I had bought stand up mixer with a glass bowl when I first moved into this apartment. It was inexpensive, but it seemed efficient. The mixer is detachable and the stand in plastic and easy to wash. The bowl was a pretty decent size as well. It was NO Kitchenaid, but it was what I could afford at the time. The directions said "do not place glass bowl directly on burner. Bowl maybe used on top of double boiler." So I put the chocolate, flour, sugar, salt, milk and cream in the bowl. I placed it on the top of my simmering water and started to stir. About 5 minutes in, the bowl popped and the bottom fell into the simmering water along with the chocolate.
I was gutted! It was a long day today anyway...But the added problem of the broken bowl and loss of chocolate put me over the edge and I had a fit. I real fit. And...I cried, which I almost never do. But I just couldn't deal with it today. John came in and tried to help. He told me it was okay and that he was glad I was not hurt by the glass. But I told him that it was not alright and that I was not happy because it was all the chocolate I had left and I just wanted to make a chocolate pie. I felt like my 4 year old. I fell just short of kicking and screaming like a spoiled brat. And what was worse was that we now had to clean up the glass and chocolate.
John got some paper bags together along with the slotted spoon and fished all the glass out of the chocolate. Then he took the pot all the way down our 3 flights of stairs and dumped the chocolate mixture behind the bushes. (We're not supposed to, but we reached the "we don't give a damn" stage.) Then we cleaned the kitchen. The mess was pretty well contained, so it wasn't too bad. Still, I was upset about the chocolate.
I continued cooking the dinner after that and then my uncle called. And being the wonderful man he is, he took me back to the store so I could get more chocolate. I was very pleased because my family really wanted the pie.
When I got back from the store, I set out the dinner which was ready. We ate, and then I thought I would give the pie another go. I had an expensive double boiler loaned to me for the evening, which made all the difference.
HOWEVER....It seemed to take 50 times longer to make the filling than normal, probably because I was now exhausted and just wanted to sleep. And in the background, my son was on the computer playing Nick Jr. games with the volume turned up as LOUD as possible. It was fine through the first part, but then he decided to play all the theme songs from all the shows he likes on Nick Jr. I think it was the 10th go around of the Max and Ruby theme song that really started to piss me off. I watch all these shows with him again and again. And I don't like Max and Ruby even at the best of times. But when I'm already irritated, I don't want to hear cartoons, I just want to destroy the TV or computer. John came in while Max and Ruby was blasting and my chocolate pie wasn't thickening and said "are you okay, dear?" "NO!!! My filling won't thicken, my feet hurt and Ruby is a narcissistic little bitch!" And with that, he shook his head and offered a cup of tea. I know he had no idea what I was talking about, at least with Ruby. But somehow I felt better after that.
Finally, after 50 minutes of whisking my filling...(And no, that's not a nasty reference.)...I was finally finished with it. And it was delicious! I filled my homemade graham cracker crust and put it in the fridge to set. Hallelujah!
Now I am tired and want to lie down. I just wanted to blog about my long, hard day to gain sympathy from my many readers....Haha. Anyway, I will include my triumphant second chance chocolate pie recipe below.
My 9 Yolk Amazing Chocolate Cream Pie:
12 ounces good quality chocolate, cut into small pieces
1 cup milk
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbs. flour
9 egg yolks
pinch salt
1 graham cracker crust
Whipped cream to top
On top of a double boiler (one that won't crack!), combine the chocolate, milk, cream, sugar, flour and salt. Whisk constantly until all ingredients are incorporated. After that, you can let it sit for 1-2 minutes without whisking. Continue to whisk every 2 minutes until hot. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks slightly. SLOWLY ladle about 1 1/2 cups of the hot chocolate into the egg yolk to temper them, whisking them all the time. After combined, pour the egg yolk mixture into the remaining chocolate mixture on top of the DB. Whisk for about 60 seconds. Then whisk every 2 minutes until thick, about 45 minutes! When mixture coats a spoon without dripping off, it's done. Pour into pie shell and cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Place in refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours.
For the graham cracker crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 (one stick) melted butter
pinch salt
Combine the sugar, salt and graham cracker crumbs. Pour the melted butter into the mix and stir. Pour the mixture into a pie plate and press up the sides. (I use my hands, but a glass would work.) Then bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.
*Don't make this recipe unless you have lots of patience!
So that's my second chance chocolate pie. Everything turned out okay, except that I'm really tired now. I guess I'll go to sleep.
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