Smith had no idea that a dessert from his childhood would become an overnight sensation.
No explanationin those days, you believed what your elders told you.
I loved this pie but then forgot about it for 40 years.
Credit: Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
By then, I was the chef atCrook’s Corner in Chapel Hill.
Corned-ham biscuits, fish muddle, hard-crab stew, and lemon pie were on the menu.
I cobbled together arecipe for the pieusing mostly old church and community cookbooks.
These are grown women.
A video of this pops up, unbidden, on Facebook every six months or so.
Enter food writer and cookbook author Katie Workman.
My phone started ringing.
This was a prediction of my future.
There really isn’t any refrigeration to speak of.
We’ll need about 80 slices," and “There are some ovens in that tent over there.
We’re expecting about 700 people.”
And this was before the rest of the press even caught on.
Of course, I’m sort of flattered.
But it never quite dies down, and there are factions.
You see, they use Ritz crackers and meringue.
I use saltines and whipped cream.
Being ladies and gentlemen, we agreed that the result was a tie.
It’s really good, and anyone can make itso they do.
Bringing it to the table guarantees plenty of praise and compliments.
I just stand back and watch.
