The snow will go on forever. The outside temperature will never again be above 10 degrees. I will have to wear snow pants for the rest of my life. But not all hope is lost! At least there's pie.
When I first started out writing about food, I made a list of possible topics to cover. It started small, but days later, I was still scratching down ideas, still conjuring up hundreds of food memories that were each such a critical part of my past and such a vital part of my culinary life.
One of the first things I wrote down was that pie at Colean's. Growing up, my good friend Colean lived nearby, and I'd spend a lot of time at her house, building obstacle courses in the basement, trying to catch and pet her obese pet rabbit, listening to the fascinating slosh of her water bed, and, always, eating. Her mom, Gloria, was a big cook and baker, and seemed to always be trying out something new in the kitchen every time I came over to play. I'd be invited to stay for dinner, and I always hoped it would be her teriyaki flank steak, coarsely cut across the grain, dripping with salty sweetness, and igniting what has now become a deep love for those incredibly complex, carefully-balanced Asian-style sauces.
(And what is it about young girls and steak, anyway? I laugh as I write that question, but I think of my teriyaki steak obsession every time I hear one of my female students declare that their favorite food is steak. I've taken careful mental notes over the years, and I'm continually astounded by how many 8-12 year-old girls are absolutely obsessed with steak. I was very much that steak-obsessed girl, too, and it baffles me to this day. Steak just doesn't really do it for me these days, but damn! I loved it when I was younger.)
So, I was eleven years old. The obstacle course had worn us out, and it was time for dinner. We'd have teriyaki steak, and potatoes, and a vegetable, and I remember thinking that my mom would be proud that I was eating a well-rounded meal. (See, mom? It worked! You taught me the power of a square meal without making me thinking it was lame! How'd you do it?) Despite that fact that Colean and I would be constantly corrected for singing at the kitchen table, I always loved eating there. Eating at friends' houses was exciting and valuable, like going on a mini-vacation. It was fascinating and delicious to see how other people lived and ate, but I was always excited to go home, be with my family, and eat the food that I knew.
There was a lot of baking going on in Colean's house, and yet I only remember two particular desserts. First, I came over one day to a giddy Colean, waving her arms around as she danced through the kitchen, announcing, Welcome! We have freshly baked Rice Krispie treats! I was polite enough to keep it to myself, but all I could think was, Rice Krispie treats aren't baked. How can someone not know this?
The second dessert was this. This pie. Straight out of the Junior League cookbook (which at the time had just been published), this was my first peanut butter pie and, with any luck, it'll also be my last. It's an outstanding pie. I only had it that one time at Colean's, but I always wanted it again, and would hope for it madly as I rode my bike over to her house. I was too shy to ask her mom to make it again, and I remember thinking, I'm going to have to make this pie every day when I grow up.
I got to it a bit earlier than that, though. This was, in fact, the first pie I ever made by myself, crust and all. And now that I'm grown up, and I've had the good fortune of eating and baking a great many peanut butter pies, I still love this one the very most. Perhaps it's because this pie is truly very well-balanced, or because it reminds me of being full-throttle happy and free, or because I associate it with that pure exuberance I get when I eat something and know that I can replicate it in my kitchen with my own two hands. No matter the reason, this pie makes me unendingly happy, just like it did the first time I had it.
When tasked with a dessert for Thanksgiving with Andy's family last November, I made this pie for the first time in years. Praying it was decent, I snuck a small bite before everyone else so that I could confirm it wasn't poison (this is something I always try to do with a cake or pie that I take somewhere to share, although I laugh now as I think about it -- if it was bad, what would I actually do? Stand on the table and announce, "DO NOT EAT THE PIE! WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT EAT THE PIE!"? I'm not sure. But this, fortunately, was not the case at Thanksgiving. My surreptitious bite confirmed that it was edible, and even quite good, so I relaxed a bit. But when Andy's grandma tasted it, she smiled her grandma-approval smile, and she commended me on a pie well done. And grandma approval? Well, that's true success. That's not good pie, that's perfect pie. That's true happiness.
Peanut Butter Pie
from the Springfield, IL Junior League Cookbook
1 C + 3 T powdered sugar (divided)
1/2 C creamy peanut butter
1 baked pie shell
2/3 C sugar
1/4 C cornstarch
1/8 t salt
2 C milk, scalded
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 T butter
1 t vanilla
1 C whipping cream
chopped peanuts, peanut butter chips, and chocolate shavings for garnish
Blend 1 C powdered sugar with peanut butter until mixture resembles tiny pellets (I use a handmixer or food processor for this). Cover bottom of pie shell with half of the mixture. Combine cornstarch, sugar, and salt in top of a double boiler. In a separate bowl, slowly pour scalded milk into egg yolks while whisking. Pour egg-milk mixture into double boiler, whisking over medium heat. Stirring constantly, cook until pudding is smooth and thick, lowering the temperature if it reaches a high boil.
Remove pudding from heat and add butter and vanilla. Working quickly so that the pudding will melt the peanut butter, pour half of the pudding into the pie shell. Cover with remaining peanut butter mixture, and then top with remaining pudding. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.
Combine whipping cream and 3 T powdered sugar. Whip until soft peaks form. Spread whipped cream over pie and top with garnishes.
Note of deliciousness: while I do appreciate that this pie doesn't rely on chocolate to cloud its peanut buttery magic, I do often serve the slices on top of a small puddle of hot fudge. Which is amazing, but you could also serve slices on top of small mud puddles and it would still be really good.
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