Last pie

Today I made the N pie -- and it was a disaster! First, having decided on NIsselrode (Nectarine would have been too much like peach), I had three recipes from the internet, with widely differing ingredients and process. I settled on one and bought the ingredients. I should have stopped right there: 2 cups heavy cream PLUS 6 cups vanilla pudding in a 9 inch pie shell? But I decided to "work through it." After a bit I realized this recipe was in fact two recipes combined, so I quickly changed my process. Just as I was congratulating myself that I had surely diverted disaster, more problems emerged. The chestnut puree plus two cups of cream plus just one tablespoon of cornstarch cooked over boiling watery refused to thicken (and I stirred constantly for the best part of an hour). Plan -- or recipe -- B, two eggs separated, yolks in chestnut custard to thicken it. Still no luck, move to recipe C and add a pack of gelatin. By this point my patience had given up, and I pulled out all the stops. I stirred the (still thin) mixture into 2 cups of vanilla pudding and added the egg whites beaten to stiff peaks. Oh, and some glace fruit, toasted chopped almonds, and orange zest as called for by recipe C. As you might expect, I had more than enough filling for two pie shells, and a huge pile of dirty dishes in the sink.

Along the way I realized that Nesselrode Pie was a holiday pie where different families would have their own favored ingredients to add to a "Classic Bavarian Cream Pie." Clearly I made a pie with a whole village's worth of fillings!


And the verdict: Jack gave it 4 pies. I did not think it warranted that many!

So, my alphabet pie quest is complete! Six pies are advancing to the next round; they all received the highest rating from the chief tester. They are:
* Goat cheese pie
* Honey crunch pecan pie
* Jumble berry pie
* Key lime pie
* Peach custard pie
* Uncle Hip's favorite apple pie.

The ultimate winner of the taste-off will join my ongoing pie repertoire: Apple, blueberry, rhubarb strawberry, and quiche.
(Full list of pies and ratings is available on request. Recipes are not available.)