My labor of love...

When Bridget at Bake @ 350 came up with the idea for Flavor of the Month, I was so excited. It was just the push I needed to fiinally start my own blog. All month I've been thinking and planning and trying to decide what to make in order to post.

Well, July happened (too quickly) and all of a sudden it was July 31st and I hadn't made a pie yet (not to mention starting and posting to a blog).

But, just in time, I had company coming. Finally! A reason to bake a pie.

So, since my girls had been gone for almost a week, and they love French silk pie, I decided that would be the perfect welcome home pie to bake.

I call it a labor of love because it involves pasteurizing the eggs which isn't my favorite part.

Here we go:

French Silk Pie

Crust:

1 1/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 T. cold butter

1/4 c. shortening

3-4 T. ice water

Put flour and salt in a bowl. Stir together. Cut in the butter and shortening till pieces are pea

sized. Sprinkle water over flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Gently toss with a fork. Repeat until all is moistened. Form dough into ball.

Turn out onto a floured surface. Roll to fit into 10 inch pie pan. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, until browned. (Cover edges if they brown too quickly.)

Cool.

Filling:

1st step - pastuerize the eggs

5 eggs

1 1/3 cups sugar

Place ingredients in a heavy

saucepan. Stir well. Cook over medium-low heat stirring constantly until mixture reaches 160 degrees. (This takes about 45 minutes.)

Immediately place the saucepan in ice water and stir until the egg mixture is cool.

2nd step:

1 1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 T. vanilla

5 squares unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled

egg/sugar mixture from step one

Place butter and 1/3 cup sugar in mixing bowl. Beat for 4 minutes, until fluffy. Stir in chocolate and vanilla.

Beat well. Add egg mixture in four parts, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl frequently. Pour into baked pie shell.

Chill several hours or overnight until set. Garnish with whipped cream.