Chess Pie, Cheese Pie, Jes' Pie, Chest Pie....Which is it?

This is one of those times when the name of a dish is directly associated with its' origination. One of my favorite name 'justifications' is that it all began with the fact that these pies were kept in a chest, or pie safe, in the early years, hence the alteration of chest to chess. Although this makes the most sense and I love the idea of it, this is quickly discounted because ALL pies and pastries were kept in either a pie chest, safe, buttery, shelf or where-ever there was room to set it.

The other, rather simplistic and comical, explanation is that when someone was asked what kind of pie was being made or eaten, the retort was a short "jes' pie", or Chess Pie over time. As we all know, names are changed for any number of reasons through the generations, but this is an all too easy of an answer when there is no obvious answer.

 

This is a very old front of a pie safe with holes punched out for ventilation.

 

So that leaves us with one remaining name, Cheese Pie. To preface what I am about to explain, let me just say that I adore Southern cooking and all the pomp that goes with any dish that originates there. I have frequently denoted dishes that are said to have started in New England, but have since been proven to be truly Southern. Chess Pie is just not one of those dishes, although we can thoroughly thank them for popularizing it.

Back in the Puritan era of New England, the 'rich' households often made cheesecakes, although far different than what we are accustomed to today. A Robert May, and English chef, printed a cookbook in England called The Accomplisht Cook, 1665. In it, he gives a cheesecake recipe using the same ingredients and preparation method housewives of New England used in the 17th century. And bearing in mind that most of the original settlers in New England were English, it goes without saying this dessert followed. Cakes of all types were commonly made as soon as the Puritans arrived on these shores, including cheesecakes.

It wasn't until the mid-1700s that Chess Pies are even mentioned down South in any printed material, journal or otherwise.

There is one misunderstood theory as well. There was no cheese in a cheesecake prepared during this time. Lemon cheesecakes, and thusly Lemon Chess Pies, were identical in all aspects, including the omission of cheese, which didn't come until the mid-1700s. So why were they called Cheese Cakes? That is for another article.

Now to play devils advocate. Most of the Southern colonies weren't populated until after the New England colonies, so this should be taken into consideration as well. But be that as it may, cheese cakes were made before Chess Pies, although both recipes were identical in preparation from the beginning.

To make a long story short, Chess Pie was so named because cheese cake was baked in a pie tin(or coffyn as originally named) with a single pasty crust. Over time, the name cheese became chess(be it through misspelling or mispronunciation), which is quite easily understood. And going from the designation cake to pie is understood just as easily. After all, one look at a cheesecake and you may even think it should be called a pie.

One thing I have found peculiar, with no explanation at all, is the must-have addition of cornmeal to all chess pies. Since the very beginning, cornmeal, in any amount, is a staple in these pies. Many recipes through the years only put a token amount while others overdo it. Sure, it may have helped to thicken it many generations ago when ingredients were a little different, but today it really isn't needed. But I do add cornmeal to keep this dessert classic. I do, however, change it up a little in the Chocolate Chess Pie, as you have noticed. I use it as a base for the crust instead of the filling.
New England is the birthplace of both cheesecakes AND chess pies, but(as mentioned)the South truly deserves recognition for making the pie famous.

Here are 3 recipes for Chess Pies that I am sure will win you over, regardless of what side of the Mason-Dixon line you reside.

　

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chess Pie

Such a moist and filling Southern favorite. An indulgent pie that mimics the texture of a fudgy brownie with the taste of chocolate pudding and all served in a crispy, peanut butter crust. Treat yourself!

Crust:

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons peanut butter

4 tablespoons milk

Filling:

1 cup chocolate chips

6 tablespoons butter or margarine

6 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tablespoon constahch(haha, a little Yankee humor here-cornstarch rightfully)

4 egg whites

6 tablespoons milk

For the crust, combine cornmeal, flour and salt in a bowl and blend. Add peanut butter and mash it into the flour mixture with a fork. Add milk and continue blending with the fork until everything is blended. With you hands, gather dough into a ball that holds together. Place between 2 large sheets of film wrap and roll until it is large enough for your pie tin. After lining the pie tin, crimp edges if desired; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, add the chocolate chips and butter. Melt over low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and set aside. Preheat oven to 325-degrees F. In a large bowl, mix sugar, cocoa and cornstarch together. Pour in the warm melted chocolate mixture and beat until thoroughly combined. Add egg whites and milk, beating on high speed until smooth. Pour into prepared crust and bake 30-32 minutes, or until firm when touched in the center. The pie will puff up when baking but settle down upon cooling. Remove from oven to cool slightly before serving warm or chill completely if desired.

　

Christmas Cranberry Chess Pie

Although this pie is perfectly fine without the addition of figs or dates, I wanted to add a little Christmas cheer with flavors we don't enjoy but once a year. This pie is the perfect "pantry pie", which is how they were kept many generations ago, sitting on the pantry shelf.

Crust:

2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Filling:

4 tablespoons butter or margarine, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornmeal

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce

1/2 cup chopped figs or dates

3 eggs

1/4 cup milk

In a small bowl, mix the crushed cookies with melted butter. Transfer to a pie tin and press firmly on the bottom and sides; set aside.

Preheat oven to 325-degrees F. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Add cornmeal, cornstarch, eggs and milk. Continue beating until well mixed. Stir in the cranberry sauce and figs. Pour into prepared crust and bake 36-38 minutes, or until firm to the touch in the center. Remove from oven to enjoy warm or cool completely before serving.

Tangy Lemon Chess Pie

Some say that Chess Pie was originally made with lemons. So I upped the ante and added the flavor of lemon with juice and curd. Lemon curd is an intensely flavored 'preserve' type spread that is available in all supermarkets.

Crust:

2 cups crushed vanilla wafer cookies

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Filling:

4 tablespoons butter or margarine, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cornmeal

1 1/4 cups lemon curd

1/2 cup chopped figs, dates or raisins

1 tablespoon lemon juice

4 egg whites

In a small bowl, mix the crushed cookies with melted butter. Transfer to a pie tin and press firmly on the bottom and sides; set aside.

Preheat oven to 325-degrees F. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Add cornmeal, cornstarch, eggs, milk and lemon juice. Continue beating until well mixed. Stir in the lemon curd and chopped figs. Pour into prepared crust and bake 36-38 minutes, or until firm to the touch in the center. Remove from oven to enjoy warm or cool completely before serving.

　

May's recipe for Lumber Pie

Take some grated bread, and beef-suet cut into bits like great dice, and some cloves and mace, then some veal or capon minced small with beef suet, sweet herbs, fair sugar, the yolks of six eggs boil'd hard and cut in quarters, put them to the other ingredients, with some barberries, some yolks of raw eggs, and a little cream, work up all together and put it in the caul of veal like little sausages; then bake them in a dish, and being half baked have a pie made and dried in the oven ; put these puddings into it with some butter, verjuyce sugar, some dates on them, large mace, grapes, or barberries, and marrow – being baked, serve it with a cut cover on it, and scrape sugar on it.

Robert May, The Accomplisht Cook, 1665.

Plum Pudding, Christmas Pudding, Hard Sauce.....

There is only one place in all of America that these words relate to during the Holiday season, and that is New England.

The preparation of any Christmas Pudding(aka Plum Pudding) always started on the first Sunday of Advent, universally referred to as 'Stir up Sunday' by our colonial ancestors. They were gently reminded by their minister, while attending Sunday meeting, when he began to preach, "Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people....". Nobody would ever have attempted to serve Christmas Pudding without letting it sit for at least 3 weeks in order for all the fruit flavors to mingle all together.

But even before the popularity of Plum Pudding, was the, now forgotten, Plum Soup. In the early days, Plum Pudding was slowly cooked and stirred much like mincemeat, but then bagged in muslim and set in a large copper kettle to simmer for hours on end. The richer folks would use elaborate plum pudding molds. Plum Soup was the still liquidy mixture before being bagged and steamed.

Another forgotten dish was Dumb Cake. As the men were dragging in the monstrous Yule log, the single girls of age in the household were busy making and baking this fruit-laden cake. They were forbidden to talk while preparing and baking it. Once made, baked and cooled, she would then stay up until midnight when her future husband was to walk into the kitchen and turn the cake.

The earliest example of Plum Pudding being served, that I can find, is when King Henry VIII served it during his reign, 1509-1547, but most assuredly it was made far before. It was made with true plums at that time as well, only deviating to raisins around 1700 here in New England.

By the mid 1700s in New England, Hunting Pudding was a popular type of boiled pudding. So named because it was often carried by the husbands as they spent days on end hunting for their Holiday feast.

Of course, one may think these types of puddings are too heavy(much like fruitcake), some may think too time consuming to prepare. Others will instantly think of all the fat and calories that must follow such a rich classic.

Well I have Yanked™ TWO great Christmas pudding recipes without upsetting the great balance of taste and texture for a dessert all of our New England ancestors enjoyed, and one we should embrace as well.

Old Fashioned Christmas Ginger Pudding with Bog Sauce

 

 

Such a fantastic Christmas Pudding, serve this delicious classic with a much lighter version of hard sauce below. Although traditional hard sauce has a ton of butter and powdered sugar, I think you will find the pudding is elevated in a delightfully fruity way using Bog Sauce instead.

1(10.5-ounce)empty coffee can, 1 quart measure
Oil to grease
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup eggnog
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon each baking powder and baking soda
1 cup ginger preserves, divided
Boiling water
Bog Sauce, recipe below
1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce

　
Use your can opener to remove any lip on the open end of the coffee can, keeping one end intact. Being very careful, place some oil on a napkin or paper towel and liberally grease the inside of the can; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and egg until creamy. Add eggnog and continue beating until smooth. In a separate, bowl, blend flour, baking powder and soda. Add to butter mixture and beat, on low, until smooth. Fold in half the preserves Transfer to prepared can, it should come halfway up. Gently tap the bottom on the counter to even out. Place a foil over the top, held by an elastic. If your coffee can came with a plastic lid, use this in place of the foil.

Place in crockpot, pour boiling water to come up about a third of the way, cover and turn the crockpot on high. "Steam" for 2 1/2 hours, or until it is firm in the center when you remove foil or lid. If you find the water boiling, simply reduce heat until it is just barely simmering.

Remove from water and let cool for a few minutes without removing lid or foil before transferring to refrigerator to completely cool while still in can. Open both ends and run a knife around the inside to loosen. Push pudding out with a flat-bottomed glass or tumbler. Slice pudding in any fashion you desire with warm Bog Sauce for dipping.
For the Bog Sauce, place remainder of preserves and cranberry sauce in a small saucepan and heat, stirring well.

Enough for 4 servings.

　
Note: If you would like to serve this warm, it is best to cool completely first, then remove from can. Then just simply microwave, covered with film wrap on a plate, until hot throughout.

　

Dark Chocolate Steamed Pudding  

 

 

A much lighter version of the infamous Plum Pudding of old, yet just as flavorful. Who says you need fancy molds and steamers to create a delicious steamed pudding? Not me!

1(10.5-ounce)empty coffee can, 1 quart measure
Oil to grease
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips
Boiling water
Creamy Peppermint "Soft" Sauce, recipe below

　

Use your can opener to remove any lip on the open end of the coffee can, keeping one end intact. Being very careful, place some oil on a napkin or paper towel and liberally grease the inside of the can; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and egg until creamy. Add yogurt and continue beating until smooth. In a separate bowl, blend flour, cocoa baking powder and baking soda. Add to butter mixture and beat, on low, until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips Transfer to prepared can, it should come halfway up. Gently tap the bottom on the counter to even out. Place a foil over the top, held by an elastic. If your coffee can came with a plastic lid, use this in place of the foil.

Place in crockpot, pour boiling water to come up about a third of the way, cover and turn the crockpot on high. "Steam" for 2 1/2 hours, or until it is firm in the center when you remove foil or lid. If you find the water boiling, simply reduce heat until it is just barely simmering.

Remove from water and let cool for a few minutes without removing lid or foil before transferring to refrigerator to completely cool while still in can. Open both ends and run a knife around the inside to loosen. Push pudding out with a flat-bottomed glass or tumbler. Slice into desired sizes and serve with Creamy Peppermint "Soft" Sauce.

Place 1 cup Greek-style yogurt, 1/4 cup honey and 1 teaspoon peppermint, spearmint or mint extract to a bowl and beat until smooth.


Enough for 6(1-inch thick)slices

　

Note: If you would like to serve this warm, it is best to cool completely first, then remove from can. Then just simply microwave, covered with film wrap on a plate, until hot throughout.

FYI: According to a BBC news article from November, 2011, the world's oldest Plum Pudding was found intact 112 years after it was first made and canned. A woman from Poole, England says that it had been in her late husband's family for years with the message "For the Naval Brigade, In the Front, With Miss Weston's Best Christmas. New Year 1900, Wishes".
The lable on the can itself suggests "This pudding is ready for use by may be boiled for an hour if required hot." And if you are wondering, it is not edible because of the deterioration of the can. But nonetheless, quite remarkably well preseved. It is now being conserved at the Portsmouth(England)Historic Dockyard.

Making Wine Out of Vinegar

Brussel sprouts.....ugh! I know many of you think that way about these little green beebees and all too often, reminding you of why you don't eat cabbage. So in order to "re-acclimate" your taste buds, we need to rid this veggie of that aftertaste.

We don't merely want to mask the bitterness with a ton of fat and bacon, or to put layers of seasonings to it. We want to rid it of bitterness.

Relatively new in the flora department, brussel sprouts have only been cultivated, as such, for consumption since the early 1500s, but mentioned in the country of popularity, Belgium, 300 years earlier. The bitter taste of each 'bud' has been a bane to palates since that time, cooks offering their own solutions to make them more palatable.

The predominant reason for eating brussel sprouts, too many, is the outrageously beneficial properties, especially in the antioxidant department.

To begin with, when using brussel sprouts, make sure they are small, rock-hard little orbs. This means they are young with less of the bitter taste to deal with.

But if it is the flavor you savor, minus that bitterness, there is a new way of subduing, or even eliminating, this off-taste. It is the acidic compound known as thiocyanates that are released that is the issue. Certainly boiling them in water releases these compounds, reducing the unpopular flavor. But it is still obviously there.

There IS an alternative to severely cutting the bitter taste, almost eliminating it, and you will see it first here, by The Yankee Chef.

The key is substituting one ill-tasting acidic element with a sweet tasting acid. I like to use apple juice first and foremost. It is one of the highest acidic fruits, believe it or not, with the perfect flavor to transform brussel sprouts. The ph level in apples ais generally 3.3, which is almost equal to orange juice.

To start, always cut them in half first and cut off any visible stem. This not only helps to leach out some thiocyanates but also helps the sprout to absorb the good acid, apple juice in this case. If you want to experiment, use orange or cranberry juice, tamarind or even the top acidic fruit of all, a star fruit. A good reference would be the higher the Vitamin C level, the higher the acidic level will be.

So back to the preparation. After you have cut your brussel sprouts in half, place them in a pot of apple juice and let them soak for at least 2 hours, then boil them in the same juice for only 2 minutes, just enough to barely warm them through. Drain well and use in any preparation you desire.

Now for a great recipe that is packed with flavor, without masking the the overall taste. I have yet to taste any bitterness every time I use the above method or the recipe below. I highly suggest you stay away from frozen brussel sprouts. Freezing completely destroys the texture, almost to the point where they are soft the moment you thaw them.

Brussel Sprouts Amaro a Dolce

Simply meaning 'bitter to sweet' in Italian, these sprouts are absoltely the perfect accompaniment to any turkey, pork or Prime Rib you will be having on the table this Holiday season. You may even get the kids to try them. A beautifully arranged taste of New England with Italian accents.

　

1(12-ounce)bag fresh brussel sprouts(about 2 cups)
2 cups 100% apple juice
1-2 strips bacon, diced
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Large pinch each ground cloves and red pepper flakes
1/2 cup apple jelly*
Dash apple cider vinegar

Prepare brussel sprouts by cuting off any protruding stem and cut each head in half. Place in a large bowl with apple juice, using more if needed to completely cover. Soak at least 2 hours at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 400-degrees F. Transfer brussel sprouts and juice to a large saucepan and boil 2 minutes. Immediately drain, discarding liquid; set sprouts aside. Place bacon in a large skillet over medium heat and cook until just done but not crisp. Remove from heat and discard fat. Add brussel sprouts; set aside. In a bowl, whisk together apple jelly, cloves, red pepper and vinegar. Pour into pan with brussel sprouts and toss to evenly coat. Transfer to an 8-inch pan and roast 40-50 minutes, or until browned on top. Half way through cooking, stir them well. If desired, place them under the broiler for a minute to brown even more. Remove from oven to serve immediately.

Makes 4(1/2-cup)servings

　

*Maple syrup is a nice substitute in this recipe as well