Baking & the Big Screen: Derby Pie & Waitress
Thankfully, there does still seem to be a handful of obvious movies featuring baking, and Waitress is definitely one of them. I’d considered using this connection months ago but it vanished off streaming before I could get around to it, so I almost squeaked in excitement when I saw it back on Hulu. It worked almost too perfectly, as I was tasked with bringing dessert to Christmas dinner. After mentioning to my father I wanted to try my hand at making a pie - including a homemade crust - but wasn’t sure what variety, he had the great idea to make a derby pie. And then I discovered Nathan Fillion is in Waitress. I didn’t need any more information. I was sold. Thus, the delightful pairing was born.
Waitress
Starring Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Jeremy Sisto, Cheryl Hines, Andy Griffith, Adrienne Shelly
Director: Adrienne Shelly
Released in 2007
Available on Hulu
I’ll admit I was slightly wary of this movie because I knew of the Broadway musical version and I have to be in a very specific mood for musicals and the level of cheesiness they can often bring. I was then shocked to discover the film version isn’t even remotely a musical. It’s actually just a bunch of really talented actors telling a semi-bleak tale of a young waitress (Russell) who finds out she’s having a baby with her abusive husband (Sisto) and develops a bond with her new obgyn (Fillion). The cast is filled out with Hines and Shelly portraying the additional waitresses and Andy Griffith as the curmudgeon-with-a-heart-of-gold owner of the pie diner the ladies all work at. And yes, you did read it correctly. A pie diner. Which is now a place I need in my life immediately, even though I’m not the biggest pie fan.
This is a truly lovely movie. Maybe it helped going into it with no information whatsoever, but I had just about every emotion over its runtime. I adore Nathan Fillion, but the chemistry he has with Keri Russell is top notch and added an additional level of enjoyment to the whole thing. The southern accents can be a teensy bit cringy at times, but overall, all the actors do solid jobs at it. I didn’t learn this until researching the movie on IMDb, but one of the actresses (Shelly) also wrote and directed the film, and I think it truly works for the plot. It’s a take on a pregnancy story that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen, and it does seem to be crafted carefully with a light touch most men may not have been able to achieve.
The derby pie, while not nearly as inventive or creative as the masterpieces developed in the movie, turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. There were a few bumps along the way, most notably my utter mess of a pie crust that did not want to roll out (though was pressed out and fit into the tin just fine), but overall, I really loved the combination of chocolate, walnuts and bourbon. The recipe I used somehow did some magic that made it seem like the pie had both a top and a bottom crust, though it was actually just the way the filling baked on top. The crust-to-filling ratio was perfect, a huge win in my book. I am not sure it’s worth making a crust from scratch if it’s just a standard one, but I’m not opposed to trying it again.