pie fail...

...due to circumstances beyond my control. I go to a pot luck type dinner at least once a month and often do not have anything edible in my hands when I walk in the door. There are times when it is all I can do to get myself there, without considering what sort of food I might take to share. On a recent Tuesday night, I took a package of (on sale) chocolate chip cookies. That the eaters obviously were not particularly impressed with, as I returned home with about half the pack intact.

So I put cookies in a gallon zipper bag to pass along to people who can eat that stuff without guilt or dramatic blood sugar problems. They could not linger around this house, as I do not like chocolate chip cookies, and they on my list of foods I hope I will never again put in my mouth. My list of 'urpy foods' is a blog for another day...

I made the pie mostly due to the fact that I really like custard-y type things, and was thinking how good it would be to make two and have one that was not traveling, but staying at my house. They were not a roaring success. There were several slices of the one that went to the covered dish dinner left in the plate that I gave away, knowing another of the (disappointing) pies was awaiting my return. I will give the recipe exactly as it was written in the cook book and you will soon discern why it was not a pretty pie to take to a dinner, and sadly not particularly interesting in the mouth as well.

I should have realized there was 'something wrong with this picture' when the instructions had me cooking the ingredients for such a low temp and such a short time, with three eggs in the mix. I looked at several recipes and some how failed to compare the cooking times... obviously something is very much askew. It's 'dense', and kinda' homely in the way someone will say 'she has a great personality' - meaning she looks like she has been beat with an ugly stick. The man who has eaten three quarters of it reports it is very good. My response was 'of course it is, there is a stick of butter and cup and a half of sugar in it.'

Chess Pie
(as copied from the 'In Spired Delights' cookbook, though the author/guilty party will remain anonymous.)
1 stick butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs, beaten
1 Tbs. vinegar
Melt butter. Add sugar and beaten eggs. Mix well and add vanilla and vinegar. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake for 10 min. at 300, then at 325 for about 30 min. or until set.

I cooked it for much longer.  And still could not decide if it was ready to take out of the oven. The sugar made a crust on the top of the pie, so it was hard to test with a toothpick to decide if it was done. I was really sad and disappointed but took it to the dinner anyway, so they would help with eating up TWO unsuccessful pies. There is still about a fourth of one in the fridge, but I am not even remotely interested in eating that homely pie.