14 March 2010

The Time Has Come, The Walrus Said

To speak of many things.... ...Of Broken Cats and Pi(es).

Happy Pi Day, everybody!!

In honor of this estimable day, I baked a Chocolate Chess Pie, using my Mom's recipe (which I've uploaded to AllRecipes.com, btw). When it came out of the oven, I got Jen to take a couple pictures (hers is the better camera for indoor close shots):





And here's a shot of Raxicoricofallapatorius ("Raxi", for short), in her usual "broken" sleep pose:

(click on the photos to enlarge them)

8 comments:

lisahgolden said...

The pie looks delicious. (made your mama's recipe last week because one can never have enough pie) Raxie looks hilarious.

The Cunning Runt said...

That's almost enough to get me to eat pie!

KarenB said...

Looks like an easy recipe. I'm usually no good with pies, but I'm gonna try this one!

KarenB said...

I made the pie and it was delicious! How is it supposed to look when it comes out of the oven, though? I thought mine was a little jiggly, so I put it back for 10 minutes. For next time, what is the texture inside? I love the crunchy top, or did I make it completely wrong? As you can tell, I've never had chess pie before!

splord said...

KarenB, it's supposed to be on the firm side of jiggly ( if that makes sense), but not solid. I forgot to mention in the recipe, but it is best to let the pie cool completely or even refrigerate it (although refrigeration isn't required for "keeping") before serving, which will make it less jiggly.

The one I made last week was also a bit runny in the very center, and could have stood a bit more baking, but I din't do that 'cause then we would've had to wait longer afore we could eat it. :)

And it is most definitely supposed to have a crunchy top. When I was a kid I used to save the top for last.

Finally, there are many, many variations on the chess pie (lemon, coconut, pineapple, etc...) and they're all made of win.

KarenB said...

Thanks! Sounds like I did good! Since I made your recipe, I've seen a lot of chess pie recipes, but none are as easy as yours. I may try a lemon one next, though. Most others use a little corn meal. Any thoughts on that? I already decided to make your pie for the next family gathering. It will be nice to impress them with my new skills!

splord said...

Corn meal or corn starch?

Most of the recipes I've seen call for cornstarch... the vinegar in Mom's comes from back in the days of rationing (WWII) and vinegar was a substitute for the cornstarch (they both serve the purpose of "thickening" the filling) -- apparently, corn was needed to fight the Axis.... or something like that.

I hope your family enjoys the pie(s)! I know my mom will enjoy knowing that her recipe has been well-received by new people (she already knows that it's well-received by her family :) ).

KarenB said...

Definitely well received by this family. Please let her know that I am going to make it my go-to dessert for potlucks and such. And thank her for me. Before this pie I thought I'd never be able to make a really good one. I now have faith in my pie making abilities!