chocolate silk pie

as this week has gone by, i have looked forward to almost nothing more than all the food, particularly my specialty around this time of year, my soon-to-be-famous chocolate silk pie. i don't have any pictures of it (yet), but you can take my word for it - it looks fantastic and tastes even better. since the recipe isn't exactly a guarded secret, i figured i would share:

chocolate cookie crust:

• 2 cups crushed chocolate cookies
• ¾ cup melted butter

preheat oven to 375° f.

combine the crumbs and butter in a medium bowl and mix well. Firmly press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of an 8-inch pie plate. bake for eight minutes. cool before filling.

french chocolate silk:

• 1 stick butter (in eight equal pads)
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate square melted and cooled
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 large eggs*
• 1 chocolate cookie crust
• whipped cream
• chocolate curls

mix butter and sugar, beat in chocolate and vanilla. add one egg at a time, beating five minutes each on medium. turn into baked pie shell. chill overnight. garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

*since the pie filling is never baked, i use pasteurized egg substitute suitable to replace 2 eggs.