Betty's Chocolate Pie Deluxe

I loved the name of this pie. Not just "Chocolate Pie," but "Chocolate Pie Deluxe."  Really basic ingredients for a really yummy (and rich) pie.

The recipe called for marshmallows, whipping cream, milk, chocolate candy bars and a homemade graham cracker crust.  Without thinking, I purchased Hershey's Special Dark bars even though it called for milk chocolate. I'm really glad I made this mistake.

I got to make my first "from scratch" graham cracker crust! Who knew it would be so easy? And I was thanking the Lord for my Cuisinart. I couldn't imagine grinding up the crackers any other way. Butter, sugar and graham cracker crumbs. What I loved about it (and the first thing my husband commented on) was that it made a really thick crust.

Next you beat the whipped cream in a chilled bowl...that was set aside in the fridge for later.  Time to melt the chocolate, marshmallows and milk!

Now, it's time for the assembly.  You just have to stir the chocolate once it's cooled and fold it into the whipped cream...then pour in your pie shell!

Betty warns you that the pie is pretty decadent and she isn't lying.  One tiny sliver is all we could manage...and then we shared as much as we could with friends.

The Bitchy Crocker Project is Born

One of my favorite cookbooks growing up was my mom's copy of the 1972 version of "Betty Crocker's Cookbook." A few weeks ago I was lamenting to her that I didn't have a copy and when we see each other over Thanksgiving, I was going to get to work scanning my favorites. Our conversation that night led me to eBay where I found a really good copy of the cookbook, bid and subsequently won the auction.

Once it arrived, I started going through the recipes amused and a bit aghast. As an adult, I don't think I've ever purchased a container of Crisco, but I remembered it being in our home growing up. Mom and I started chatting and before we knew it, we had come up with an idea to cook our way through the book. Now, we know this wasn't a terribly original idea, but how fun would it be to spin it a bit and become the "Anti-Julie & Julia Blog?"

It then occurred to me that my mom often referred to Betty as Bitchy Crocker, and so our blog was born.

Here are the rules so far:

1) There is no time limit. We figure trying to get all of these done in a year is crazy talk.

2) The recipes must be cooked according to the directions. We can only veer off the path (so to speak) once we have tasted the end result. And thus far, we have concluded that the 70's didn't like flavor.

A couple of weeks into this and we're starting to realize that Crisco, food dye and jello molds are going to probably consume our lives at some point. And what the heck is a corn stick pan?

Our husbands have already assumed (correctly) that they will be taking baked goods to work with them.

Over a thousand miles separate us, but I anticipate this project making us even closer (as long as SHE cooks the BBQ Lima Bean recipe!). We hope you'll follow along, learn something about the culinary delights of the 70's and most of all, have fun!