Triple-Chocolate Pudding Pie with Cappuccino Cream

Remember Sonny the crazed Cuckoo Bird who was “Cuckoo for Coco Puffs”!?  That phrase captures the essence of my love for chocolate.  I have an obsessive-compulsive relationship with chocolate.  Cravings for chocolate are relentless, gripping sensations.  I cannot take my mind off it or satisfy it with something else.   It’s CHOCOLATE, c’mon!  There is nothing like it.  In conversations about chocolate, you do not find many people who simply “like” chocolate or who “occasionally partake” in the eating of chocolate.  We assume that everyone loves chocolate; it is just a matter of what type.  

Finding and securing chocolate is a holy mission, thus the world smiled as I made this pie.  I turned to one of my new favorite cookbooks, Bon Appetit 2004, for the recipe.  I carefully patted down the foundation of salty, chocolate graham crackers.  Then I poured a silky, custard-like pudding filling into the basin of the crust.  The near-black colored chocolate formed soft folds in the pan.  It tasted like virgin chocolate, deeply smooth; seemingly untouched and untainted by both man and excessive sugar.  

I served it chilled, with a dollop of cappuccino cream on top.  At first, the pie was creamy and rich.  Each bite brought a comfortable feeling, almost as if it was warm.  Then the airiness of the cream cut the initial heaviness.  The pie began to float and fade elegantly on my tongue.   My overwhelming desire was not to greedily devour every last bit immediately, but rather to reflect and return to this blissful pie later.  A pie of this caliber demands reverence.  They say the greatest sign of respect for a dish is licking the plate clean.  I would not put it past me.   

Triple-Chocolate Pudding Pie with Cappuccino Cream

Ingredients:

Crust

9 whole chocolate graham crackers

1 stick salted butter, melted

Filling

1 ¼ cups sugar

½ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder

¼ cup cornstarch

3 ½ cups half and half

4 large egg yolks

3 ½ oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 T salted butter

1 t vanilla extract

Topping

1 cup chilled whipping cream

2 T powdered sugar

1 ½ t finely ground coffee

½ t vanilla extract

Instructions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350˚F.  

2.       Finely grind graham crackers in food processors.  Add butter and blend to moisten crumbs. [I just used a rolling pin to crush them up very finely and added butter.  Didn’t work great, but worked.]

3.       Firmly press mixture into a 9 inch diameter pie dish.

4.       Bake until crust sets, about 15 min.  Cool.

5.       Whisk together sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch in heavy medium saucepan.

6.       Gradually whisk in 1 cup half and half.  Whisk in remaining 2 ½ cups half and half and yolks.

7.       Whisk over medium-high heat until mixture thickens and boils, whisking constantly, about 12 minutes.  Remove from heat.  

8.       Add both chocolates and butter; whisk until melted and smooth.  

9.     Add vanilla.

10.   Transfer filling to crust.  Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of filling and chill until filling sets, about 6 hours. 

 

 11. Meanwhile, beat topping ingredients in large bowl until peaks form.  Rewhisk to thicken when ready to use.

Give “Piece” a Chance: Key Lime Pie

There is a certain deficiency in one’s diet that is too often overlooked: key lime pie. Can’t remember the last time you had it? I would bet that it’s either because someone else gobbled it up too quickly or you only get to have it on that rare summer evening. This decadent, creamy pie is so rich you might think it is chocolate. But the light, bright finish of lime lifts the heaviness and makes you want at least one more slice [even if this is your third already].

Pies begrudge cakes because they tend to always end up neglected. Who in college has time to bake a pie? [Or can spare the calories to eat one!?] This recipe for key lime pie gives a new meaning to “Easy as Pie” taking really only about 5 min of prep time, 15 min of cooking, and 2 hours “hands-off” chilling, It is also storable in the freezer for about 2 weeks, if you can hold yourself back that long. [This way you can evenly disperse caloric intake over the next few days…right?] The longest you will wait is the chilling period, which although it can be equally as maddening, has a definite payoff.

Choosing to freeze the pie was a critical part of this pie-rfect key lime pie; an observation made by my roommate. It kept longer and the consistency was much better. Instead of pudding, it was like smooth ice cream.

The moral of the story: give “piece” a chance. A piece of pie that is.

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

2 [14oz] sweetened condensed milk

1 cup lime juice [fresh squeezed – will take about 6 limes]

2 whole eggs

1 cup sour cream

¼ cup powdered sugar [make it as sweet or sour as you desire]

1 tsp grated lime peel

Instruction:

1. Preheat oven to 325˚ F.

2. In a separate bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, lime juice and eggs. Whisk [or stir vigorously with a fork] until well combined.

3. Pour into graham cracker crust, bake for 15 min.

4. Chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.

5. Combine sour cream and powdered sugar in small dish. Spread on top of pie. Sprinkle lime peel as garnish.

6. Place in freezer until solidified.

Stop. Eat. Enjoy: Chicken Pot Pie

Not many other foods in this world demand you slow down and take a moment like Chicken Pot Pie. As one of the great quintessential comfort foods of our time, this savory pie is will have your mouth watering hours before dinner. It’s like a spa treatment for the stomach. The aromatic smells of sautéing onions, garlic, leeks, celery and carrots will get the juices flowing. After preparing your cream sauce from a hot chicken stock and cold cream, toss in some chunks of tender chicken. Soon enough everything will be soaking in a bubbling bath of cream sauce on your stove. Then tuck it gently into a casserole dish with a layer of soft dough, and set it in oven until the crust is golden and flakey.

It’s a heavy belly bomb of flavor and satisfaction; you will most likely want a nap afterwards to complete your relaxing feast. It’s so hot you can barely eat it, but burning a couple taste buds seems a worthy price to pay. Few things can be valued as greatly as a homemade chicken pot pie. To me, it’s home, it’s family, it’s love. Although this time I went it alone: made it myself, with a new recipe and no family to partake in the eating, it was the same delicious goodness that I remembered from childhood. 

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

2 chicken thighs

2 chicken legs

2 T olive oil

2 leeks, sliced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 stalks of celery, sliced

½ onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T butter

2 T flour

2 c chicken stock [homemade is the best!]

½ c heavy cream

1 can cream of mushroom soup

½ c frozen peas

Salt and pepper

2 pie dough shells [refrigerated]

Instructions:

1. In large pot, boil chicken in about 4-5 c of water for about 15 min, until cooked.
   
2. Remove from water, let cool. Then cut into chunks.
   
3. Drain water from pot, add olive oil.
4. Add vegetables and sauté for about 7 min over medium heat.
5. Remove vegetables from pot.
6. Add butter, melt. Add flour, make roux.
7. Slowly pour in chicken broth, whisk until smooth over medium low heat.
8. Once thickened, whisk in cream.
9. Add can of cream of mushroom soup, continue to whisk until smooth and thick.

10. Add in chicken and vegetables, and frozen peas. Salt and pepper this dish lightly as it does
not need added salt.
11. Continue to cook over medium heat until heated through.

** ***This can be made ahead of time, just keep on stove on low heat until ready to bake.

12. 12. Preheat oven to 350.

13. 13. Put first pie shell in bottom of ceramic casserole dish, do not poke holes in crust.

14 14. Add in the cream, veggie, chicken mix.

15. 15. Put second pie shell over top, pinch sides.

16. 16. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 min.

Makes one large, 4 person pie. NOMS: 9.6