Chock Full of Crazy & Another Pie

Dear Reader,

I am plum-crazy these days, and no that's not a pun for once!!  I'm actually getting ready to move myself to another country for work and I leave tomorrow... so why am I blogging tonight? Well, whether I'm hopping over to another country or to another world, I would never miss a chance to bake for You Want Pies With That blog.

This month's theme, chosen by the very talented and wise Food Librarian is to bake a literary pie, and let me tell you, I am stoked for this theme!  I love reading; books have been my constant companion for years and until this day, I consider the better worn covers on my shelves to be some of my best friends.  The written word has the capability to take you away to a world you never imagined, or a world you want to join, or a world you dare not join...  A literary work can inspire and infuriate, lift up your soul or make you re-evaluate your self-worth.

The main dilemma I faced in this challenge is how do you choose just one book when you love so many?  Let me tell you, I went through about 30 books with 30 good ideas, however, I have a tragic taste in literature and found my pies to be depressing in inspiration.  I finally settled on a modern favorite by a notable commentator:  Breakfast of Champions written by Kurt Vonnegut.  I went through an intense Vonnegut period where I read everything he ever wrote; I was obsessed.  The main character in Breakfast is much in the same- completely obsessed with a writer, so much so that the consumption causes some interesting results (I don't want to ruin the novel.)  To do justice to the novel as a pie, I wanted to take the irony and disconnect present in most Vonnegut novels and literally become inspired by a breakfast treat (the Wheaties slogan is more of a commentary on product placement and corporate infiltration and less an actual meal.)  And since our protagonist is obsessed, I decided to "stuff" said breakfast treat so it would be consumed with itself.  This is perhaps far too symbolic but it was also far too delicious for its own good ;)

Stuffed French Toast Pie

Inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions

Step One:  French Toast Pie Crust

Ingredients:

8 oz gluten-free stuffing cubes, frozen (I like Whole Foods brand)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

4 tbs milk (I use lactose skim milk)

2 tbs light brown sugar

1 tbs melted butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

dash of cinnamon

maple syrup (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine all above ingredients.

Pat the cubes together into a pie plate until it forms a crust.

Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Cool before filling.

*Optional- brush crust with lite maple syrup

Step Two: Stuffed Filling

Ingredients:

1 box of cheesecake mousse prepared (I like using Nestle's European Sugar Free, you will need milk)

1/4 cup of mascarpone cheese

2 tbs sugar

1 pint of blueberries or fruit of choice

whipped cream

Directions:

Prepare mousse as directed (combine 2 pouches with 1 1/2 cups cold milk)

Beat in mascarpone cheese.

Add sugar.

Fold half of the fruit into the filling.

Pour into completed pie shell and chill for 1 hour (if you don't use a deep dish pie plate, you will have leftover filling, yum!)

Top with berries rolled in sugar and whipped cream after chilling.  

Return to chill or serve immediately!

Note:  gluten-free breads do not keep for long unfrozen, so prepare when you can serve the pie out as soon as possible.  

This is probably the most successful/creative gluten-free pie crust solution I've come up with thus far and I really enjoyed making and eating it.  Thanks for such a great theme Mary!