Coconut Creme Pie, MeMe's.

Coconut Creme Pie @ MeMe's

The story behind this classic, old-style ice box pie began when my wife went to MeMe's for a business meeting and chef Lincoln Owens told her something about the pie. It's not the kind of dessert she typically likes, and she doesn't really like desserts to begin with. But she took a bite, and told the chef that it was the kind of thing that I would like. They packed a slice for me and Mary almost brought it home. In other words, she ate the whole thing on her way home. I would never get another taste of it until the night og July 24, 2017. MeMe's had one of its quarterly wine dinners that evening, and Mary Ann joined me for it. Once again the chef offered a slice of the coconut pie and swore that she would save it all for me. Which she did, right before leaving to London. I finally got a taste of the pie, which is indeed very good and really, really rich. End of story. I wish I had remembered to take a photograph of it.

MeMe's. St. Bernard Parish: 712 W. Judge Perez Dr. 504-644-4992.

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Pastry Cream

Pastry cream is the made-from-scratch version of the canned Bavarian cream gunk you find in doughnuts and eclairs from inexpensive neighborhood bakeries. In more polished bakeries, pastry cream supplants bavarian creme. It's used for things like ice box pies. Pastry cream is not difficult to make, except in one particular: it must be cooled very rapidly after you're finished making it, because it's highly prone to bacteria-caused spoilage. Follow Step Three to the letter.

• 1 quart milk
• 4 Tbs. cornstarch
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 Tbs. butter
• 1 cup sugar

1. In a bowl, dissolve the cornstarch into 1 cup of milk. Beat the eggs and stir into the milk-cornstarch mixture. Stir in the vanilla. 2. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the remaining milk with the butter and sugar and bring it to a boil. 3. Whisk the reserved cornstarch-milk-egg mixture into the boiling milk. Continue whisking energetically until it returns to a boil and thickens. Remove from the heat, and keep whisking for another minute. 4. It is very important to cool the mixture as rapidly as possible. The best method is to spread it out on a clean metal sheet pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and put it into the coldest part of the refrigerator. Keep refrigerated until ready to use, but don't freeze it. Makes about a quart. [divider type=""]