Maple Syrup Pie

My maple syrup pie just out of the oven.

Last Friday, November 5 my birth mother, Jeanine Yvonne Deslandes Cook, would have turned 80 had she not passed away at the beginning of September.

Having "found her" only 15 years ago, Jeanine and I did not know each other well and the rich Quebecois heritage with which she grew up -- both of her French-Canadian parents had immigrated just across the border to northern Vermont, and Jeanine spoke only French until she was sent to school at age six -- is unfamiliar to me still.

This is especially true as for some reason, my adopted mother told me that the ONE THING she knew about my birth parents is that they were 100% Irish. She was obviously confusing French-Canadian with Irish as my birth father, it turns out, was an immigrant from Quebec as well. Nonetheless, as a middle schooler I fastidiously created an Irish identity for myself: reading and re-reading Leon Uris's novel "Trinity" and crafting a deep, rich, lusty Anglophobia that persists to this day. I truly do not understand the American fascination with all things British and royal, especially Masterpiece Theatre and movies. Really, rebels. Really.

Jeanine Yvonne Deslandes
Cook in 2016.

But one of the first things Jeanine gave to me was a photo album containing printed recipes from her and from her mother. Her death was quite unexpected, and I treasure this recipe book today as I have few family photos or stories.

On the first page of this recipe book there are TWO recipes for maple syrup pie.

Even with my faux-Irish, Anglophobic heritage I did grow up in New England, and maple syrup is one of my favorite things in all the world.

My Bohemian adopted-maternal grandmother, Mary Urban Endrich, used to treat me to tricolor, store-bought pound cake (harlequin! like the ice cream) soaked in maple syrup. The best part was at the end, when all the crumbs in the bottom of the bowl were saturated with syrup. Yum.

So when I stumbled upon these maple syrup pie recipes I was enchanted.

One of the cool things about both recipes is that it is so clear they were treats made by and for people with little in their larders. They are both made from very few ingredients, all of which would have been on their shelves nearly all the time: flour, butter, and maple syrup. You don't even need eggs, or cream -- although the latter is delicious on top. 

The difference between the two is primarily that one is double-crusted and baked, and the other is poured into a pre-baked pie shell and allowed to set. 

One has a shake of pepper in it. You bet I did that.

And of course I researched other recipes -- because truly, the recipes were so simple I wasn't sure how they held together! One of them sounded like a maple flavored roux in a crust, and I wasn't so sure about that...

I ultimately adapted Mom's recipe with this one from Florence Fabricant in the NYTimes in 1987 -- it has eggs, and I kept Mom or Grandma's shake of pepper, adding some salt flakes on the top just for good measure.