$$$PIE$$$

[Pat]

I stopped at the Marie Callender pie shop and looked at the selection of pies on their "permanent" list posted in large type up high near the ceiling.

They have a chocolate cheese cake pie that retails for $32.95 and is not particulary bigger than a lemon or pecan or...

Is it just me or is that getting a tad on the high side? $32.95 for a pie. I know the cost of fuel is going up and that impacts many other prices but the Olive Garden gave me all the soup, salad, and delicious soft breadstick refils I might want for lunch today for $6.40 which seemed OK.

Maybe some of you knowledgeable cooks out there can 'splain it to me. If you are familiar with the the pie in question, could I make it at home for significantly less or should I just "get over it?"

Maybe it is "future shock" and I should treat it like the movement for getting rid of pennies and nickles because they cost more than their face value to make.

Pat

[egon]

Never could figure out why there other than Saskatoon berry pies??? [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[Bird]

Pat, I'd certainly agree with you about the price, but I can't say it surprises me. Are you familiar with the world famous Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, TX. They're best known for shipping fruit cakes every winter all over the world. And the fruit cakes are actually good eating. If you go to their website and shop "Products" you'll find that their cheesecakes START at $29.95 and up. [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Several years ago, when I lived in that area, I've bought a few things there, including a "factory second" cheesecake (didn't turn out quite perfect) and the stuff they make and sell is good, but too expensive for my taste.

[Pat]

Bird, I never heard of that bakery before. It is darned unlikely I will be buying another of these cheesecakes, this said prior to cutting in to it. My wife has been suffering bursitis from over doing working with boxes of her stored treasures/junk. I got it for her as a psychological thing.

My favorite pie is pecan and I don't buy MC pecan pies due to price, $12.95. Wal*Mart pecan pies are good enough for me and we make our own from our own nuts too. I also like lemon pie and banana with the vanilla wafers. Of course black berry cobbler is especially good after suffering in the heat and all those scratches from thorns getting the berries.

Pat

[Bird]

In other words, you're much like me; you just like all that stuff. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] The Collin Street Bakery has been making those fruit cakes since 1896. Many years ago, the place burned, so they rebuilt a couple of blocks south on 7th street (S.H. 31) which is the main east/west street through town. They claim to ship a million fuit cakes to over 200 countries each year. And of course, they hire a bunch of extra temporary employees each Fall. There's a window in a door through which you can watch them making those cakes; quite an operation.

And yes, I like pecan pies and my wife makes a good one. On of our son-in-laws is also very fond of them. The other son-in-law's mother makes a buttermilk pecan pie and our daughter recently used that recipe for a pecan pie for me. I certainly didn't throw any away; ate every bite of it, but I didn't think it was nearly as good as the old fashioned ones.

[Bird]

By the way, Pat, did you ever hear of The Cheesecake Factory? I think their cheesecakes START at $42.95. [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Our youngest daughter tells me their restaurants are really good, and she brought me one of the cheesecakes once. They're really good, but as far as I'm concerned, they aren't THAT good! [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Bird, when you say to me, "In other words, you're much like me", I take that as a nice compliment. Thanks.

We were invited to a neighbors for 4th of July supper. My friend John is diabetic and so his wife, Mary, goes to some effort to find nice desserts that don't blow his blood sugar into orbit. She served us a specialty pecan pie that was quite good, not so much as if competed against a "real" old fashioned the way momma used to make them pecan pie (less the little pieces of shell) but as a stand alone dessert to be judged on its own merits. Hopefully my wife will be getting the recipe and I will share it here when I get my hands on it.

If you don't compare it to the traditional pecan pie and just think of it as a pecan based dessert, it is just fine, quite good.

Pat

[Bird]

Pat, we went about 125 miles south of here to a nephew's place in the country for big barbecue Saturday, so we passed through Corsicana. We didn't stop at the Collin Street Bakery, but we did stop on the way back at the Russell Stover Candy Factory outlet store. They built that factory while we were living 20 miles west of Corsicana and they make a lot of sugar free candies that I used to buy for my Mother because she was diabetic.

But for me, I just bought a bunch of plain dark chocolate candy bars with real sugar, and my wife especially likes the chocolate coated marshmellow eggs. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] And instead of the high prices we've been talking about for cheesecakes, you can get candy really cheap at the outlet store. Four dozen marshmellow eggs and a dozen big dark chocolate candy bars cost me a total of $9.16 including tax.

[Pat]

Oh, Please, Bird... Have mercy! I had only a Slim Fast shake for breakfast (0630) and it is already starting (1015) to wear thin and you sure as heck aren't helping matters!

I won't get a bite until a few minutes after 1200. I know, I know, self inflicted injury but if I don't replace a few meals a week with a diet shake I will not be able to maintain my status as only being quite overweight and will balloon up to really really way too overweight. I have been wearing the same pants size for well over 10 years and I would like to NOT have to go larger. I would suffer to go down some though in case of a miracle.

Pat

[jimbrown]

Pecan pie is good.
Blackberry cobbler better. ALthough peach cobbler is close.
Blackberry cobbler with home made ice cream on top is supreme.