Me-Oh-My Pie Shop and Cafe’s Mississippi Mud Pie by Debra Every

PIE-A-DAY #60

This recipe comes to us from Debra Every, of Me-Oh-My Pie Shop and Cafe in New York.

I was hit in the face with a pie when I was twelve. It was banana cream. If relationships with food are forged at a young age, I suppose that was my moment.

My brother and I were in the kitchen, teeth bared, anger high. Although the reason for the fight has evaporated over time, I do remember when the thought of throwing milk in his face came to me. It was exhilarating to consider the forbidden. The fact is, you don’t throw milk. It goes too far. But throw it, I did. I looked at my brother’s shocked expression, milk trickling down his nose, betrayal in his eyes. He snatched the pie from the table, more as a reflex than anything else. I knew he was bluffing. Throwing the pie was too grand. It was breaking the barrier between civilized and barbaric. And so, for one sublime moment, our eyes locked, a banana cream pie in my brother’s hand, we froze.

No sound.

No movement.

Complete stillness.

But Pandora had been summoned and, to both of our surprises, the silence broke and my brother hurled the pie into my face. It was magnificent.

I was attacked by all of my senses. The smell of the banana, the taste of the cream, the feel of it on my face, the lack of sight – even the sound of my own voice screaming, detached. At that moment, torn apart by the heightened sense of battle, I formed a relationship with pie that stays with me still.

I am the proud owner of a pie shop. This was never my life’s goal. I find myself, nevertheless, at the age of 57, in a baker’s world. Why? Sometimes we fall into things without knowing what we’re in for. Sometimes events spin out of control. Sometimes we have no choice. Be that as it may, I am surrounded, day in and day out, by the seductive smells from which memories are made. For good or for bad – for wise or for foolish – a pie shop is what I have.

Keep reading for the recipe…

MISSISSIPPI MUD

Melt:

3 oz unsweetened chocolate

4 Tbl butter

Mix at high speed until thick:

2 eggs

1 ½ Tbl light corn syrup

½ cup + 2 Tbl sugar

¼ tsp salt

Add:

Melted chocolate/butter and mix by hand until blended

Pour into a blind baked pie shell with ½ cup of pecans

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes until just barely set.

In pan, mix together:

.10 lb flour

.22 lb sugar

¼ tsp salt

Add:

1 ½ cups brewed coffee

½ cup milk

Cook on top of stove until thick

Add:

2 egg yolks

And then:

2 Tbl butter

Pour into cooled pie

Ganache:

½ cup heavy cream

.28 lb semi sweet chocolate, chopped

Bring heavy cream to just barely boiling.

Add chocolate and mix gently until melted and fully incorporated.

Pour ganache over cooled pie so that it completely covers the top of the pie, just within the boundaries of the crust. Allow to cool

Garnish with chopped pecans around the edges.