Grandma's Chocolate Pie

My husband and I were in a bookstore looking at the next cookbook we'd like to use for a cooking group we belong to. We came across many awesome books, but I came across a book that touched my heart. The Homesick Texan. In case you haven't read my tagline or the "About Us" section on this blog, or even the name of my blog, I am a Texan living in Georgia. I'm always homesick. Always. I miss Texas. I miss the air. I miss the bluebonnets. I miss the "home" feel you get when you KNOW you're in Texas. You don't know that feeling unless you're from there. I love the people. I love the crazy weather. I love the food.

I swear Texas is in a seperate category for food. There is NOTHING like Texas food. Chicken Fried Steak with cream gravy....never had a better one outside of the state. Tex-Mex ... now I was raised on real Mexican food, but when you can't get the real stuff, Tex-Mex is a close second. The recipe for the Chalupas in this book....oh. my. word. I seriously could eat those everyday.

A staple for any Texan & my dad....Pecan Pie...and if you say "puh-can" you're saying it wrong. It's "pea-can". Ask any Texan. My dad taught me how to say it correctly. I love hearing him say, "pea-can". He stretched that one syllable into about 4. Peach Cobbler...serve hot with Blue Bell Vanilla. I have VERY fond memories of all five of us kids literally licking the pan the cobbler was baked in. When cold of course. We had it on rare occasions and it was another favorite of dads. Chocolate Pie...rich chocolate with a buttery crust and a cool, fluffy meringue. Again, my dad loves chocolate pie. Yes, he has a bad sweet tooth. Sopapillas. Now there is a recipe in the book for these, but I cannot bring myself to make them. My granpa Tony & Aunt Helen made the absolute best sopapillas EVER. There was no imitating their recipe. They've both passed and I miss them terribly. Maybe one day I can get my granma to tell me the recipe. Somehow, I doubt there was ever a recipe. I never saw either with a written recipe.

So back to The Homesick Texan cookbook. I walked out of the door that day not buying a single book. I was a little sad going home without the book. A few days went by and I made a comment about the book to a friend. She had the book. Well, it is her husband's cookbook. He got it for a Father's Day gift. She lives 45 minutes away so she put it in the mail and I had it the next day. I was giddy!! I immediately knew the recipes I wanted to try. I had mentally taken notes of some of the recipes while I was at the bookstore.

I have eaten most if not all of these recipes in some varied version at one time or another in my life. It's the reason I love this cookbook so much. It makes me feel like I'm home. Certain recipes remind me of people or a time or a tradition. It helps relieve that homesick feeling just for a moment, one sweet or savory bite at a time.

So, which recipe is this post about: Grandma's Chocolate Pie. There are two pies my dad loves. Pecan pie & a Chocolate Pie. I miss my dad. I made this pie to remind me of the great man he is and how much he would love a slice of it.

Grandma's Pie Crust
Ingredients:
For the crust (Makes enough for two. Cut the dough in half. Freeze the half for up to 6 months)
2 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk

Method:
Mix flour and salt. Mix oil and milk. Pour oil and milk into flour and salt and stir until combined into a dough. Can add more milk if dry. Separate into two balls (save one ball for another pie). Roll crust out between two sheets of wax paper, line a buttered pie pan with crust.

Grandma’s Chocolate Pie
Filling ingredients:
4 tablespoons of cocoa or 1 1/2 squares of baking chocolate
3/4 cups of sugar
5 tablespoons of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 egg yolks, beaten slightly
1 tablespoon of butter

Meringue ingredients:
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon of salt
4 tablespoons of sugar

Method:
Mix your sugar, flour, salt, cocoa, eggs and milk (all except vanilla and butter) with a whisk.
Cook while stirring on medium until it bubbles and thickens, about five to 10 minutes. If it becomes lumpy, just beat out the lumps. (It will not get any thicker in the oven so cook until it's as thick as you want it.)

Remove from heat and stir in your vanilla and butter. Meanwhile, poke holes in your pie crust with a fork and bake it at 350 until it’s brown, about 20 minutes.
 

Beat your egg whites with salt and when they start to get fluffy add the sugar. Pour the chocolate custard into the baked pie shell and top with the beaten egg whites. Bake it until it the peaks on the meringue are lightly browned, about 10 - 15 minutes.

Grandma says: “It’s real good hot, wonderful cold and you can even eat it frozen—then it’s like a popsicle!”

Note: All that's happening in the oven is the browning of the meringue. So be sure and keep cooking the custard in the pan until it's your desired consistency.
 

 

 

My dad would love this pie. Since I can't send him a slice, I'll eat it in his honor. Love you, dad!

 

 

Until next time,
Reb