It has been
some time since I have sat before my computer to write about my ongoing pie
adventures. Although I have shied away
from my writing the past many weeks, my readers may find joy in the knowledge
that I have not given up on my pie making.
The pie I
made for Week 18 was one I had seen flipping through cookbooks, but one which I
had no personal experience. The Chess Pie was a mystery I thought I could handle. I found a recipe for a Chess Pie in my A Taste of Kansas City: Then and Now cookbook called the Myron Green Chess Pie. The ingredients were not other-worldly, nor
were the directions complex, but there was a mystery here that was beyond my
comprehension.
I used the
All-Butter Crust from the Cutie Pies cookbook and followed the rest of the
directions precisely. And yet there was something
very wrong with my pie. I let it cook
for an additional 10 minutes to allow the pie to thicken, but to no avail.
The last line
of my recipe states, “Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes or until a
knife inserted just off the center comes out clean.” That’s it.
No instruction on cooling on a wire rack or refrigerating, so I let this
pie sit on the counter for an hour or so to cool down slightly and thicken up
more. No luck. I placed the soupy pie in the refrigerator
for four hours, but still it would not set up.
The pie went back in the refrigerator for the night and when I woke up…
not set.
Later the
next day, I decided I would try to cut a piece and at least give it a try to
evaluate flavor and texture. As I
started to lift up the pie from the pie pan to my plate, the gooey mess fell
apart onto the counter. Giving up on
notion that this pie could be put on a plate, I dove into the Chess Pie with a
fork.
Two bites were
all that I needed for the Myron Green Chess Pie. It was a failure all around. I could not get around the fact that it
looked like egg yolks, had the consistency of egg yolks, and was made with 2/3
cup egg yolks. If I ever try this pie
again, which is highly unlikely, I will have to find myself a new recipe with a
few more details. Though I have failed
with my pies in the past, this definitely tops the chart as a high-dive belly-flop of a pie.
