, Pie! I mean seriously, it’s all I honestly think about Thanksgiving day.

Who cares about family drama and all that encompasses it. It can all be solved by Pie!

There’s always that one family member that has to bring drama to the table. And there’s always Pie to fix it all.

I come from a dysfunctional family, and I truly believe it has built my character in more ways than none. Last year at Thanksgiving, on one side of the family I had one Aunt claim she’d done DNA testing and that my grandfather was not her father. On the other side of the family I had a woman come forward saying that she believes my grandfather is her father. Crazy! Right? I know, but that’s been my life and not much surprises me anymore.

However, back on the subject of pie and all it’s glory. Last Fall my grandmother had a surplus of gooseberries. They’re tart like a cherry, like a pie cherry so I decided to make a pie for Thanksgiving. It turned out amazing! And has turned into a new tradition. I love traditions, it helps keep us grounded.

I always make my own crust. After many years of practice and coaching from my grandma, I have been able to master it. Light and flaky and absolutely delicious.

Gooseberry Pie

Pie Crust:

2 Cups Flour

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Lard

8 Tablespoons Cold Cold water

Mix flour, salt and lard with pastry blender until fine crumbs form. Mix in the cold water until it forms into a sticky yet tacky ball. Divide equally in half. Roll each half out onto floured surface. Roll up and place in fridge to cool for about 30 minutes.

For Filling:

2 Cups White Sugar

1/2 Cup Flour

4 Cups Fresh Gooseberries

2 Tablespoons Butter

Mix sugar, flour, and gooseberries. Place in pastry lined pie pan and dot with butter. Cover with other pastry crust and make slits to vent. Make a special design if you like and crimp edges to your liking. Bake at 425 degrees for about 40 minutes. Cover crust edge for about 35 of those minutes. Let cool and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

I think our Thanksgiving Dinner has always ended up with more pie than food, but that’s okay, because that is how you survive Thanksgiving and all the family extras.

Family is hard at times, but it’s important to still get together and put up with each others quirks and dramas. We only get one family and need to be thankful for that one family we do get.

Over the decades I have watched my families disagreements which sometimes led to many years of not speaking. I don’t want that for my children. I want them to be grateful for the family that they have, no matter the differences. Annnnnd, that pie is always always always the way to survive Thanksgiving.