Hi Judi..."My Training"!

Hi Judi;
WOW, I'm glad you like that recipe enough to fix it again. By the way, if you do it in the "Peach" version, please be sure that the peaches are all peeled, or the skins will turn tuff and take away from the pie.
No, I am not trained as a chef in the "Classic" style, I've never gone to France to train, nor have I attended the CIA (Culinary Institute of America). I went down that long rocky road of hard knocks! Basically, I learned from a lot of wonderful people and in fact, have enjoyed learning from so many wonderful chefs from my job, and most precious to me in "Southern Cuisine", the rich rich wonderful foods that my African American friends have given to me in my area.
My best friend in cooking is Beulah, she's 78 years old, lives just down the road from me. We have no cultural boundaries..we have a lot of love though.
She is a gem to me, she's a big lady, wears summer smocks and is constantly fixing stuff in the kitchen. I just found myself hanging out around her when I was younger, and learned all about the art of biscuits (and know that makeing biscuits is an art), and about berries and cobblers, and proper ways to make pie crusts, and how a dumpling is to be done in the right way. When it comes to makeing fresh bread, Beulah would always say to me that it had to be done on a sticky hot day (so the yeasts would rise correctly), and the best thing you can ever do for a mess of fried chicken was to soak the raw chicken in buttermilk overnight, then just toss it on into a little flour and fry it up fast in hot grease....
Well, Judi...Thats just a sample of my "Training", I'm not a professional, but I do think I have a ton of years behind my doings here in Virginia. LOL, it's just a "Southern Thing". Memories and a ton of experiences is what gets me through my catering jobs.

Peace To You
David In Virginia