Musing

today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

-16 C/3F, clear, calm, critters hiding – the term quiet neighborhood never more apropos, Gusta’s fur vibrating antennae tail explored new route, a school yard and down a lane

in and out they cross my path for a time, with little warning some leave us – most, like stars in daylight, always standing by (yesterday’s response from CB, JF, TL, SK - cases in point); ‘what it is’ that is so special in these delicious relationships, which ingredients and what formula for success makes some connections magical, others not?

cooking, simmering, baking, stirring, sautéing, roasting or boiling over – taking care, building connective tissue with people in ways we often only read about; thoughts of what worked, of what flopped - I want eye-rolling deliciousness in everything I create; I drifted, pondering recipes - especially one incredible one I lost

about 15 yrs. ago while paying the bill at my favorite restaurant Jack’s Grill in Edmonton, I remarked to the waiter it would be really great to have the recipe to my favorite, their showcase dessert, Turtle Pie . . . minutes later it was in my hands

I’ve been wanting to make it again this Christmas but have lost the recipe; I told someone once that Turtle Pie was better than sex – the response was that I must not be doing it right! . . . I had given the recipe to SA after I had made it for a dinner party about 14 years ago; my query to inquire if she still had it produced this response:

'ere t'is . . . Faded faxed copy reads as follows:

Kolke Consulting Services
To: Susan Doolittle
From: Mark Kolke
Re: Decadence – Turtle Pie a la Jack’s Grill
CRUST
Cuisinart/blend until crushed
3-3/4 cups pecans
1-1/4 cups sugar
7 tablespoons butter
Form and bake in deep 10-12 inch pie plate for 25 min at 325 degrees
Allow to cool
PIE
Melt over double boiler
1 lb. Bernard Callebaut chocolate
2 cups cream
When melted and mixed, whisk in 1 egg yolk
Pour into shell, let cool
SAUCE
Carmelize ½ cup sugar and ½ cup butter
Add ¼ cup cream; whisk
“Merry Christmas from my house to your house”
End of fax

– oh where do the years go!
Merry, merry to you!
S #3

recipe in hand, I shopped - today I’ll make two pies, cutting each into 10 wedges for treating friends and making new ones; thanks to SA for keeping ‘my recipe’ all these years and apologies to Jack’s - consider it free advertising by spreading the secret of your best dessert to 15,600 potential customers (note: Bernard Callebaut is a local Belgian chocolatiere ..the key is high quality semi-sweet dark chocolate . . and, of course, the care you put into it)

speaking of spectacular creations brought to Calgary from Edmonton - daughters, Carla and Krista, arrive later today to spend a few days . . no greater gift ever than spending time with them, no better ingredients to make any day superbly extraordinarily awesome - yes I love them, but I also like very much the delightful women they’ve grown to be

getting, finding, losing, finding again – sometimes it’s a romance novel plot, sometimes it’s a recipe – more often it is real life reality; those I care most about and I have found the best recipe of all - a secret for spreading

Mark Kolke
339,564
196.8


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