smell memory and chocolate chess pie.

my friend alison requested the recipe for my chocolate chess pie a few days ago.

chocolate chess pie is my favorite pie, and i love using my mom's recipe.

it's the best when warm, because it has a slightly crunchy, chewy, thin crust and a thick pudding-ish middle. it is so very simple to make. it would be perfect on a snowy day like this.

before it seems i'm just sharing a good recipe without a deeper story, consider this interesting quote about our sense of smell:

'Importantly, the olfactory cortex is embedded within the brain’s limbic system and amygdala, where emotions are born and emotional memories stored. That’s why smells, feelings and memories become so easily and intimately entangled, and why the simple act of washing dishes recently made Dr. Herz’s cousin break down and cry. “The smell of the dish soap reminded her of her grandmother,” said Dr. Herz, author of “The Scent of Desire.”' from the New York Times article, The Nose, An Emotional Time Machine

when i thought about making this blog, i wanted to include recipes. cooking is a craft for me. sometimes after a hard day at work, i love to come home and create something in the kitchen, focus my mind on something else besides the list of tasks. furthermore, there is definitely something about those familiar family foods. we smell those dishes cooking and we are instantly connected to the times before (even often into childhood) that we shared that dish.

so, enjoy this recipe. if you're afraid to make a pie, just buy the pre-made pie crust dough at the store- the actual pie is super easy.

Chocolate Chess Pie

Combine:

1 1/2 C sugar

5 TBS cocoa

2 TBS flour

1/4 tsp salt

Add 1/2 C evaporated milk.

Beat in 3 eggs one at a time.

Add 1/3 C cooled melted butter and 1 tsp vanilla.

Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake @ 325 for 50-60 min.

Mom says, "serve with ice cream to cut the richness."

(thanks mom, for sending me the recipe.)