It was the best of times,
It was the worst of times,
It was the flavor of lemon,
It was the flavor of chocolate...
Ha! Name that famous piece of literature. (Miss Shaddock would be so proud...)
Tonight, our church hosted its annual Pie Auction to benefit a youth mission trip. I know most churches--including ours--are working hard to modernize, reach the un churched by becoming more cool and cutting edge, singing choruses written by guys wearing v-neck t-shirts instead of hymns written by candlelight...
Oh! Excuse me! Wrong post...I got a little carried away by the soapbox in front of me.
I'll get back on track:
Tonight, our church hosted a good old-fashioned pie auction. A pie auction, as in all the ladies (and a few men) spent yesterday and today measuring, and baking, and tasting their favorite (usually secret!) pie recipes. Tonight, we all met in the church's Fellowship Hall, proudly carrying in our prized pies. You could tell which ladies had done the baking--they (we) were the ones slyly walking past the the table, measuring up each pie, making note of which ones were the surest winners.
You see--not only was it a pie auction--it was a pie CONTEST. Before the pies were auctioned off at staggering prices, they were judged. The winners were awarded embroidered aprons, with the grand prize winner receiving a silver pie server--with the names of past winners engraved.
A Tale of Two Pies was played out at our house this weekend. I have a budding young baker--now claiming some entitlement in my kitchen. Oh, that might have sounded possessive, or bitter--but I couldn't be HAPPIER or MORE PROUD of my mini chef!! Especially since...well, more on that later...
The two pies? Mine was my sister's recipe (okay, okay, she would make me tell you that she got the recipe from Southern Lady magazine.) The name alone made me want to make this pie--Lemon Sunshine Pie. Doesn't that just sound like a HAPPY pie? And, yes, this pie will make your taste buds VERY HAPPY. It's a wonderful recipe--a baked pie shell, a layer of tangy lemon curd, a creamy lemony layer (I like cream cheese!!), topped with fresh whipped cream. Ooh la la!
(I am very sad to tell you, I cannot find the recipe anywhere online. None of the Lemon Sunshine pies I am finding are the same...this one calls for...are you ready for this? 8 egg yolks. Yes, you read right...e-i-g-h-t. Wowzer.)
Why am I standing at my front door with my pie nearly vertical? I have no idea. Except maybe my kitchen was too messy by this time to snap the picture there...And, well, if you must be nosy, my living room was, too. Plus, the red front door just makes me happy. And that odd floral thing coming out of my head I actually described how to make here.
But, this is a story of TWO pies. My daughter Rebecca wanted to uphold her last year's victory by entering once again. Last year she was blown away when they called her name as winning the Best Cream Pie with her Chocolate Mousse Pie. She wanted to use the same pie recipe--but do something a little different. What she came up with was deee-lish! Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse Pie. She actually wanted a little longer title, but, in the end, stuck with the mouthful 5-word description.
I know you would probably love the recipe. But, I am SWORN to SECRECY. Pinkie promise, and all. (I draw the line at spitting in my hand and shaking.) But, I will tell you that it is a very kid-friendly recipe--and one that Rebecca totally followed herself. I was in the kitchen while she was making it, but she made the entire pie by herself.
You don't believe me? Well, watch this:
Don't you just want to swipe your finger in there really quickly? I won't tell...
Are you on the EDGE of your SEAT to FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED???
(I'd like to hear you TRY to cheer that mouthful 3 times!)