A Pie Like No Other...

     How did I come to be sitting alone on the couch (sorry Henri, you don’t count), drinking wine and eating my dinner, all before 4:00 PM on a Saturday evening?

     It all started yesterday after spending a nice Friday with my Mom and sister in Fargo.  While we were waiting for Tami to finish with work, Berna and I shopped till we dropped and had a great time.  I didn't end up purchasing many things, but I did buy 3 new cookbooks (like I really need any more of those!!).  

   Two of the new cookbooks were by, “America’s Test Kitchen” and the other was a book about how to make Macaroons.  This particular book on Macaroons interested me because while I was studying abroad in France, I purchased the same exact book right before I was set to return home to the States.  After my month-long love affair with French sweets and baked goods, I was depressed by the thought that I would not be able to have an authentic buttery croissant every morning, a decadent fruit tart for my once (sometimes twice) daily snack, or especially my new favorite -the indescribable, utterly fantastic macaroons.  I cannot put into words what it is that makes these so delicious, I can only tell you that they taste NOTHING like any “macaroon” I've ever had here in the United States.

     Upon purchasing the book in France, I vowed to recreate these scrumptious little treats at home.  Two years later, the book is collecting dust on my bookshelf.  For $4 dollars at TJ Maxx, I now have a version that does not cause a headache when translating and converting units such as grams and liters to other measurements that ONLY we Americans use.  Some might call my lack of effort lazy.  Maybe they're right.  Do I care?  Nope, not one bit!  And who knows, maybe now I'll actually try baking a batch of these...

     AND NOW, for the part of the story I’ve been dying to share – SPAGHETTI PIE!!!  I had never heard of such a thing.  When contemplating purchasing yet another cookbook in the store, this particular recipe in one of the ATK books caught my eye and sealed the deal.  I knew I needed to try it. 

     By Saturday morning, I decided that I couldn't wait any longer to try the Spaghetti Pie…  I headed out to get the necessary items from the market.  I also called Steph and extended an invitation to dinner, but she told me that she wasn't sure if she could make it and would let me know.  

     About an hour after getting home, I realized I could NOT wait any longer to start making my dinner.  I was too excited.  I couldn’t focus on anything else (I'm not exaggerating either, I literally could think of nothing other than getting started and trying the dish).  I looked at the clock, 2:50PM.  Dinner would be ready by four o’clock at the LATEST!  What was I, 80??  Regardless, I started cooking...

     The end result: DELICIOUS!  

      As soon as my initial excitement over the dish had passed, I realized that I should probably call Steph and let her know that she was still welcome to dinner.  But, I should also let her know that unless she came right now, she would have to have to re-heat it -- because I was already mid-chew.  She confirmed that she  was not going to be able to make it for the dinner portion of the evening but would stop by later. (Phewww… that  would have officially made me the “World’s WORST host” if she had indeed been joining me.)  Honestly!?!  Who invites someone to dinner, and then cooks and eats it before the guest actually arrives?!  Clearly I do...

      Upon hearing that she would not be dining with me and tasting the "pie" for herself, I began to describe just how fantastic I thought this recipe was, both in taste and theory.  I felt as though it was my duty to share the brilliant concept of “Spaghetti Pie” with anyone who would listen.   Patiently she let me ramble on about the specifics of what a spaghetti pie is and how fantastic of an idea it is before saying, “Kayla, I know what a spaghetti pie is, I've had it before…”  Oh...  (Awkward).