July 20, 2006

Recipe News: A little fudging improves this recipe

"We all need at least one dead-simple dessert recipe in our repertoire, one that turns out perfectly every time and sends guests into raptures at first bite. If chocolate is involved, all the better.

The San Jose Mercury News Food and Wine staff's new favorite is fudge pie. It's a golden oldie from the '50s that I ran across in TV newswoman Linda Ellerbee's engaging memoir with recipes, Take Big Bites, on a long flight from New York. I knew I had to try it as soon as I got back into my kitchen.

Essentially a dark, moist brownie, this crustless pie was a staple of Ellerbee's Houston childhood. Unlike many recipes from that era, it doesn't call for processed ingredients in its quest for simplicity. Chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs -- what's not to like?

This recipe is so easy, the kids could make it with minimal supervision. Melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave, stir in the rest of the ingredients, pour it all into the pie pan and pop it into the oven.

The first pie I made and brought into the office disappeared in no time. It was good, but I felt it could be better.

I had followed the recipe to the letter, including mixing all the ingredients together in the Pyrex pie pan in which it was cooked, and the top crust bubbled strangely in spots, perhaps because the butter hadn't been mixed in well enough. In addition, the edges were almost black and a bit too crusty after 25 minutes in a 400-degree oven."

Includes recipe for:

MAMA'S RESCUED FUDGE PIE

Full article here.