Win-a-Guy Pie (Derby Pie)

When I was thinking about what recipe to begin with, I was a bit lost. To be honest, I haven't been cooking many amazing meals lately. In fact, last week I made probably the most disgusting meal of my life (penne pasta with shrimp and spinach and a balsamic cream sauce - my execution was poor and the balsamic cream sauce was a wash). I didn't find it disheartening, though. I was just happy to be back in the creative groove of what can be a tedious, rushed and frustrating chore - dinnertime.


I have been cooking and baking here and there, though, for special occasions. A few weeks ago my bestie and I worked on 2 hotdishes for our local community fundraiser - The Hotdish Revolution - and tied ourselves for 1st place with 2 very different dishes. The first was a creamy barbeque pulled pork with cheddar cheese and jalepeno cornbread and the other was a pot roast with mashed potatoes, homemade cream of mushroom covered with a puff pastry. A few weeks before that I stumbled upon an amazing idea - Candied Bacon and added that to my favorite cookie dough cupcakes. So, stay tuned for those amazing recipes.


Despite that, my day to day cooking has been lacking. I've been lazy and unmotivated - I admit it! I've been really uninspired due to the weather lately - my veggie and herb garden is only half done and I only just started it last week due to a cold spring. Also, this year we have changed farms for our weekly CSA veggie box and it's not going to begin until mid-June, which is probably for the best since the season has not produced much yet. It's just been hard to get into cooking this season.


So, I decided to go with my first ever recipe. No, it's probably not a Springtime kind of pie, but it is one of my all time favorite, nostalgic, decadent baking recipes, so I figured it would make a good start. What I call the Win-a-Guy Pie. Why do I call it Win-a-Guy Pie, you ask? Well, a wise old man once said, "if this is how you bake, it won't be long before someone snatches you up and puts a ring on your finger". No, we're not in the 50's anymore (and I'm not sure I would exactly call it "winning", lol), but I have found it to be too true! The base of the recipe is what my mom calls a Derby Pie, but I have added my own flair to make it truly one of a kind. I never like giving away all my secrets, but don't you worry, I will. But, it will be up to you to use your own judgement and really make your own mark.


This very rich, decadent pie, can really be taken anyway you want it -sweet and salty with less chocolate chips and some nutmeg, smooth and chocolaty with more chocolate chips and some good ol' Bourbon, sweet and spicy by adding some ginger with the nutmeg, or plain jane by just using some vanilla extract. Anyway you take it, you will love this pie - and so will your guy!


Win-a-Guy Pie

You will need:

• 1 Large Mixing Bowl
• Whisk
• 1 Cup Measuring Cup
• 1/2 Cup Measuring Cup (unless you're lazy like me and just go with a 1 or 1/2 cup depending on which is clean :)
• 1 Pre-made Pie Crust (again, feel free to be lazy and just buy the Pillsbury one, if you are even lazier and can't bring yourself to go to the store, there are plenty of recipes - use your google-fu and try not to stress when they sound finicky)
• 1 Glass Pie Plate

Ingredients:

• 3 Eggs (is it considered more or less lazy if I just get them from my girls in the backyard?)
• 1 and a 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Cup Corn Syrup
• 1/2 Stick Butter
• 1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (I think I guesstimate and use about half the bag - sometimes I use much less and sometimes much more, it is a very rich pie either way!)
• 1 Cup Chopped Walnuts (yes, I said walnuts, not pecans, this is key, people! Also, see above comment on measuring)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 

Secret Ingredients:

• Nutmeg (let's say a tablespoon)
• Cinnamon (teaspoon to tablespoon, somewhere in between)
• Ginger (lets say a teaspoon)
• Vanilla Extract (let's say a teaspoon)
• Kentucky Bourbon (a couple tablespoons or double it to a 1/4 cup, you decide :)

Directions:

1. Fold and crimp edges of pie crust into the pie plate
2. Set oven to 350*
3. Melt butter for 30 seconds on 50% power
4. Whisk eggs
5. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter until smooth, don't worry about small chunks
6. Sprinkle in salt and any secret ingredients you choose, whisk
7. Pour mixture into the pie crust
8. Sprinkle evenly with walnuts and chocolate chips
9. Bake for at least 45 minutes (if you see the crust getting too dark, add aluminum foil to cover around the edges)

This is truly a fool-proof pie. You just can't go wrong! Let it sit, but serve warm with whipped cream (there are some fun flavored whipped cream recipes out there that work perfectly with this - I suggest checking out these Flavored Whipped Cream recipes for a variety of ways to change things up (the Chai and Bourbon flavored ones jumped out at me, and you could even try the Grand Marnier orange liqueur one for some contrast) and Rachael Ray's Spiced Chocolate Whipped Cream).