Chocolate Chess Pie

Now, what is chess pie?  Chess pie is the ultimate pantry pie, meaning it's made with stuff you'll always have in your pantry.  The main ingredients to any chess pie recipe are sugar, eggs, flour, and cornmeal.  Some recipes call for milk, others butter, and some buttermilk.  Other variations have a bit of vinegar, lemon juice, or other spices added.  See what I mean, it's kind of a find what you have in the pantry and throw it together kind of pie.  Once the basic chess pie is mastered then there are variations using coconut, pecans, or cocoa powder for a chocolate chess pie.

Chocolate Chess Pie

Stories/theories as to the origin of the pie cover a wide range of possibilities.  The least likely I've ever seen written was that it was a pie served when the men went to the study to play chess.  Another is that because of the high sugar content it would keep well in a pie chest that  people called it chest pie and with the Southern drawl it became chess.  I've also heard that old Southern women would throw stuff together to make a pie and when asked what kind would say "It's jes pie" which non-Southerners heard as chess.  I have no real clue where the name came from though I am mildly curious.  Regardless, it's a good pie and quick to make and super easy if you use a store bought pie crust.

Fresh from the oven

Cooled and ready to slice

You may have noticed that there aren't many desserts here.  Well, that's because we don't eat that many.  Most times, if we want something after supper it'll be popcorn, canned peaches, or some cheese.  Every so often though, we'll get the hankering for something sweet.  A week or so ago, the good wife told me she felt like having some cake.  The next day a video for a chocolate chess pie came across my Facebook feed.  It's been years since the last time I had chocolate chess pie I decided to do that.  The good wife agreed that it sounded good and asked when was I going to make it.

The basic recipe I used came from the Southern Living 1986 Annual Cookbook.  The below recipe is with my changes.

Chocolate Chess Pie

3 eggs
1.5 cups sugar
pinch of salt, my pinch is about 1/2 tsp
4 Tbs cocoa powder
1.5 Tbs flour
1.5 Tbs corn meal
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1 unbaked deep dish pie crust
Optional, 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Add the dry ingredients, including pecans if using, to a bowl and mix well.  Put the milk, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl and combine well.  Pour the milk mixture into the dry mix and stir to combine.  Pour into the pie crust.  Put pie into 350F oven for 45 - 50 minutes.  The center should be set.  Let cool on a rack.

That first slice of pie

When you serve the pie, you have a range of options.  The simplest way to serve the pie is by itself.  A more decorative way to serve it is to lightly dust the slice with powdered sugar.  Of course, the over the top ways to serve it are with either vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

A nice sprinkling of powdered sugar

This pie keeps well on the counter, just cover it with aluminum foil.  Not that it will stay around very long once you taste it.  Yes, it is that good if I do say so myself. 

Give this pie a try the next time you feel the desire for something sweet.  Let me know what you think.


Uncle T

Red Rice and Shrimp with Boiled Okra

Rice has been a staple in the South for a long time.  It is more prevalent in the Low Country cuisine of the Carolinas and in the Cajun and Creole cuisine of Louisiana.  Still, I remember eating rice while growing up in Tennessee.  Between the presence of rice in Southern cooking and in the Korean and Thai cooking we enjoy, the good wife and I eat a fair bit of rice.  Cooking rice in my pressure cooker makes it an easy choice for many meals.

Red Rice and Shrimp with Boiled Okra

I'm not sure where or when I first saw anything about red rice.  It's not something we ate growing up.  I've been trying to come up with ways to use more of our canned tomatoes and this came to mind.  Plus shrimp and rice are an excellent combination so it just went from there.


Even though our okra is anywhere from almost upright to almost parallel to the ground after the edge of hurricane Matthew hit us, it is still producing.  Since the good wife prefers boiled okra and we had plenty of the smaller pods it was a match made in heaven.  Making good non-slimy boiled okra is detailed in this post, Boiled Okra.  The only change was that I added some of my Cajun style seasoning to the butter instead of using hot peppers.


Red Rice and Shrimp


1.5 cups rice
1 red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 28 oz can tomatoes
1.5 tsp Tarragon
1.5 tsp Oregano
1.5 lbs shrimp, 31-35
6 Tbs butter
Cajun seasoning
salt


Cook the rice according to the method you use.  I used the pressure cooker set for 7 minutes.  Divide the red onion into quarters and slice.  Julienne the bell pepper to strips about the same length as the red onion slices.  Melt 2 Tbs butter in a skillet and add both the red onion and bell pepper and sprinkle with a bit of salt.  Sautee' until they are tender.  When the rice is done, add the red onion and bell pepper to it and stir.  Drain the tomatoes, reserving the liquid, and add to the rice.  Break up the tomatoes and stir into the rice mixture.  Add the Tarragon and Oregano and stir.  Season the rice mixture to taste with the Cajun seasoning.  Add the reserved tomato juice until you get the consistency you want.  Keep warm and let the flavors meld.  Season the shrimp with the Cajun seasoning.  Melt the remaining 4 Tbs butter in a skillet and add the shrimp.  Cook until done and add to the rice mixture.  Stir to combine.  Serve with boiled okra and enjoy.  Serves 4.

A colorful and tasty meal

The shrimp can be left tail on if you like the look of for presentation purposes.  I pinch the tails off because I'd rather not have to fool with it while I'm eating.  If you take the tails off, keep them in the freezer until you have enough to make some good shrimp broth for making seafood soups.  I prefer 31-35 size shrimp because they are small enough to eat with one bite and not have your mouth too full and can be cut in half to eat with some of the rice.


I believe that chicken cut into bite size pieces and given the same treatment as the shrimp would work for folks that are allergic to shellfish.  I'll have to give that a try sometime.


There are many Cajun style seasonings available.  I was given some called "Slap Ya Momma" several years ago and we like it.  Since that can ran out, I've devised my own version of it to avoid having to order it since I've not seen it in stores in Virginia.  If you don't have a preferred seasoning look this one up and order it.


If the tomatoes don't have enough juice to get the consistency you want, add a bit of water or even white wine.  For the first meal, the home canned tomatoes had enough juice to get the consistency I wanted and enough left over for the good wife to drink the next day.  When I reheated the leftovers I used some left over white wine for some additional liquid.  It did add something more to it than water would have.


See, another fairly quick meal that packs a punch of flavor.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.


Uncle T