The Art of Pastry-Making: A Conversation with Trisha Yearwood

As I sat down to watch Trisha Yearwood's latest episode, I was excited to learn something new and maybe even pick up some tips from the famous country singer and cookbook author. And boy, did she deliver! We began our conversation by discussing a bowl of eggs that Trisha had just learned about, and how it seemed like a coincidence that she would be talking about making a pie with a similar ingredient.

"I don't know what I'd do without learning about this," Trisha said, "it's all mixed together and you can just relax." She explained that the process of making a pie is often intimidating, but once you understand the basics, it becomes much more accessible. And that's exactly what we were going to explore in our conversation today - the art of pastry-making.

As we began to make the filling for our pie, Trisha shared with me her love of diners and the variety of food options they offer. "It's all about trying new things," she said, "and not being afraid to get a little out of your comfort zone." And that's exactly what we did as we separated three eggs to make a meringue topping.

"Now this is my favorite part," Trisha said, as she began to press the graham cracker crust into the bowl. "I love getting my hands in there and making it just right." She explained that using a gentle touch was key to avoiding a crust that's too thick or too thin. And with her expertise, we were able to create a perfect blend of ingredients.

As our filling began to take shape, Trisha told me about the importance of not over-mixing. "You want it to be smooth and creamy," she said, "but you don't want to overdo it." She added three egg yolks to the mixture, then streamed in warm milk to help incorporate everything together.

"Remember, it's all about finding that balance," Trisha advised. "You don't want to turn the heat on too high or scramble the eggs." And with a gentle touch, we were able to create a beautiful pudding that was perfect for our pie.

But the real pièce de résistance was yet to come - the meringue topping. Trisha explained that it's surprisingly easy to make, and all you need is a little bit of sugar and some whisking action. "It's like a little dance," she said, as she whipped up the mixture until stiff peaks formed.

As we carefully placed our pie in the oven, Trisha shared with me her love of restaurants that serve amazing pies. "They always have these beautiful cases with all sorts of treats inside," she said, "and you just can't help but want to try them all." And I couldn't agree more - there's something special about walking into a restaurant and being greeted by the heavenly aroma of freshly baked pie.

As our pie emerged from the oven, golden brown and perfectly set, Trisha told me that it was time to add the finishing touches. She added a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of sugar to give it that extra oomph, then stepped back to admire her handiwork.

"It's all about making something beautiful," she said, as she gazed at our stunning pie. "And I think that's what makes pastry-making so special - the art of creating something truly beautiful." And with that, our conversation came to a close, but the memories of our time in the kitchen together will stay with me forever.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwe are making classic southern chocolate pie and you are going to do the crust which is graham cracker and we were talking earlier about how graham cracker crust is not really typical right i mean i don't know how you grew up maybe you grew up with graham cracker crust in your chocolate pie but i always had it with pastry but i love the graham cracker crust it's so delicious soaked in butter well i've added a little extra butter to the crust today because that's how we roll because we're doing blue plate special food and we're wearing blue cause isn't that adorable isn't it adorable it's just too cute right i am making the filling for this awesome chocolate pie while you are making the crust i've got sugar and flour and now i'm adding a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder and you've got a sleeve of graham crackers which is about a cup and you're just gonna pulse that till they're fine what's that what you're gonna do you know sometimes i like to sub vanilla wafers for the graham crackers have you ever used vanilla wipers in instead of flour oh it's true you should try that tricia trisha you got some sugar in there too right a couple tablespoons of sugar i've got butter melted you want to put it in this bowl and then pour the butter in or well i like to do it right in the food processor really because then i don't have to dirty up a bowl i just learned something and i don't like doing dishes trisha i don't know what a coincidence i mean that makes so much sense yeah and then it's kind of all mixed together and you don't have to worry about it look what we just learned oh glorious see you know stuff look what you can do i don't know as much as you know that's not true i watch your show i know what you know i'm separating three eggs to go into this filling and saving the whites for the awesome meringue that we're gonna have on top i remember going to diners because my daddy really loved that tray with as much stuff as humanly possible and you would get stuff that you would never order off a menu but since it was there you're gonna have it i'm with your dad on this yeah it's about the variety and like you said trying new things that you might not try otherwise yeah but then getting the familiar things you're doing such a fine job there just pressing that into it i just like um being around graham cracker crust so i'm i'm happy just pressing it i'll stay here and press endlessly so i've added three egg yolks and then i'm gonna stream in some warm milk to try to incorporate it as much as possible and not to turn the heat on yet so that i don't scramble the egg you're a smart girl this pudding has gotten nice and thick and it's perfect all it really needs is a spoon right now i don't we don't even need a crust why did we even do this well we could eat the crust separately and then we could just dip you know we would be dangerous together on a daily basis yeah we we can't be trusted more than once or twice a year and we're going to make this even better by adding butter um so if you wouldn't mind adding a couple tablespoons of butter i can totally do that thank you so much and we need some vanilla in there so half a teaspoon of vanilla and a quarter teaspoon of salt tablespoon is a relative term right yes it is i think i went a little overnight no no you can't really go overboard on butter vanilla end what was the third just a quarter teaspoon of salt ready to pour up i'm just gonna watch i'm gonna just pour it in your beautiful crust ooh and i'm gonna stick it in the fridge and let it get cool for about 45 minutes so it won't mess up the meringue right messing up the meringue is a real nobody wants a messy meringue my husband does not like meringue my husband doesn't either we can spend all day seriously so when i make this pie i make usually make two and i'll make one with meringue and one without isn't that hilarious i wonder if it's a cowboy thing it's an oklahoma boy thing or it's a cowboy thing it must be i don't understand i'm just saying it's gonna work it's totally gonna work anybody want something i can all right i'm gonna stick this in the fridge for 45 minutes to chill all right we're making meringue which is super easy i love meringue you can add a little pinch of salt if you'd like and then once we get these frothy and whippy whippy highly technical term then we will put the sugar in i like to invent words yeah i like to pretend that i know what i'm talking about so it works out well me too okay i'm going to ask you to add the sugar is it a fourth cup it's a fourth of a cup okay looking good and then we're just going to whip this together until stiff peaks warm and that means that meringue is ready you can get the pie out of the frizz if you want to i'm so mesmerized i think this is looking pretty good oh that's looking wonderful i'm gonna check it and see we have a stiff peak mama always just took the spatula and tried to make tiny peaks on the top of the pie oh it's gorgeous and they'll get nice and brown i love going to these restaurants because they were always in a case and you could see all the pies and the meringue was huge huge and i was like no matter how full i am i'm gonna have that pie for dessert look what we did it's a triumph this is gonna go into the oven at 325 for about 15 to 20 minutes just until these peaks get nice and brown and that chocolate pie looks lovely it is gorgeous i gotta try the chocolate pie i can't wait anymore it looks so pretty i'm gonna cleanse my palate first i'm not that takes me back it tastes like my mom's but it tastes like going through that assembly line and getting that dessert that was good oh trisha that pie so goodwe are making classic southern chocolate pie and you are going to do the crust which is graham cracker and we were talking earlier about how graham cracker crust is not really typical right i mean i don't know how you grew up maybe you grew up with graham cracker crust in your chocolate pie but i always had it with pastry but i love the graham cracker crust it's so delicious soaked in butter well i've added a little extra butter to the crust today because that's how we roll because we're doing blue plate special food and we're wearing blue cause isn't that adorable isn't it adorable it's just too cute right i am making the filling for this awesome chocolate pie while you are making the crust i've got sugar and flour and now i'm adding a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder and you've got a sleeve of graham crackers which is about a cup and you're just gonna pulse that till they're fine what's that what you're gonna do you know sometimes i like to sub vanilla wafers for the graham crackers have you ever used vanilla wipers in instead of flour oh it's true you should try that tricia trisha you got some sugar in there too right a couple tablespoons of sugar i've got butter melted you want to put it in this bowl and then pour the butter in or well i like to do it right in the food processor really because then i don't have to dirty up a bowl i just learned something and i don't like doing dishes trisha i don't know what a coincidence i mean that makes so much sense yeah and then it's kind of all mixed together and you don't have to worry about it look what we just learned oh glorious see you know stuff look what you can do i don't know as much as you know that's not true i watch your show i know what you know i'm separating three eggs to go into this filling and saving the whites for the awesome meringue that we're gonna have on top i remember going to diners because my daddy really loved that tray with as much stuff as humanly possible and you would get stuff that you would never order off a menu but since it was there you're gonna have it i'm with your dad on this yeah it's about the variety and like you said trying new things that you might not try otherwise yeah but then getting the familiar things you're doing such a fine job there just pressing that into it i just like um being around graham cracker crust so i'm i'm happy just pressing it i'll stay here and press endlessly so i've added three egg yolks and then i'm gonna stream in some warm milk to try to incorporate it as much as possible and not to turn the heat on yet so that i don't scramble the egg you're a smart girl this pudding has gotten nice and thick and it's perfect all it really needs is a spoon right now i don't we don't even need a crust why did we even do this well we could eat the crust separately and then we could just dip you know we would be dangerous together on a daily basis yeah we we can't be trusted more than once or twice a year and we're going to make this even better by adding butter um so if you wouldn't mind adding a couple tablespoons of butter i can totally do that thank you so much and we need some vanilla in there so half a teaspoon of vanilla and a quarter teaspoon of salt tablespoon is a relative term right yes it is i think i went a little overnight no no you can't really go overboard on butter vanilla end what was the third just a quarter teaspoon of salt ready to pour up i'm just gonna watch i'm gonna just pour it in your beautiful crust ooh and i'm gonna stick it in the fridge and let it get cool for about 45 minutes so it won't mess up the meringue right messing up the meringue is a real nobody wants a messy meringue my husband does not like meringue my husband doesn't either we can spend all day seriously so when i make this pie i make usually make two and i'll make one with meringue and one without isn't that hilarious i wonder if it's a cowboy thing it's an oklahoma boy thing or it's a cowboy thing it must be i don't understand i'm just saying it's gonna work it's totally gonna work anybody want something i can all right i'm gonna stick this in the fridge for 45 minutes to chill all right we're making meringue which is super easy i love meringue you can add a little pinch of salt if you'd like and then once we get these frothy and whippy whippy highly technical term then we will put the sugar in i like to invent words yeah i like to pretend that i know what i'm talking about so it works out well me too okay i'm going to ask you to add the sugar is it a fourth cup it's a fourth of a cup okay looking good and then we're just going to whip this together until stiff peaks warm and that means that meringue is ready you can get the pie out of the frizz if you want to i'm so mesmerized i think this is looking pretty good oh that's looking wonderful i'm gonna check it and see we have a stiff peak mama always just took the spatula and tried to make tiny peaks on the top of the pie oh it's gorgeous and they'll get nice and brown i love going to these restaurants because they were always in a case and you could see all the pies and the meringue was huge huge and i was like no matter how full i am i'm gonna have that pie for dessert look what we did it's a triumph this is gonna go into the oven at 325 for about 15 to 20 minutes just until these peaks get nice and brown and that chocolate pie looks lovely it is gorgeous i gotta try the chocolate pie i can't wait anymore it looks so pretty i'm gonna cleanse my palate first i'm not that takes me back it tastes like my mom's but it tastes like going through that assembly line and getting that dessert that was good oh trisha that pie so goodwe are making classic southern chocolate pie and you are going to do the crust which is graham cracker and we were talking earlier about how graham cracker crust is not really typical right i mean i don't know how you grew up maybe you grew up with graham cracker crust in your chocolate pie but i always had it with pastry but i love the graham cracker crust it's so delicious soaked in butter well i've added a little extra butter to the crust today because that's how we roll because we're doing blue plate special food and we're wearing blue cause isn't that adorable isn't it adorable it's just too cute right i am making the filling for this awesome chocolate pie while you are making the crust i've got sugar and flour and now i'm adding a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder and you've got a sleeve of graham crackers which is about a cup and you're just gonna pulse that till they're fine what's that what you're gonna do you know sometimes i like to sub vanilla wafers for the graham crackers have you ever used vanilla wipers in instead of flour oh it's true you should try that tricia trisha you got some sugar in there too right a couple tablespoons of sugar i've got butter melted you want to put it in this bowl and then pour the butter in or well i like to do it right in the food processor really because then i don't have to dirty up a bowl i just learned something and i don't like doing dishes trisha i don't know what a coincidence i mean that makes so much sense yeah and then it's kind of all mixed together and you don't have to worry about it look what we just learned oh glorious see you know stuff look what you can do i don't know as much as you know that's not true i watch your show i know what you know i'm separating three eggs to go into this filling and saving the whites for the awesome meringue that we're gonna have on top i remember going to diners because my daddy really loved that tray with as much stuff as humanly possible and you would get stuff that you would never order off a menu but since it was there you're gonna have it i'm with your dad on this yeah it's about the variety and like you said trying new things that you might not try otherwise yeah but then getting the familiar things you're doing such a fine job there just pressing that into it i just like um being around graham cracker crust so i'm i'm happy just pressing it i'll stay here and press endlessly so i've added three egg yolks and then i'm gonna stream in some warm milk to try to incorporate it as much as possible and not to turn the heat on yet so that i don't scramble the egg you're a smart girl this pudding has gotten nice and thick and it's perfect all it really needs is a spoon right now i don't we don't even need a crust why did we even do this well we could eat the crust separately and then we could just dip you know we would be dangerous together on a daily basis yeah we we can't be trusted more than once or twice a year and we're going to make this even better by adding butter um so if you wouldn't mind adding a couple tablespoons of butter i can totally do that thank you so much and we need some vanilla in there so half a teaspoon of vanilla and a quarter teaspoon of salt tablespoon is a relative term right yes it is i think i went a little overnight no no you can't really go overboard on butter vanilla end what was the third just a quarter teaspoon of salt ready to pour up i'm just gonna watch i'm gonna just pour it in your beautiful crust ooh and i'm gonna stick it in the fridge and let it get cool for about 45 minutes so it won't mess up the meringue right messing up the meringue is a real nobody wants a messy meringue my husband does not like meringue my husband doesn't either we can spend all day seriously so when i make this pie i make usually make two and i'll make one with meringue and one without isn't that hilarious i wonder if it's a cowboy thing it's an oklahoma boy thing or it's a cowboy thing it must be i don't understand i'm just saying it's gonna work it's totally gonna work anybody want something i can all right i'm gonna stick this in the fridge for 45 minutes to chill all right we're making meringue which is super easy i love meringue you can add a little pinch of salt if you'd like and then once we get these frothy and whippy whippy highly technical term then we will put the sugar in i like to invent words yeah i like to pretend that i know what i'm talking about so it works out well me too okay i'm going to ask you to add the sugar is it a fourth cup it's a fourth of a cup okay looking good and then we're just going to whip this together until stiff peaks warm and that means that meringue is ready you can get the pie out of the frizz if you want to i'm so mesmerized i think this is looking pretty good oh that's looking wonderful i'm gonna check it and see we have a stiff peak mama always just took the spatula and tried to make tiny peaks on the top of the pie oh it's gorgeous and they'll get nice and brown i love going to these restaurants because they were always in a case and you could see all the pies and the meringue was huge huge and i was like no matter how full i am i'm gonna have that pie for dessert look what we did it's a triumph this is gonna go into the oven at 325 for about 15 to 20 minutes just until these peaks get nice and brown and that chocolate pie looks lovely it is gorgeous i gotta try the chocolate pie i can't wait anymore it looks so pretty i'm gonna cleanse my palate first i'm not that takes me back it tastes like my mom's but it tastes like going through that assembly line and getting that dessert that was good oh trisha that pie so good\n"