Recipes Inspired by Musicals: Beauty and the Beast

With all the musicals that have inspired my recipes (see December 2011 and July 2011), it’s hard to believe I haven’t mentioned a Disney musical yet.  I grew up on Disney movies – Snow White was the first I saw; Dumbo was the first to make me cry – and I’ve continued to love them as an adult. 

I liked the premise of Beauty and the Beast before I even saw it.  A book-loving heroine who forgoes the handsome male?  Who rescues her father without relying on the handsome prince to do it for her?  Who falls in love with someone because she sees his inner kindness?  This couldn’t possibly be a major Hollywood release, could it?

The staff of the castle were placed under the same enchanted spell as the Beast, and will only be released when someone falls in love with him.  Naturally, they try to initiate a romantic interest between he and Belle.  Lumière, the French candlestick, shows Belle the feast they’ve laid out in her honour.  As the staff sings “Be Our Guest”, there’s a panoply of food to be inspired by:

“Soup du jour, hot hors d’oeuvres

Why, we only live to serve

Try the grey stuff – it’s delicious –

Don’t believe me? Ask the dishes.”

“Beef ragout, cheese soufflé

Pie and pudding en flambé

We’ll prepare and serve with flair

A culinary cabaret!”

How to choose one recipe from all that?  As tempted as I was to recreate “the grey stuff”, I went with the hot hors d’oeuvres.  And nothing fit the bill like Ina Garten’s Gougères (Cheese Puffs).  Even Lumière would have been impressed by these hot pastries – airy and cheesy, and a perfect start to an elegant meal.  Try one of these and as, the song says, they’ll

“make you shout ‘Encore!’

And send us out for more

So, be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!”

Gougères

(from Barefoot in Paris, by Ina Garten)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 tsp kosher salt

Pinch freshly ground back pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs

1/2 cup grated Gruyère cheese, lightly packed, plus extra for sprinkling

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a saucepan, heat the milk, butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg over medium heat, until scalded.  Add the flour all at once and beat it vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together.  Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat for two minutes.  The flour will begin to coat the bottom of the pan.  Dump the hot mixture into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.  (Note: I used my beaters for this step, and they worked fine.)  Immediately add the eggs, Gruyère and Parmesan, and pulse until the eggs are incorporated and dough is smooth and thick.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip.  Pipe in mounds 1 1/4 inches wide and 3/4 inch high onto the baking sheets.  With a wet finger, lightly press down the swirl at the top of each puff.  Brush the top of each puff lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with a pinch of Gruyère.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown outside but still soft inside.

These should be eaten warm.  If you like, you can make them in advance, freeze them, and heat and serve.

Recipes Inspired by Musicals: Man of La Mancha

Recipes inspired by musicals.  Apparently, this series has become a semi-annual feature on my blog.  I will never run out of musicals to write about, nor far-fetched ways in which they remind me of food.

Take Man of La Mancha.  This is the first musical I’ve written about that I’ve never actually seen, but it inspired one of the biggest crossover musical hits ever, “The Impossible Dream”.  When I hear it in my mind, it’s always sung by Robert Goulet.  But it’s been performed by an enormous and varied list of performers, including Merrill Osmond, Cher, Jacques Brel, Jim Nabors, George Foreman and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

I’m guessing no other piece of music could make the same claim.

Man of La Mancha is based on the book Don Quixote, so any reasonable person would use that as an excuse to feature tapas, or paella, or even chorizo.  But why would I be so literal-minded?  I was inspired by the title of this song, and imagined what might be an impossible dream when it came to food.

The answer came pretty quickly.  You know those chocolate chip cookie recipes that suggest you refrigerate the batter for 48 hours before baking?  I always chuckled when I read those instructions.  As if, I thought, anyone could keep cookie dough in the fridge without baking (or eating) it.

So that was my challenge.  This recipe calls for the dough to be refrigerated at least three hours, which seemed impossible enough.  I made it on an afternoon when everyone else was out of the house, and I could busy myself doing other things for three hours.  Then I baked half the dough into cookies.  They were breathtaking.

I hid the rest of the dough in the fridge in the basement.  For two days, I went about my business in the house, pretending that I didn’t know about cookie dough just waiting to be enjoyed.  It was hard not to be distracted.

And 48 hours later, I baked the rest of that dough into cookies. They were sublime.

Whether or not you can last 48 hours without touching cookie dough is up to you.  Personally, I’d probably cap it at three next time.  But either way, don’t pass up these amazing Pecan Joy cookies.

Pecan Joy Cookes

(adapted from Une Gamine Dans La Cuisine)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp almond extract

2 cups shredded coconut (sweetened)

2 cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In a separate large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 3 – 5 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, beating for about one minute after each addition.  Add almond extract and beat to combine.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and blend with a large wooden spoon.  Mix in the coconut, chocolate chips and pecans, and stir to combine.  (Note: the dough will be quite dense.)

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Use a rounded Tablespoon of dough for each cookie, and leave at least 1/2” between cookies on the baking sheets.  Bake for 8 – 10 minutes.  Let the cookies rest for about 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Recipes inspired by musicals: White Christmas

You probably know the story already: Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) is part of a two-man entertainment act with Phil Davis (Danny Kaye).  Betty Haynes (Rosemary Clooney) is part of an act with her sister, Judy (Vera-Ellen).  They all end up at the same inn in Vermont; great music and romantic hijinks ensue.

What isn’t there to love about this movie?  Here are my top five favourite things about White Christmas:

5. The dancing.  Vera-Ellen was a former Rockette, and she lights up the screen every time she performs, from the perfectly titled “The Best Things Happen When You’re Dancing” to “Mandy”.

4. The scene where the General walks into the dining room on Christmas Eve and – well, if you’ve seen the movie, you know what happens.  If you haven’t, watch it.

3. Mary Wickes as housekeeper Emma.  Even if you think you don’t know her, you do.  She made several appearances on I Love Lucy.  She played Bette Davis’s nurse in Now Voyager.  She played Aunt March in the 1994 version of Little Women.  She even had an ongoing role in TVs The Father Dowling Mysteries.  (Yes, I watched The Father Dowling Mysteries.  If there’s any sentence I could type that would make me less cool, please don’t let me know.)

2.  The musical number “Sisters”.  It’s sweet when the Haynes sisters sing it and funny when Bing and Danny sing it.  My sister Gwen and I still sing it sometimes, without the props.

1.  I watch it every December.  I make my family watch it with me, and there’s generally an assortment of complaints as we make our way downstairs to the family room.  Then the movie starts and, for two hours, they are as enraptured as I am.

You’re wondering how this relates to food? 

Betty and Bob meet in the inn one evening, both unable to sleep, and Bob offers to serve her a sandwich.  She tells him that she doesn’t care what kind he makes:

Bob: Tell me what you want to dream about and I'll know what to give you.

Betty: What's that?

Bob:  I got a whole big theory about it.  Different kinds of food make for different kinds of dreams. If I have a ham and cheese on rye I dream about a tall cool blonde.  Turkey, I'll dream about a brunette.

Betty: What about liverwurst?

Bob: Oh, I dream about liverwurst.

When I made these chicken salad sandwiches, I’m pretty sure I dreamed about chicken salad.  Many of my favourite recipes come from The Barefoot Contessa and this recipe, simple as it is, is up there with the best.

Later in that scene, Bob went on to sing “Counting My Blessings Instead of Sheep”:

“When I'm worried and I can't sleep

I count my blessings instead of sheep. 

I fall asleep counting my blessings.”

To my family, friends, and faithful readers, I wish you a very happy holiday season, and a New Year full of blessings.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

(from Barefoot Contessa at Home)

4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on

good olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup good mayonnaise

1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon leaves

1 cup small-diced celery (2 stalks)

8 to 10 slices seven-grain bread

1 package mesclun salad mix

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts, skin side up, on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil.  Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.  Set aside to cool.

When the chicken is cool, remove and discard the skin and bones and cut the chicken into 3/4 inch cubes.  Place the chicken in a bowl and add the mayonnaise, tarragon, celery, 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper and toss well.

To assemble, spread a little butter on half the bread slices, top with the chicken salad and mesclun mix, and cover with the remaining slices of bread.  Cut in half and serve.

Recipes inspired by Musicals: Yellow Submarine

Most of the musicals I’ve written about are from the 1950s and 1960s, the heyday of Hollywood musicals.  Singin’ in the Rain, Oliver!, and Guys and Dolls fit into that time span. They also sounded the way people expected a musical to sound.

This week’s entry is a little outside the norm.  Although it was released in the same year as Oliver!, Yellow Submarine blazed its own path.  The plot is equally as psychedelic as the animation, and the Beatles’ music shocked traditionalists.  I can’t say it’s one of my favourites, but the girls loved this movie.  What child wouldn’t be amused by the Blue Meanies or thrilled by the idea of travelling in a submarine?

The words to “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” may or may not have been inspired by drugs (Paul said yes, John said no).  But to me they always sounded like a beautiful daydream in a stunning landscape, from the “marmalade skies” to “cellophane flowers of yellow and green”.  And didn’t you envy those rocking-horse people who ate marshmallow pies?

I loved this lime marshmallow pie.  The lime filling was so good that another time I’d make more (maybe increasing the recipe by one half, or even doubling it).  And the marshmallow topping was delicious enough to tempt even the girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

Lime Marshmallow Pie

(adapted from David Liebovitz's Ready For Dessert)

Graham cracker crust:

1/3 cup butter

1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 Tbsp sugar

Filling: (for even more lime flavour, double this!)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 cup sugar

pinch of salt

3 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Grated zest of 2 limes

Topping:

1 envelope unflavoured gelatin

1/4 cup cold water (first amount)

1/3 cup cold water (second amount)

1/3 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup sugar

3 large egg whites

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To make the crust, melt 1/3 cup butter.  Add graham cracker crumbs and 1 Tbsp sugar, and stir to combine.  Press firmly into a 9” pie plate.

To make the filling, combine the lime juice, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, eggs, egg yolks, 6 Tbsp butter and the lime zest in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and the edges just barely begin to bubble. Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer into the crust.  Bake for eight minutes, until the filling is just set.

Remove the pie from the oven.  Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees.

To make the topping, in a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the 1/4 cup cold water and allow it to soften and swell for 5 minutes.

In a small saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, heat the remaining 1/3 cup water with the corn syrup and 1/2 cup sugar over medium-high heat.  When the sugar syrup reaches about 210 degrees, start whipping the egg whites.  When the egg whites are frothy and the syrup temperature has climbed to 245 degrees, remove the pan from the heat. Increase beater speed to high and, with the mixer running, slowly dribble the syrup into the whites, being careful to avoid pouring hot syrup on the beaters or side of the bowl.

Scrape the softened gelatin into the still-warm saucepan used to make the sugar syrup and stir until melted.  With the mixer running, slowly drizzle the gelatin into the egg whites.  Add the vanilla and continue to beat until the mixture is cooled to room temperature, 5 to 10 minutes.

Using a spatula, spread the topping over the foiling, creating swirls and billowy peaks. Bake until the topping is golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Recipes inspired by Musicals: Singin' in the Rain

I think everyone would agree that Singin’ in the Rain is Gene Kelly’s movie. There isn’t a song and dance routine more iconic than “Singin’ in the Rain”.  I could watch it every day and still be charmed.  Gene Kelly was a notorious perfectionist who pushed himself and his fellow actors to give the best performance possible.  According to imdb.com, Kelly had a temperature of 101 degrees while this number was being filmed, but kept going until it was perfect.

However, there are four minutes in the middle of the movie that belong to costar Donald O’Connor.  In the amazingly energetic “Make ‘Em Laugh”, he does just that as he pays homage to comedy in the movies:

“Now you could study Shakespeare and be quite elite,

And you can charm the critics and have nothin' to eat,

Just slip on a banana peel, the world's at your feet,

Make 'em laugh,

Make 'em laugh,

Make 'em laugh.”

“You start off by pretending you're a dancer with grace,

You wiggle 'till they're giggling all over the place,

And then you get a great big custard pie in the face,

Make 'em laugh,

Make 'em laugh,

Make 'em laugh.”

These lyrics could only have inspired a banana cream pie.  Which is why it's fortunate that my mom was here recently, and brought with her a determination to turn me into a pie crust expert.  Although I make the occasional pie crust, I do so seldom and reluctantly, and it's her fond wish that I live up to a long-standing family tradition of excellent pie-making.  Four pie crusts later, some small progress may have been detected.  In the meantime, with my mother's able assistance, I was able to bake this pie. 

I’m delighted to say that I neither slipped on a banana peel nor got the pie in my face at any time in its making.  And my family was far too busy enjoying the pie to laugh at anything I may have been doing.

Banana Cream Pie

(adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours)

For the custard:

2 cups whole milk

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup packed brown sugar, pressed through a sieve

1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

3 ripe but firm bananas

one 9" pie crust, fully baked and cooled

For the topping:

1 cup cold whipping cream

2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 Tbsp sour cream

To make the custard:

Bring the milk to a boil.  Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt until well-blended and thick.  Whisking without stopping, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk (this will warm the yolks so they won't curdle).  Then, still whisking, add the rest of the milk in a steady stream.  Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil.  Boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes before removing from the heat.

Whisk in the vanilla extract.  Let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until the custard is smooth.  Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the custard to create an airtight seal and refrigerate until cold.  

When you are ready to assemble the pie, peel the bananas and cut them on a shallow diagonal into 1/4" thick slices.

Whisk the cold custard vigorously to loosen it, and spread about one quarter of it over the bottom of the pie crust (it will be a thin layer).  Top with half of the banana slices.  Repeat, adding a thin layer of custard and the remaining bananas, then smooth the rest of the custard on top.

To make the topping:

Beat the cream until it just starts to thicken.  Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until the cream holds firm peaks.  Gently fold in the sour cream.

Spoon the topping over the filling and spread it evenly to the edges of the custard.

Recipes inspired by musicals: The Wizard of Oz

Back by popular demand, it’s a month of recipes inspired by musicals!  I first did a musical month in July, when I wrote about meringues inspired by the show Wicked, and four other recipes from musicals that I love.  I'll be starting this month with one of the most beloved musicals ever.

Did anyone else watch The Wizard of Oz every year at Christmas?  That movie had it all – an orphan hero, a quest to return home, fantastic sidekicks and an over-the-top evil villain.  No matter how many times I watched it, there was always something new.  Thanks to Judy Garland's lovely voice, Roy Bolger's graceful dancing and Margaret Hamilton's amazing portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West, it really has stood the test of time. 

Despite all the great songs from this show, the one everyone remembers is "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".  When Dorothy wistfully sang about travelling over the rainbow, she spoke to all of us who wanted to make our dreams come true:
“Someday I’ll wish upon a star

And wake up where the clouds are far

Behind me.

Where troubles melt like lemon drops

Away above the chimney tops

That’s where you’ll find me.”

These dreamy lyrics inspired me to bake Lemon Drop Cookies.  I love lemon desserts, and these cookies are one of my favourite new finds.  If you bake them, your troubles truly will melt away.

Lemon Drop Cookies

(adapted from One Lovely Life)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

zest of 2 lemons

1 egg

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cup four

1 cup lemon drop candies, crushed (some bigger pieces, some smaller)

1/4 to 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest.  Cream sugar mixture with butter.  Beat in egg, lemon juice and vanilla.  Stir in flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Add crushed lemon drops and stir until just combined.

Chill dough in the refrigerator about 30 minutes.

Place powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.  Form cookies by rolling heaping teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and rolling in powdered sugar.

Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  (Note: these cookies spread, so don’t crowd the cookie sheet.) Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes, or until edges are set and centres are just slightly soft.  Allow cookies to cool on cookies sheets for about 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes 24 cookies.

Recipes inspired by Musicals: Wicked

One of the blessings of living in Toronto is that we get some terrific theatre.  An amazing number of shows are put on every year – new shows, revivals, long runs, short runs, popular and obscure.  There really is something for everyone.

But one of the drawbacks is that, with so much great theatre, it’s easy to miss something good.  That’s what happened to us with the 2005 tour of Wicked.  Shortly after it left town, the girls went to summer camp and came back singing the songs from the show that apparently everyone else their age had seen.  “Never mind,” I thought.  “When Wicked comes back to town, we’ll go.”

Year after desolate year passed, with no Wicked.  I began to think my unborn grandchildren would be at camp before it came back to Toronto.  Then last year came the announcement that Wicked was returning in the fall of 2010.  A witch on broomstick couldn’t have snapped up tickets faster than I did.  The five-year wait was worth it to see this magical production.  The showstopping piece, "Defying Gravity", took my breath away. 

These meringues defy gravity too.  (You were wondering when I’d get around to the recipe?)  I love meringues – hence my blog title – and I’m not sure how I blogged for a year before posting a recipe for them.  Like Wicked, these meringues were worth the wait, the perfect mix of crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  The slightly tart raspberries and fluffy whipped cream were the ideal complement.  As Elphaba sang to Glinda, “Together we’re unlimited/Together we’ll be the greatest team/There’s ever been.”

Meringues Chantilly

(From Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris)

Makes 12 meringues

For meringues:

6 egg whites, at room temperature

¼ tsp cream of tartar

kosher salt

1 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided

½ tsp pure vanilla extract

For raspberry sauce:

1 half-pint fresh raspberries

½ cup sugar

1 cup good-quality raspberry jam

1 Tbsp framboise liqueur (optional; I didn’t use this)

For whipped cream:

2 cups cold heavy cream

2 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 pints raspberries

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Using a small glass and a pencil, draw six 3 ½ inch circles on each piece of paper.  Turn the paper face-down on the baking sheets.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and a large pinch of salt on medium speed until frothy.  Add 1 cup of the sugar and raise the speed to high until the egg whites form very stiff peaks.  Whisk in the vanilla.  Carefully fold the remaining ½ cup of sugar into the meringue.  With a large star-shaped pastry tip, pipe a disc of meringue inside each circle.  Pipe another layer around the edge to form the sides of the shells.

Bake for 2 hours, or until the meringues are dry and crisp but not browned.  Turn off the heat and allow the meringues to set in the oven for 4 hours or overnight.

For the raspberry sauce, place the raspberries, sugar and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the jam and framboise.  Pour through a sieve to remove some of the seeds.  Chill.

For the whipped cream, beat cream until it starts to thicken.  Add sugar and vanilla and whip until the cream forms peaks.

To serve, fill each shell with whipped cream, top with berries, and serve on a puddle of raspberry sauce.  

Recipes inspired by musicals: Oliver!

One of the first non-animated musicals I saw was Oliver!  In the days before DVDs or even videos, my local school hosted movie nights as a money-maker.  The principal set up a projector, and a gym full of families watched the movie of the month.  As a child, I found this movie terribly sad, but the music is wonderful.  “Consider Yourself”, “I’d do Anything” and “Reviewing the Situation” are just some of the songs I can still sing all these years later.

You’d probably guess that I’d use a recipe inspired by “Food, Glorious Food”.  I must admit, that song gave me lots of options, from gruel to pease pudding to cold jelly and custard. But inspiration led me to perhaps the most famous line from the show.  It’s mealtime at the workhouse, and Oliver dares to ask the officer in charge:

“Please, sir, I want s’more.”

(Yes I know, he actually said “some more”.  Grant me a little poetic license here.)

Oliver would have thought he’d died and gone to heaven if he’d eaten this S’more Pie.  It’s surprisingly easy, even if you make the marshmallow topping from scratch like I did.  You could easily substitute store-bought marshmallows; it probably would have been more practical, given the heat and humidity on the day I made the pie.  The weather cost me some volume in the marshmallows, but the taste more than made up for it.  Also, as a family we prefer sweet to bittersweet chocolate, but I used equal amounts in this recipe to counteract the sweetness of the marshmallow topping. 

This pie is a grown-up version of my favourite childhood camp treat.  Food, glorious food, indeed! 

S’more Pie

(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

For crust:

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 cup graham wafer crumbs

½ tsp sugar

For chocolate cream filling:

7 oz  (about 200 grams) good quality chocolate, finely chopped (I used half milk chocolate and half bittersweet)

1 cup heavy cream

1 large egg, at room temperature for 30 minutes

For marshmallow topping:

1 tsp unflavoured gelatin

½ cup cold water

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup light corn syrup

½ tsp vanilla

vegetable oil for greasing

Special equipment: a candy thermometer

For the graham cracker crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the crust ingredients and press into the sides and bottom of a 9” pie plate.  Bake 10 minutes, then allow to cool for at least 45 minutes.

For the chocolate cream filling, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put chopped chocolate in a large bowl.  Bring the cream just barely to boil in a heavy saucepan, then pour hot cream over the chocolate.  Let stand 1 minute, then gently stir until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.  Gently whisk in egg and a pinch of salt until combined and pour into graham cracker crumb crust.  The crust will be about half full.  Cover the pie with foil and bake until filling is softly set and trembles slightly in the centre when gently shaken, about 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool pie to room temperature on a rack (filling will firm as it cools) about one hour.

For the marshmallow topping, sprinkle gelatin over ¼ cup cold water in a large, deep, heatproof bowl and let stand until softened, about one minute.  Set aside.  Stir together sugar, corn syrup, a pinch of salt and the remaining ¼ cup water in a heavy saucepan.  Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then boil until thermometer registers 260 degrees.  When it reaches that temperature, remove from heat.  Immediately begin beating the water and gelatin mixture with an electric mixer at medium speed, then carefully pour in the hot syrup in a slow stream, beating continuously.  Avoid hitting the beaters and side of bowl with the hot syrup.  When the syrup has all been added, increase beater speed to high and continue beating until mixture is tripled in volume and very thick, about 5 minutes.  Add vanilla and beat until combined, then immediately spoon topping onto centre of pie filling; it will slowly spread to cover top of pie.  Chill uncovered for one hour, then cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap or foil, oil side down, and chill at least three more hours.  At this point, pie can be chilled for up to one day.

Just before serving, brown the topping.  Preheat broiler.  Cover the edge of the pie with foil.  (I forgot this step, and the sides of the crust got a little dark.)  Broil pie 3 to 4 inches from the heat, rotating pie as necessary, until marshmallow topping is golden brown.  Don’t leave the pie to go and do anything else, because it will darken in a hurry.  Serve immediately.

By the way, after you've made the marshmallows, you'll find baked-on crystallized sugar in the saucepan, which will seem impossible to remove.  After the marshmallow has been poured on the pie and it's been set aside to cool, simply pour some water into the saucepan and put it back on the stove at high heat.  If your beaters got crystallized sugar on them too, put them in the saucepan at the same time.  As the water boils, the crystallized sugar will dissolve.  Clean as usual.