Guest post: Black Bottom Pie

Thanks to my wonderful friend Katie, here is a fabulous recipe for what has to be one of the most delicious pies ever! Her heritage story of this recipe is truly sweet.

I have grown up in the shadow of amazing cooks my entire life.  My grandmother was legendary, my mother was renowned throughout the neighborhood for her baked goods, and my aunts were admired for their recipes at each potluck and social occasion.

Growing up under this burden, I was always intimidated to try my hand in the kitchen - especially when it came to baking.  It wasn't until I moved into my first apartment in college that I started to enjoy experimenting with different spices, inventing new flavors of baked goods, and hunting down my family's favorite recipes.

In the past few years, my grandmother has had to stop cooking because of various health issues, but she has been generous in passing along family treasures - in the form of stories and recipes.  One of my favorites she has shared is her mother's (my great-grandmother's) recipe for "Black Bottom Pie" - practically a staple in the deep southern heart of Mississippi where my maternal family hails from.  The stories she shares while eating this treat are some of my personal favorites.

My grandmother shared both the typed version from her mother, and a re-written version courtesy of my aunt (who was responsible for the crayon scribbles on the original version at a young age).  I share them now with you to enjoy and savor.  I wish you a tasty dessert and plenty of fun stories to go along.

Black Bottom Pie

From Forrest Milam Bowen (my great-grandmother)

Pie Crust:

18-20 graham crackers rolled to fine crumbs, mixed wel with 5-6 Tablespoons of melted butter

Line a 9" pie plate with this and pat out like a pastry

Bake for 10 minutes at 300 degrees

Filling:

Soak 1 envelope of gelatin in 4 Tablespoons of water

Take 1/2 cup sugar, 2 heaping Tablespoons of flour and mix

Beat in 4 egg yolks and add 1 3/4 cups scaled sweet milk (regular milk is fine)

Cook over slow heat, stirring constantly until thick

Add gelatin and stir thoroughly

At the same time, slowly melt 2 squares of unsweetened chocolate

Pour a little over half of the custard over the melted chocolate

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to chocolate mixture

Pour into the pastry and let cool

Make a stiff meringue of 4 egg whites, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 1/2 cup sugar

Beat stiff and add to the remaining custard mixture while still smooth and soft

Pour this into the pie and chill about 30 minutes

Take 1 cup of cream, whip, and add 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

Spread over the top of the pie

Grate semi-sweet chocolate over the top and set in fridge until cool.

ENJOY!

Cuisine creativity

< main dish inspiration >

As a woman who cooks almost every night, I am always looking for new and delicious items to whip up for dinner (or any meal, really).  Find yourself in the same boat?  To the rescue, any cookbook, food magazine, or these days- of course- the amazing Pinterest!  I have pinned and pinned tasty looking items on this board, and am just revisiting it and picking some of my favorites to inspire my creativity in that 'central hub' space in our house with the beloved fridge, detested counters, and ever-helpful cooking appliances.  You can check out some of my past culinary successes here, and let me know if there are any great recipes you have recently tried!

< appetizer ideas >

< desserts to crave >

Corned beef and cabbage soup

Even though it is officially spring, the cooler evenings still have me craving hot meals at dinnertime. One of my favorite things to do is cook up a big pot of soup on a Sunday night, and store it in the fridge to reheat throughout the week. Last Sunday, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I whipped up this quick and easy batch of corned beef and cabbage soup. Mmm, mmm, it's so delicious!

3P recipe: stuffed bell pepper soup

Although the weather is nearing 80 degrees some days this week, it was cold, rainy, and windy a few days last week.  On one such typical 'March- in like a lion' day, I was hungry for stuffed bell peppers but decided to make a soup- totally appropriate for a rainy night- instead.  I adapted my own makeup of this soup, and it is quick, easy, and oh-so-delicious!  The 3P man loved it, and after I shared some with my grandparents, my grandma sent me a sweet text message letting me know my grandpa labeled it "Definitely a Second Bowl of Soup good!"  Give this a try on the next cold March night in your neck of the woods, and let me know what you think!  Here's the recipe I used: 

4 Pins for Friday

TGIF, you wonderful 3P faithfuls!  So happy that Friday is upon us and the weekend is right around the corner.  With the past few days (and weeks!) being swamped, I am looking forward to a little time to spend relaxing, socializing, and getting some fun projects completed this weekend.  A birthday party, a workout or two, some baking, and a Superbowl get together are all that are really on my agenda, and I am really looking forward to this kind of schedule.  Hope you have a great weekend!

1. A hot drink and a comfy sweater will make for an ideal winter Saturday morning.

2. This is an adorable DIY Valentine card- you can see my DIY cards made with love, from last year, here.

3. With New York Fashion Week right around the corner, I am dreaming of the wardrobe I would wear there.  A super-cool clear clutch like this one would be one of my most-haves.

4. I love me a pasta, and the healthier the better- I will have to try this recipe soon.

Pretty easy-peasy pumpkin pie

 < Ingredients for the easiest, most delicious pumpkin pie ever! >

A chill is in the air, leaves are on the ground, scarves are now in full rotation, and it is totally time for hot cider and pumpkin pie!  For a wonderful dinner with friends the other night, I whipped up a few of these easy, delicious pumpkin pies.  The recipe, officially titled 'Sensational Double Layer Pumpkin Pie,' is one that one of my most favorite women in the world loves to make, and has been kind enough to share with me.  It was a hit the other night, and I am excited to make this again for upcoming Thanksgiving celebrations!

Sensational Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

        Ingredients: 4 ounces softened cream cheese    2 small packages instant vanilla pudding

                                     1 tablespoon half and half             1 16 ounce can pumpkin

                                     1 tablespoon sugar                         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

                                     1 1/2 cups cool whip topping        1/2 teaspoon ginger

                                     1 graham cracker pie crust             1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

                                     1 cup cold half and half

Beat cream cheese, 1 tablespoon milk, and sugar in large bowl.  Stir in whipped topping.  Spread in crust.  Our 1 cup cold half and half in bowl.  Add pudding mix, and beat well.  Stir in pumpkin and spices.  Mix well. Spread in crust over cream cheese layer.  Refrigerate 4 hours or until set.  Garnish as desired and enjoy. Makes 1 pie.

 < Mixing the cream cheese, half and half, and sugar >

 < Adding the cream cheese mixture to the graham cracker crust >

 < Pumpkin pie spices are some of my favorites! >

 < With the pumpkin mixture added on top of the cream cheese mixture, your pie is basically done! >

< Ta-da!  Made, ready to chill, and then enjoyed! >

Tastefully delivered

< Spices, spices! >

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a Tastefully Simple party at a sweet friend's house.  The evening was delicious- lots of good friends, plenty of happy laughter, wine to go around, and an abundance of tasty dips and sauces.  I was enticed to try out a few of the all natural spices and a few of the other highly recommended products, and was so happy when these arrived on my doorstep a few days ago!  I cannot wait to cook with these, and to make some semi-homemade (totally my style) items with the box mixes that I ordered.  Have any of you fabulous 3P lovelies used Tastefully Simple items before?  Which are your favorite products?

 < Everything arrived snug as a bug in a box that was the perfect size >

 < A few booklets were included to inspire new cooking ventures >

 < The products I chose were mostly for seasoning purposes >

< I have heard so much about this bread and cannot wait to make it! >

Tomatoes and 'cumbers

Remember when I mentioned tomato and cucumber salad in this post? Well, I had a few friends as about the recipe, so I thought I would share this completely simply, healthy, and perfectly crunchy summer salad.  This is pretty much my favorite side dish to make in the summer year round, and as of recently it has been on my lunch and dinner plates several times a week.  The man loves is, and it is a hit when I have brought it to barbecues in the past.  Here's what you will need, as seen in the above photo:

Simple tomato cucumber salad

tomatoes and cucumbers

olive oil

salt & pepper

italian seasoning (or any other of your choice)

grated or diced cheese (I prefer parmesan or mozzarella)

note: other add-in options such as garbonzo beans or celery slices make a tasty addition!

Now just follow the steps as provided in the post and you can make one of the easiest and most delicious side dishes I know!

Summer corn on the bbq

< Easy-peasy, crunchy, tasty! >

When the weather is hot, there is no food I enjoy more than something that has been cooked on the barbeque.  I love marinating meat for these kinds of meals, and am always looking for more recipes of any kind of summer meal.  However, my most favorite BBQ treat has of late has to be this corn on the cob recipe that me and the man have tweaked to make our own.  It is simply seasoned, and will not require any heat in your kitchen to come out complete.  See the recipe below, and simply serve with your other BBQ favorites and enjoy the tasty treat of this corn on the cob!

Do you have any summer BBQ favorites, for corn or otherwise?  Let me know in the comments below!

< Gather your ingredients: ears of corn, olive oil, salt, pepper, nutmeg... and tin foil! >

 

< Then shuck your corn, and remove any strings- I like to do this over the sink to make for an easy clean-up process- everything is collected and is easy to toss in the trash can, and the remaining small pieces can be sent down the disposal. >

< Next, give those ears (of corn, of course!) and gentle scrub with a veggie brush to rinse them and remove any remaining strings. >

 < Create 'plates' with the tinfoil you will wrap the corn in- I like to bend up the edges so that all the spices stay within the foil.  Brush on olive oil, then sprinkle on your spices- salt and pepper to your liking, and be fairly conservative with the nutmeg, as it can be quite flavorful. >

 < Wrap flavored ears of corn in tin foil, and seal well.  Place on BBQ for about 20 minutes, or until done. >

< One favorite way of mine is to serve this corn with barbecued chicken, and rice pilaf (we also enjoyed a tomato cucumber salad and honeydew melon with this meal), but add to any of your favorite summer dinners and enjoy! >

Spanish cluck cluck

Alright, I'll admit it... semi-homemade is pretty much the everyday mantra I am proud to embrace.  The other evening I decided to throw together a chicken and rice dish, and I used this recipe for a quick, simple, and delicious dinner meal.  The finished meal was perfectly flavored, and made me much happier than tacos would have.  Also, my favorite aspect of making a dish like this during hot summer weather: the house is not filled with heat from the oven!

 < Even when just the chicken was browning, the man said it smelled good already! >

< Chicken, green pepper, onions, and garlic... mmm! >

< Dinner is served! >