#7: Minny's Chocolate Pie

Yes, two years later and I finally get around to watching ''The Help''. What a great movie! But one can't walk away without wondering about Minny's Chocolate Pie. Luckily for me, Food and Wine had the same questing and sought out Lee Ann Flemming, the food stylist from the movie.

The pie itself was uber-simple.  You just need a handful of ingredients -- all of which are pantry staples.  The filling then comes together in minutes.  All you need to do next is kick up your feet and wait for it to bake.

I used dough scraps to make decorative hearts for the top of the pie.  I bet a stenciled powdered sugar design would also be fun.  Or, you can also serve it like Minny with a dollop of whipped cream.

#2.1: Sweet Potato Pie with Marshmallow Topping

So, take two on the Sweet Potato Pie.

The goal.  Prevent the soggy bottom crust.

Rather than changing how the potatoes were cooked, though, I stubbornly stuck with boiling.  However, I tweaked a few things.

First of all, I make sure the potatoes were well drained.  That means, after they cooled and I peeled and mashed the potatoes, I let them set in a strainer for a awhile.  This release a couple tablespoons of liquid.

I also reduced the dairy and replaced the milk with half and half, swapping moisture for a richer liquid.

Next, I figured the filling may have separated during cooking -- allowing the liquid to soak the bottom crust.  With that in mind, I whisked my filling with the hopes that it would hold together long enough to set.

Finally, followed a tip from America's Test Kitchen's Pumpkin Pie recipe and used a warm pie crust to get the cooking process started sooner.  Again, getting the pie to set before soaking the crust.

Those steps seemed to resolve my soggy crust issue.  Phew!

That done, there was one additional touch I made to this version.  I added marshmallows to the top of the pie and toasted them under the broiler.  Delish!

#2: Sweet Potato Pie

So for my second pie, I opted for a Sweet Potato Pie.  Specifically, a recipe from James McNair, who came highly recommended by a co-worker.  Actually he brought me his copy of James McNair's Pie Cookbook, which could be lovingly considered his "bible".

There, I took his recipe for Sweet Potato Pie, which I followed to the tee. In the end, I think I was jinxed by Sarah (sorry but it's true) who made a soggy bottom comment on my Chess Pie post because...yes, the bottom crust on this pie came out soggy.

I mentioned this to my co-worker and he told me that he always baked his sweet potatoes rather than boil them, which makes sense.  In addition to boiling and baking, the recipe also suggested microwaving, which could cook the potatoes without imparting more moisture.

Aside from the crust issue, though, I couldn't figure out anything else I needed to change.  So I asked my husband to take a bit and give me his though.  After devouring the pie (soggy bottom and all), he agreed that he wouldn't change a thing.

#1: Chess Pie

Because I have a ton of buttermilk in my fridge, I originally wanted to do a Cardamon Buttermilk Pie.  However, when I realized I didn't have any lemons after pre-baking the crust.  So I had to change my plans and find a pie that didn't need an unbaked crust.

That lead me to what I think is the cousin of the Buttermilk Pie...the Chess Pie.

With my first pie, I encountered a problem that many people seem to have with this pie...a very liquid center.  Chilling the pie helps solidify it but it's a bit disappointing not being able to eat the pie warm.

So with my second attempt (yes, luckily my crust recipe if for two crusts) I'm trying to things.  First, because it seems like the ingredients have separated, I've used the whisk attachment on my mixer to keep things emulsified longer.  Second, I keep the pie in the oven longer -- turning it off at an hour but leaving the pie in the cooling oven for 20 minutes.

Final result...sugar overload!  (Which translates into "delicious".)

(As you can see, while the pie was baking, I gave Piper the crust scraps and she went to town making her own creation.)