Give Thanks and Chocolate

So thankful!  So, so thankful!!;  As I think back on all of the Thanksgiving feasts and traditions I've lived through,I am so thankful for all of the family, friends,  and food I've been honored to share the day with!  As a child I enjoyed the house bursting with family; I come from a pretty big family; over sixty first cousins!  Then there were the boistrous years at Uncle Mike's with family and new friends.The years in Athens were a delight as we spent them with all the Americans we  could collect and they became our family.  Tomorrow I will celebrate at a little taverna in Poros with one other couple who qualify as Americans here as they are Greeks who lived in America for 30 years!  So, even though our potatoes will have oregano and lemon and be baked instead of mashed; and there probably won't be any cranberries or gravy to make leftovers with, there will be the one important thing......chocolate for dessert!!!  Along with all the friends and family memories that I am so thankful for- women who have a passion for chocolate have always been a blessing in my life; they have shared their ice cream, candy bars and chocolate recipes.  This amazing recipe comes from my sister, Sandy; words cannot express how thankful I am for her and her legacy of love, generosity and chocolate!

                                                                                        French Silk Chocolate Pie

Prepare your favorite pie pastry; bake and cool.
3 squares baking chocolate, melted; or 9 Tbsp. cacao stirred into 
3 Tbsp. melted better
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
3 eggs
1 teas. vanilla
dash of salt
2 cups whipped cream


 Slowly beat the sugar into the butter; beat in the cooled chocolate.  Add the eggs, one at a time,  beating five minutes after each egg.  Stir in the vanilla and salt.  Put half of this batter in the cooled pie crust; add the whipped cream to the reamining half and spread that over the first mixture.  Refrigerate for several hours; overnight is best.  Serve the pie with whipped cream add chocolate shavings on top.  I used to keep one of these pies in my freezer when I first met Yannis; he would eat it frozen.  Yannis is really looking forward to eating his favorite sweet tomorrow! (do I say that about every dessert I make?)

If you are in a hurry, you can use a graham cracker or cookie crust. I can't get graham crackers on the island,so I use McViite's Digestive biscuits;smash a box into fine crumbs, add 1/4 cup melted butter, press into a pie plate and bake at 350 F. or 280 C. for about 5 minutes, or until the crust is barely light brown.  When I use a
pastry shell, I like to press chopped almonds or walnuts into the pie shell before baking-keeps it crunchy.

This pie is rich and delicious, it melts in your mouth.  It doesn't need ice cream or anything on the side!