Today (March 9) is National Meatball Day but I’m jumping ahead a few days to give you advance notice of one of hubby and my favorite days – Pi Day.
If you love pie—sweet or savory—mark your calendar for March 14, aka Pi Day! What started in 1988 as a geeky nod to the Greek number π (3.14) has become a full-fledged holiday. By 2017, Congress made it official, and in 2019, UNESCO declared it the International Day of Mathematics. Turns out, math is delicious!
Pi Day history
In 1988, Exploratorium* engineer William Shaw, a party guy and pie-lover, realized he could use the Pi digits 3.14 to create a date for a party. He saw the date as an opportunity to celebrate and bring the Exploratorium staff together. (1) They served fruit pies and tea and sang Happy Birthday to Albert Einstein, whose birthday was March 14.
Celebrating Pi Day
Hubby and I have celebrated Pi day for over 10 years. Our first large party of about 30 people was at the RV park where we wintered as snowbirds. It was a pot luck. I guess the invitation was unclear because four guests arrived at 3:14 PM but they graciously left and returned at four. They admit they interpreted the invitation wrong, "We all thought you would invite us at 3:14 pm on 3 14! Quite funny!”
What’s cool about potlucks is you get to try new dishes. Two of our new favorites are tomato pie and sweet potato crust pie, I couldn’t find the recipes from the potluck, but found this 4.9 rated Spinach and Goat Cheese quiche with Sweet Potato Crust. Other pies included Sheppard’s pie and peanut butter pie. We had pizza as a backup.
When we moved to our CCRC, we hosted a Pi day celebration as a silent auction item to raise money for the community’s Foundation. We offered a ‘party in a box’ for twelve – invitations, appetizers, entrees and dessert (of course), complete with decorations, a Pi day quiz and music. The first year we made all the pies - Spanakopita (appetizers), Quiche Lorraine and pizza (ordered) for entrees, and Blueberry hand pies and Apple hand pies for dessert. The second year we did mostly catering.
Of course you can just order a pizza from your favorite Pizza joint.
Here’s an interesting Pie fact. James Wright posted a review of Patti LaBelle’s sweet potato pie on Facebook which went viral (The review is a riot - LINK). After seeing the review, Patti invited Wright for Thanksgiving dinner and even sang with him. (see the article which includes a video of them singing together).
We’ve never celebrated National Meatball Day, but we celebrate meatballs several times a year. At the Christmas Open Houses we had for over 30 years, we prepared Spicy Meatballs with Dill Stroganoff Sauce; a real hit. Another Meatball Favorite is German Meatballs with Savory Mustard Gravy Sauce. Serve it with Spaetzle, one of my favorite German dishes, to soak up the gravy.
So, whether you're celebrating Pi Day with a perfectly baked pie, a cheesy slice of pizza, or just an excuse to eat dessert guilt-free, or you're enjoying a batch of saucy meatballs, food holidays are about having fun with food and friends. After all, any day that gives us permission to eat pie or meatballs is a day worth celebrating!
Footnote
* Exploratorium is a museum of science, technology, and arts in San Francisco, California. Physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer (Robert’s brother) founded the Exploratorium in Monterey, California, as a retreat to soul search and brainstorm
References
Pi Day, Exploratorium.org/pi
Why Math geeks are so excited about March 14, 2015, at 9:26:53, PBS.org, March 13, 2015
Links of Interest
Pi day Pinterest board - 113 Pins about everything from party ideas, decorations, jokes, recipes, games, and activities.
J D Bruce, There's Something Irrational about the coming week, Naples Daily News, March 13, 2023
Geometric pies – Pinterest
Zoe Sayler, Seattleite Lauren Ko finds fame through pie; but sorry, you can’t have any, the Seattle Times, Aug 185 2018
Recipes
Jenna’s Blue Plate Special from the movie Waitress: I don’t want Earl’s baby pie or Bad Baby Pie - It’s a quiche with egg, brie cheese, with a smoked ham center. (we used Parmesan)
From the Pie-a-Week Website
Spanakopita – you can use Athens phyllo cups instead of stacking phyllo leaves yourself
For the really energetic, you can make an Einstein Pi Day Pie
Pie Day Music Playlist
Pi Day Songs
Pi Day Song – Legends & Deeds (you have to listen to this on 3/14)
The 100 digits of Pi – Science Songs – for you geeks out there
Mathematical Pie (to the tune of American Pie) – clever song, cute video
Songs
American Pie – Don McClean – 1 in 1972 – a fun challenge: How many people know the words to this 8-minute song? At least the chorus?
I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch), Four Tops
Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie (Ready or Not) - Jay and the Techniques
Pop Pop Pop Pie – the Sherrys – #35 on Billboard Charts in 1962
Shoo Fly pie and Apple Pan Dowdy – Dinah Shore – 1945
Slice of Pie – Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams – short instrumental from the Hidden Figures Soundtrack
Flaming Pie – Paul McCartney
Honey Pie – Beatles White Album
Pecan Pie – Golden Smog (folk - it's cute. worth a listen if you haven’t heard it)
Making Pies – Patty Griffin- folk with interesting artwork in video
Country Pie – Bob Dylan
Blueberry Pie – Alan Greenleaf – bluesy song
Cutie Pie – One Way – 61 in Billboard Charts in 1982 – R&B
Pie in the Sky – Johnny Cash
Easy as Pie – Billy Crash Craddock – #54 in Billboard Charts in 1976
Cherry Pie – Warrant - #10 in Billboard Charts in 1990 – hard rock
Chocolate Covered Cherry Pie – Lou Capri Fratto – 2003 typical 50s song
Raspberry Pie – Paper Airplane Pilots
More modern/alternative or rap
Pie Song – The Rock – bluesy, then rap speaking (for Rock fans)
Pie of Pie – Stone Temple Pilots
Magic Pie – Oasis
Sweet Potato Pie – Domino #27 in Billboard Charts in 1994 (rap)
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