Ceramic Pie Birds

I watched an episode of Good Eats today and Alton Brown made an apple pie.  He used a ceramic pie bird to vent the pie, I didn't know such a thing existed.  It is supposed to vent the steam without getting the crusty stuff around the vents that you cut into the top crust..  Has anyone used one of those, they are cute.

He used applejack brandy for the liquid in the crust which I think would be good.  He also used grains of paradise instead of traditional spices, I think I will stick with the traditional spices.

I have a small collection of pie birds (from my MIL and my grandmother), but I've never used one. I think they're adorable.

What channel is Good Eats on for you? I still love that show!

It's on the Cooking Channel  They usually have 4 episodes early Sunday morning and two on weeknights at 11.  I know they are all reruns but I didn't watch them the first time.  

The apple pie one is one that I hadn't seen.  He added tapioca flour, apple jelly and apple cider to the filling.  He also added lime juice but I don't think that would go with traditional spices.  From what I understand the Grains of Paradise have a peppery flavor so the lime juice would probably pair well with that.  I like the cinnamon in apple pies and crisps as long as it isn't overwhelming.

I've seen pie birds but think they probably wouldn't work for me. I'm not very good at making pie crusts and they never vent from the slit I make on the top of the crust, they seem to always bubble over on a seam on the side somewhere. I guess it would work if my crusts were better and more air-tight, but that's not going to happen any time soon.

Our dishes do have a matching pie bird that's really cute, but I'm afraid it would be a dust-collector instead of useful in the kitchen, for me anyway.

I love pie birds.  My grandmother had a huge collection of them, some quite lovely.  They were promised to me, but my uncle's wife decided that she wanted them, and rather than cause a fight about it, Mom gave them to her.  I never quite liked that woman (the aunt, not Mom) after that.