November 25, 2004
6.283185307178 And Spacemen's Legs
That's two pi(es) and a pasta salad made with rotini, which resemble the corrugated appendages of '50s TV spacesuits.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Pie
This one is my absolute favorite; it has evolved considerably over the years, thru the combination of an oatmeal pie which at one time contained coconut and a very different sort of peanut butter pie, and has now reached perfection.
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup -- light or dark
1 1/4 cups oatmeal
1 stick butter or margarine -- melted
1 tsp Wonder brand flavoring --- or vanilla extract
2 eggs -- beaten
3/4 cup peanut butter -- creamy
1 9" pie crust
Mix sugar through eggs together. Stir in peanut butter. Let sit about 15 minutes to allow the oatmeal to soak up the filling a bit. Pour into pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool a bit before cutting.
Use any pie crust you like (or none at all; the pie sets up quite firm once it cools). I like the peanut butter pie crust for this pie.
Peanut Butter Pie Crust: 1-1/2 cups pulverized peanut butter cookies (including the filling). Add 5 TBSP melted butter, mix together. Pat into pie shell & pre-bake for about 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees F.
French Silk Chocolate Pie
1 cup unsalted butter - 2 sticks
1 1/2 cups white sugar (very fine sugar, such as some of the generic beet sugar, is best)
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 pie crust -- (9 inch) baked
Cream butter and sugar. Blend in chocolate and vanilla. Beating at high speed, add one egg and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Repeat with each remaining egg. Keep whipping until fluffy.
Spread in cooked pie shell of choice and keep refrigerated
Wee wifey's notes: "I generally use a crust made from pecan shortbread cookies. The key to success is thorough beating. Beat 5 minutes after each egg for a minimum of 20 minutes total for the pie. This is what makes the pie! And yes, I use a hand mixer. To do so I sit at the kitchen table with another chair in front of me (between my legs). On the chair I have 2 large phone books on which the bowl is placed. In this position I can lay my arm on the kitchen table and hold the hand mixer -- thus I am able to mix the filling for the required 20-25 minutes and not have my "arm drop off". Be sure that you can see a clock from this position. It also helps to have the radio or TV on to make the time go a bit faster."
Please note this pie uses raw eggs. Be sure to use only fresh eggs for
this recipe. Do not serve to the immune impaired.
Spacemen's Legs Pasta Salad
2 pound rotini -- white
3 cups Italian dressing -- buy a 24 oz bottle
2 bunch green onions -- chopped (including tops)
1 large can sliced black olives -- drained
1 large jar green salad olives -- drained
1 bunch fresh cilantro -- chopped
5 plum tomatoes -- chopped & seeds removed
2 lrg green pepper -- chopped (to taste)
1 cup celery -- chopped
1 cup parmesan cheese -- grated (to taste)
1 cup real mayo -- or less
1/2 cup sour cream -- to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Cook noodles, drain and rinse. Mix with green onions and the bottle of Italian dressing. Put in icebox for 2 hours. Mix rest of ingredients into pasta mix. Gets better with time.
NOTE: add any fresh vegetables that you like: sliced mushrooms, chopped
broccoli or cauliflower, sliced or diced seedless cucumbers or zuchini, fine shred carrots are all good. Diced sweet onions, reds or Vidalias, can be substituted for the green onions. A tablespoon of celery seed can be substituted for the chopped celery. Running the cilantro through the mini food processor makes it less obtrusive. The onions can be through the food processor as well. If you don't like cilantro substitute parsley. If you are adding a lot of extra vegetables, add extra mayo or sour cream for the dressing. If you put too much dressing in and it gets runny, add extra parmesan cheese & that will dry up the dressing & make the salad taste even nummier.