VIRGINIA - Pie #46 of 50 - June 2021 - Virginia Is For Lovers - Paul Fredrick
No State Foods!
I have been to Virginia!
I went for the first time in 2011 to spend Thanksgiving with my friend Paul’s family. We took the bus from the city. It was suppose to be a 7 hour bus ride, it ended up taking 9. Paul and I passed the time by making friends with everyone on the bus, snacking and napping till we finally got D.C. where his lovely mom Melanie picked us up. I got to meet his horse Lucky, drink my first Cheerwine and eat all the casserole my heart desired.
Virginia is known as “the birthplace of a nation” it is also said to be the birthplace of the Chess pie!
The pie for this state is a Chess pie with candied peanuts on top! The earliest known recipe appeared in the cookbook “The Virginia Housewife” by Mary Randolph in 1824. The recipe was titled “Transparent Pudding” and variations of this pie have appeared in New England and Southern Cookbooks since the 1800’s.
There are many stories about the origin of the name. Some claim chestnut flour was used in the pie, others claim that “chess” is the interpretation of a southern accent where it was named “just pie”. The “just” could have been pronounced “jes” which may have been interpreted as “chess”. Nobody seems to have the whole story.
Chess Pie is the base for many of the pies we enjoy today including the Derby and Pecan pie.
Virginia is also responsible for the largest of the four peanut types grown in the United States. By 1902 Virginia had quickly become the largest peanut producer in the United States.
The pie is dedicated to my friend of 14 years Paul Fredrick. He hails from Hopewell, VA. I first met Paul in his apartment in Savannah when I came over to see his roommate Dave. I will never forget the image of Paul in a beautiful seersucker shirt, white jeans and loafers cooking chicken teriyaki on a George Forman grill at 11pm. We’ve been friends ever since. Paul had the most beautiful college apartment, his room was straight out of an Architectural Digest spread, he had an orchid thats all you really need to know. We weathered hurricane Irene together in my Brooklyn apartment where survived on his mom’s pasta salad, frozen Reese’s cups and watched a dvd set we got at target that had three terribly wonderful rom coms on it over and over again. Paul and his partner Will took me on my first sail around the Hudson where we drank Heddy Toppers and watched the sunset.
Paul is so special to me and I couldn’t think of a better person for this pie to go too. His presence makes my heart sing.
This pie is also dedicated to Morrigan Maza from Williamsburg, VA! I met Morrigan through New Hampshire pie recipient Kelsie Woodbury! We bonded on our love of constantly studying the moon and Lana Del Rey’s sad girl summer aesthetic. Morrigan constant support and love gets me through the darkest of days.
Virginia you truly birthed a nation for lovers.
46 down 4 to go 🇺🇸💪🏼🇺🇸