Building My Arsenal

Yesterday my brother-in-law Rick, also known as Dren, came over to show me his apple pie recipe. Yes, I call him Dren. It was Joanie’s nickname for Potsie on “Happy Days.” It’s nerd backwards in case you don’t know. A friend pointed out to me that I may be the bigger nerd for even knowing that.

Point humbly taken.

Nevertheless, Dren came over with a recipe in hand and a homemade pie crust already done. You see, Pat and I made a big discovery last year: Rick makes the best apple pie EVER. And if you’re going to make an apple pie, why not make the best, right?

So I put in a call to Dren and he made time to come over and walk me through my first one. My hints for just buying the ingredients and dropping them off at his doorstep didn’t work. But we knocked out a pie in no time, and later that night we had the most awesome apple pie for dessert…with Blue Bell Vanilla Bean ice cream on the side. I had a bottle of caramel in the fridge that I was so tempted to pour on, but I didn’t want to….what would a chef say?....”compromise” the flavor of the pie.

Pat is so excited. He says I now have the perfect desserts for his dream BBQ restaurant.

I say I have the makings for a delectable, probably pleasantly plump old age together. And maybe a way to keep my kids coming back long after they leave the nest.

The infamous chocolate cream pie

My grandmother’s chocolate cake

My mother’s hot fudge sauce

My mother-in-law’s butter cookies

And now Dren’s apple pie.

I’m building my arsenal. And now I have my eye on the perfect red velvet cake.