Tomorrow Is "National Pie Day"

Finally there is a holiday I can fully endorse and participate in -- National Pie Day! I have to admit that I consider pie to be one of the most delicious things in the world. I think my favorite pie is probably coconut cream pie (pictured above), but then I've never met a pie that I didn't love.

I'm ashamed to say that this day of recognition for the wonderful culinary delicacy has been celebrated for nearly 40 years and I didn't know it (thirty lashes with a wet noodle will be properly applied). According to the American Pie Council, the day of appreciation was started by a pie-lover in the 1970s, and he designated his own birthday (January 23rd) as the official day.

Obviously, I'm not the only pie-lover around. A market research firm called NPD Group says that restaurants in the United States served about 722 million slices of pie in 2010. That's up from 710 million in 2009. Here are some other "pie facts" according to the Dallas Morning News:

Pie has been around since the ancient Egyptians, the pie council says. But the crust on the first pies wasn’t eaten. Only the filling was devoured.

The Romans published the first pie recipe — a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie.

Early pies were made with meat. During the 1500s, fruit pies arrived.

The English brought their pies with them to America.

This could be the year when the down-home pie kicks the trendy, oh-so-popular cupcake off the treat throne. Several publications have listed pie as a top food trend for 2011.