maybe?

Here is a link that might be useful: chess pie w/ vinegar

The pieces must be a b*tch to chew! LOL! (Everyone's a darn commedian eh?)PJ

Thanks Kathy!
That looks about right - no milk or extra stuff.

PJ! Tsk, tsk tsk...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Mom gave me another copy of the family recipe yesterday.

Chess Pie

1/2 C. butter
2 C. sugar (white)
3 eggs
1 C. milk
6 heaping Tbsp. cornmeal
1 Tsp. vanilla

350 for one hour (Top burns easily.)

*The one Kathy listed was very dense, compact and super rich. It didn't form layers and wasn't 'clear'.
Made a very tasty tart, though!

I bet you could loosely cover the top with a tent of foil to help prevent the top from over browning or burning.

I've never had chess pie. How'd it get it's name? It sounds a lot like a custard. I bet DH would love it, since he loves anything with corn meal.

Sally

It is custardish and absolutely wonderful!

I do cover the top to keep it from burning at the end. Lesson learned, it burns MUCH faster in a convection oven!

There are several theories about the name, I personally like the last one:

(From Southernfood.about.com)
The earliest printed reference to the pie was in a cookbook published by the Fort Worth Women's Club in 1928. The unusual name has many possible origins. Some think it is derived from the word "cheese", even though there is no cheese in chess pie. According to Sara Belk in "Around the Southern Table," old cookbooks often referred to cheesecakes and pies that did not actually contain cheese, using the term to describe the curd-like texture. Elizabeth Hedgecock Sparks, author of "North Carolina and Old Salem Cookery," said chess pie was "an old, old tart which may have obtained its name from the town of Chester, England."

In "Southern Food," John Egerton offers two more possibilities.

The first has to do with a piece of furniture common in the early South called a pie chest or pie safe. Chess pie may have been called chest pie at first because it held up well in the pie chest.

The second story is that a creative Southern housewife came up with the concoction and tried it out on her husband, who loved it. "What kind of pie is this?" he is said to have exclaimed. His wife shrugged and smiled. "I don't know," she said; "it's ches' pie."

I'm going with the last story.A nice southern lady made it up with a perfectly straight face to boot! I think we might have been relatives too. My relatives come up with stuff with names like "sunrise surprise" and such. She might have been the only one that could actually cook....well, maybe she's not a relative....PJ

THe only time I tasted it was in a school cafeteria, which isn't the best introduction, I guess. Their chess pie seemed like what's left after you scrape the pecans off a piece of pecan pie.

Is that what it is supposed to taste like? My family calls that the mooshy part - that happened after I started serving Pecan Tart which is the pecan pie without the moosh.

PJ..."She might have been the only one that could actually cook"

My DIL and I were talking about this the other day. I made pie crust from scratch for Thanksgiving, from my great grand mother-in-law's recipe. Dil said I was probably the last person in the family who would be doing that. Now with so many convenience foods and premade foods, cooking is being lost.
When DIL was in high school they still had home ec. Do they still do that? On a lark, my son took home ec because he figured that was the place to meet girls.

DH loves to make pies and empanadas, and he has his own special recipe he uses for the pie crust. Actually, I don't know if he follows one exactly every time, but what he does do every time is add cheddar cheese to the pie crust dough. He even uses that dough for the chocolate merange pie that he makes. Believe it or not, you don't notice the cheddar cheese, but the crusts sure are good.

Sally

Natvtxn, the art of cooking wasn't lost in this family. It wasn't ever there. BOTH grandmas were known for being awful cooks. (They both lived about 100 years and passed away in the 1980's and 1990's.Way before convience foods!). My dad,an aunt and my sister do pretty well but we have no great cooks at all. I avoided Home Ec and got into wood shop myself.PJ

LOL! I did not realize until I was grown that Mother was not a good cook. With the exception of liver, I am not picky what I eat. But I am picky of how it is prepared. I do not like covered dish suppers, since I have no way of knowing how clean the preparer's kitchen is.
I can remember being told, "don't eat Aunt so and so's dish, because she and her kitchen are dirty".

LOL! Ewwww! PJ

We met my FIL for lunch yesterday and had a discussion about the direction of food in this country. He lives in The Woodlands so his perspective is a bit different from ours. Such as, he was unaware that we can buy locally produced milk, honey, nuts, herbs, veggies, grains, eggs, some fruits and organic beef & poultry.

It brought his argument that we are completely dependant on foreign beef and grains up short. (Thankfully!) But I had to agree that it is no longer necessary to know how to cook. Almost anything you want comes in a box or bag with easy instructions printed on the back. The people who don't cook, I mean cook-cook, are dependant on whatever sources the manufacturer choses.

Fortunately, I LOVE to cook and enjoy hunting down the best ingredients. Making pie crusts, candies, pasta and breads is soooo easy and there is a world of difference in the taste. It does take a bit more planning than opening a container and throwing it in the microwave, although not much.

For example, last night I had a craving for chocolate chip cookies. Twenty minutes later, warm dark chocolate cookies were being munched with a glasses of milk while we played Scrabble. Yes indeedie, I love our Kitchen Aid and the convection oven!

Jac, you've touched on a subject near and dear to my heart. I have grown to love cooking, and I agree, using good ingredients to begin with makes a big difference. I find it very sad that so many people eat out of boxes and such. I used to, and still do sometimes, but for the most part it's just not necessary. For example, take pasta. I used to make those pasta dishes that you buy in a box with the seasoning package. Basically with those boxes you bring water to a boil, you throw the stuff in the box into the water, and it's done. That was never enough for me; I'd chop up some spinach, onions, and garlic, and add them to the pasta. Then I got to wondering, why am I doing this? I can get a package of pasta, boil it, do the same thing with the onions, garlic and spinach, add some olive oil, salt and pepper, grate some parmesan cheese, and wallah, a much better tasting meal in the same amount of time with the same amount of effort, and much healthier. So much of the packaged foods are not much easier to make and taste so much worse than real food.

I have to admit that I've tried not to nag my dil and son about anything during their time together, but I did find myself doing just that about their nutrition and cooking. Since she's expecting now, I thought I'd point out that they really need to start cooking more and eating out less, both for their budget and for their nutrition. I've got a long way to go to convince them that cooking real food will make a big difference in their health and their budget, but I'm working on them.

Did I say you hit one of my buttons, Jac?

I'm going to copy that recipe, thanks for posting it.

Sally

For years, I made home made jams. My two oldest gkids were so shocked when they found out you could be jam in a store. I remember once Logan refusing a pbj because it did not have grandma's jam on it.
The last two years I have not gotten fruit. Either from high winds or a late freeze.

I'm not a big fan of jams or jellies, but we used to always make our own cookies. The kids actually got tired of them, and having been introduced to storebought cookies at friends' houses, would occasionally beg me to buy them some. Looking back on it now, I should have varied the type of cookies we made to keep it interesting for them.

Speaking of looking for recipes, I used to have a Southern Living Magazine from the '80's that had some cookie recipes I liked to make. I don't know what's happened to it. At least, I think it was Southern Living. Anyway, there was a recipe for thumbprint cookies using chocolate instead of jam for the filling, and it wasn't a Hershey's Kiss, but rather a home made chocolate filling that was quite tastey. I sure wish I could find that magazine, cause I'd love to make those cookies.

Sally

Sally, what do you think of the 'thumbprint' variations at Cookie Madnesshref>?

I've never canned/jarred anything except candles and I don't think they count! I wish I would have learned to make preserves from my grandmother. By the time we harvested the apricots, peaches, berries, plums...all I wanted to do was get back outside and play.
Ok, I'll make dewberry jelly this year! (Kathy, expect me to call in a panic!)

What did one Berry say to the other?
* *
* *
* *
* *
If you hadn't been so fresh we wouldn't be in this jam!
LOL! PJ

So does it taste like Butter?

I'm very attractive to uncommitted calories.
I can't go making a whole pie just to see what it tastes like.

Does it taste like cornmeal?

Jac, It is very easy to make jam and jelly. Just buy a box of Certo and follow the directions. Jelly is a bit more work because you have to squeeze the juice out of the fruit. Jelly also uses more fruit because you use only the juice.
Once you ladle the jam or jelly into the jars, tighten them as tight as possible. Turn them upside down. This way the hot jam keeps the lid hot longer so it will seal better. Once they cool you can turn them upright. DO NOT tighten them again once upright or that will break the seal. You can hear the lid seal as it will make a pop/click noise. If you are not sure, press the center of the lid with your finger, if it clicks or gives it is not sealed. You can keep any that are not sealed in the fridge.

That's cute, PJ!

Thanks Kathy, but still be prepared for a panicked phone call this summer ;)

The small amount of cornmeal is just for a top layer of crunch, not flavor. My husband says it reminds him of Creme Brulee. I'd say buttery and slightly sweet. Maybe "mooshy" shortbread without the flour?
Dang it, now I'm going to have to make another one just to answer this question properly!

I don't think I used corn syrup in my recipe, but I do like the Ghirardelli chocolate. I don't know if I could bring myself to put corn syrup in anything. Thanks for looking, though.

txgardenlady, are you talking about the Chess pie? My guess is that it would taste like custard, but since I've never had Chess Pie, that's just a guess.

Sally