Grasshopper pie

Part liquor quest, part Oreo tragedy, part failed science experiment, and part love story, this is the strangest pie I have ever made.

Liquor quest:  How many of you have creme de menthe and creme de cacao blanc rolling around in your liquor cabinet?  Do you know where you'd go to track down these two kitschy, questionable items without feeling like the clerk is quietly judging you when you buy them?  I drove ten miles to my usual grocery store, the one with the good produce, and searched the liquor department's strange-looking-bottles section for a few minutes.  A lumbering, middle-aged woman with a giant face asked me if she could help me find anything, and I bashfully told her about the items I was looking for.  She explained, with a British accent so beautiful she might as well have been Nigella herself, that they had stopped stocking those two a few weeks ago, such a shame, dear.  I thanked her and was about to take off when she sidled up next to me and told me that her mum used to drink creme de menthe once a year on Christmas Eve, which was an interesting tidbit, and she wished me luck in my search for CDM and CDC.  This woman is now my favorite person at that store.  I bit the bullet and headed for a nearby, kind of snotty liquor store, feeling stupid because the clerk was in the process of opening up the store for the day, and here I was barging in before they were officially open, desperate for my dumbass booze.  Which they did not have.  He directed me to the supermarket across the street where they had more of that kind of thing.  Annoyed that I had to visit a third store, I did indeed find my minty and chocolatey duo in unattractive bottles for a relatively reasonable price.  The elderly checkout woman, whose hair I always marvel at because it is so uncompromisingly masculine, didn't bat an eye at my purchases, but I suspect she has seen it all.  End of liquor quest.

Oreo tragedy: to make the pie, you have to crush 28 Oreos.  Since Jeff and I so rarely allow ourselves the luxury of Oreos, this made me sad.

Failed science experiment: I pride myself on my ability to follow directions, especially when baking.  But the weirdness of this pie recipe, which is unlike any I have ever made, tripped me up a little and I think I did one thing wrong.  The filling ended up kind of soupy--still edible but not mousse-y enough.  I froze the pie and it became completely delicious, though.  That would be my tip to you: freeze it if it's too jiggly.

Part love story: even kind of screwed-up, this pie was so good.  A sinful indulgence to be sure.  The crust was predictably outrageous, especially the part near the wide end of each pie piece, where the Oreo rubble congregated in a thick ridge.  Now that the pie is nearly gone--two small pieces remain--I'm already missing it and wanting to make it again, and this time I'll get it right, damn it!

From Nigella Kitchen, of course.

INGREDIENTS

• 28 Oreos
• 2 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or 1/4 C chips) <--This seemed like overkill to me, and I've never been a fan of biting into frozen, hard chocolate, so maybe next time I'll replace this with a few more Oreos
• 3 T soft unsalted butter
• pinch salt
• 3 C mini marshmallows
• 1/2 C whole milk
• 1/4 C creme de menthe
• 1/4 C creme de cacao blanc  <-- She asks for "blanc" because it's normally a brown liquid that interacts with the green food coloring in a way that she found kind of objectionable.  I couldn't find blanc, of course, so I was forced to use the brown stuff.  I found that it didn't make a huge difference in the end color, so don't knock yourself out.  Definitely do not go to a fourth store in search of it.
• 1 1/2 C heavy cream
• few spots or drops green food coloring (optional)  <-- But how can you NOT make this green?

DIRECTIONS

Take out and set aside 1 cookie.  Process the rest of the cookies and the chocolate in a food processor until they form a crumb mixture, then add the butter and carry on processing until it all starts to clump together.

Press into a loose-bottomed 10-inch fluted tart pan, 2 inches deep.  (I didn't have this, so I used a 10-inch springform cake pan.  Not as pretty, but it worked.)  Make a smooth base and sides with your hands or the back of a spoon.  Put into the refrigerator to chill and harden.

Melt the marshmallows in a saucepan with the milk over a gentle heat and, once the milk starts to foam (not boil) take off the heat and keep stirring until the marshmallows blend into the milk to make a smooth mixture.

Pour the mixture out of the saucepan into a heatproof bowl, then whisk in the creme de menthe and creme de cacao.  Leave until cool.  THAT WAS MY MISTAKE.  I did not leave it to cool completely.  I was in a hurry and allowed it ot get lukewarm at best.  Please, people, do not screw this up!

Whisk the cream until it starts to hold soft peaks then, still whisking, add the cooled marshmallow mix.  This filling should be thick but still soft, not stiff or dry, so that it will eventually drop easily out of the bowl into the chilled pie crust.  Mine was pourable and not pudding/mousse-like at all.  I mean, part of it was, but it floated to the bowl's surface.  A weird green liquid lurked beneath it. 

Add a few drops of food coloring and whisk it in.  TIP: use the thin watery stuff.  My (kind of old and dry) gel colors sank to the bottom and were hard to deal with. 

Spread the filling into the chilled base, swirling it about with a spatula to fill evenly, then put the pie back in the refrigerator, covered, to chill overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours until firm.

Crush the remaining cookie and sprinkle over the top of the pie before serving.

OK, see the slightly darker, thin green layer above the crust?  That's what happened to the weird green liquid.  Again, if you find this happening with your pie, freeze it instead.  You won't be able to tell much of a difference in texture, and the taste is the same.  I'd also say that the pie in general tastes better frozen.  It's very close to mint-chocolate ice cream, and since it's frozen it takes longer to eat.  We tried a couple of refrigerated pieces, and it was so light and fluffy that it felt like eating nothing at all with a great Oreo crust.  If you try to make this pie, please tell me how yours turns out.  This was really good, but I want it to be perfect.

Comments

[Gina]

Ohhhh my this looks amazing. I have to try this. Mint / Chocolate is my favorite combo!

[Shannon]

uncompromisingly masculine!

[Jonathan O.]

That also happened to my pie, I friezed it as you said and the second time it came out well. Although, I couldn't make the pie look as great as yours does from a 90 degrees angle :)

[Donna]

looks very great, thanks for the recipe

[Pie]

Wow I love chocolate flavour and this is gonna be my favourite. This preparation is looking amazing. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Viva-Magazine-Your-Premium-Womens-Natural-Health-Magazine/262734921452?ref=ts Wanna taste this Grasshopper pie. Let me try this weekend and let you know the feedback.

[Janie]

well, I tried the pie and it's just amazing. Thanks for the great recipe