Plaid Pantry Recipe Contest Winner!

• David Dekrey
• Ingredients for a Clever Chocolate Cream Pie.

We have a winner in the Plaid Pantry recipe contest! David Dekrey, please come to the Mercury offices (bring your ID) to claim your sexy, high-quality Bialetti Aeternum ceramic frying pan. The recipe for David’s chocolate cream pie is after the jump, along with a photo of the finished product.

• David Dekrey
• A Clever Chocolate Cream Pie.

Recipe: Chocolate Cream Pie
Crust
24 whole Basil’s Bavarian Bakery chocolate sandwich crèmes
1/4 cup melted butter

Crust Preparation:
In a food processor, add the sandwich cookies and blend until the texture of coarse meal (or put them in a Ziploc and hit them with a rolling pin). Add the melted butter and blend until well-combined. Place the ground crumb mixture into a pie pan and press into the bottom and up the sides evenly. Chill the crust for an hour.

Filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
2 cups half and half
1 cup water
4 Dove Silky Smooth dark chocolate bars
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Filling Preparation:
Whisk together sugar, flour, salt, and yolks in a saucepan until well-combined, then add water and half and half. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking, 1 minute more (filling will be thick).

Force filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then whisk in chocolate and butter. Cover surface of filling with a buttered round of wax paper and cool completely, about 2 hours.

Spoon filling into crust and chill pie, loosely covered, at least 6 hours.

(Note: David reports that these ingredients cost around $17, but claims to have copious leftovers)