“When you die, if you get a choice between going to regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if it’s not, mmmmmmmm, boy.”
—Jack Handy
Today’s story is contributed by Sue Marquis Bishop
When my father started talking about an old girlfriend’s cooking, my mom baked him this little number. He decided she was a keeper.
My mother prepared a formal dinner with dessert every night of the week for her husband and four children, and the six of us ate together, at the table in the dining room, Dad at one end and Mom at the other.
Old Fashioned Cream Pie
Whenever the dessert was cream pie, Dad would ask, “Did you know I married your mom because she made the best pie I ever ate?” Then he’d pause and chuckle. “Even better than Josephine’s pies,” he would add with a wink in my mom’s direction.
Then he’d retell the Marquis family story. My parents met on a blind date in Charleston, West Virginia, in the spring of 1938. She said he arrived at the door in a brown-checkered suit. His first words were, “Hi, I’m Harold Marquis. Do you want to go dancing?”
He noticed my mom’s big blue eyes and naturally curly hair. She thought he was handsome and polite. And they quickly discovered they had an unusual thing in common: They both had twin sisters.
After dancing they would often stop at a diner for pie and coffee. Dad loved pie and had a distinctive way of eating it. He’d always tell the waitress, “Put the pie in a bowl and pour milk over it.”
Sue and her father, Harold Edwin Marquis II (“Mark”)
On one occasion he happened to mention that his old girlfriend Josephine had made him a pie. Mom didn’t answer, but the next time he picked her up for a date, she had her old-fashioned cream pie waiting for him.
“That was the best pie I ever ate,” Dad always said. “I decided right then that I was going to marry this girl.” In December 1938, Ina and Harold were married. They were both 21 years old.
My parents had a long life together filled with many blessings. They were graceful ballroom dancers and enjoyed dancing well into their 80s. They both arrived in the world in 1917, and they both died in the same year — 2008 — after 70 years of marriage. I miss them every day.
Our extended family of children, spouses, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren now numbers 22.
All the Marquises know the story of the cream pie that started our family. We still make it sometimes and whenever we do, we retell the story, as we eat every bite of this delicious dessert and lick our forks.
Old Fashioned Cream Pie
OLD FASHIONED CREAM PIECrust:
12 graham crackers, broken
2 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 1/2 cups cold milk
4 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
fresh berries
DIRECTIONS
For crust: Heat oven to 350F. In a food processor blend graham crackers and sugar until finely ground. Add butter and pulse until combined. Reserve 1/4 cup crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture into bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 7 min. Cool while preparing filling.
For filling: In a 3-qt saucepan, whisk together sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Add milk and egg yolks and whisk to combine. Heat mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly until mixture begins to bubble and cook 1 min more. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, nutmeg, and butter; place over an ice bath to cool slightly before pouring into baked crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 5 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with reserved graham cracker crumbs. Serve cold with berries. Serves six.
Sue Marquis Bishop, PhD is a Professor and Dean Emeritus, College of Health and Human Services, University of North Carolina Charlotte. She has previous experience as a registered nurse and family therapist, and has held academic and administrative positions at University of South Florida and Indiana University. Sue has been published in the areas of mental health, family therapy and developmental psychology.
Another wonderful touching story to remind us it’s often the little things most remembered. I can’t wait to try the yummy recipe! Great example of the power of love.
love and appreciate each Savvy Dad,
Rita Davenport