French Fry Pie....

A few years ago we were fortunate enough to get a Barnes & Noble bookstore adjacent to our neighborhood mall. After years of trekking to other neighborhoods to shop for books it was a welcome addition for a community that had long yearned for its own bookstore. At the time of its opening, my daughter had just turned one and my son was three. Staying home with my children had so far been a rewarding experience that I did not want to change, but I also had a need for something of my own, a desire for conversations that did not revolve around my children. Suddenly, our new store was offering this mother of two an opportunity to be doing something other than mothering. When they called back after my interview, I eagerly accepted.

Three and half years later, I am still working at the Northgate Barnes & Noble and looking back, amazed at the gifts that have come from the experience. From the beginning, it has taken me back to a part of myself that had been forgotten in the daily grind of mothering. I found that I could actually form complete and cogent sentences once again. To my amazement, the parts of my brain not necessary for parenting were still intact, a bit dusty, but ready for a challenge. Even better, many of the skills that I had mastered as a mama were transferable to the work place. For the first time in three years, I had a frame of reference for conversations that did not involve bodily functions, my children’s latest accomplishments, or battling the fatigue of parenting little ones. I was and still am challenged as well as blessed to be working with people who are often half my age. Being with them is a gift because I am able to see some of the ways that I might be getting a bit stuck in some of my thinking, gain friendships in places unexpected, learn a lot from them and occasionally (when I least expect it) am able to reciprocate. I have even been able to promote a book by a local photographer, Jennifer Loomis, who photographed me while I was pregnant with my daughter. My picture is one of many featured in Jennifer’s work “Portraits of Pregnancy: The Birth of a Mother”. Northgate Barnes & Noble has graciously hosted Jennifer two times for book signings that were successful both in the sale of books and also in the nurturing of the spirit for those of us fortunate enough to attend

Although these have been wonderful treasures and welcome opportunities, two significant doors have been reopened to me as a result of my bookselling path. In my life, God has a sneaky way of slipping in the back door, knowing full well that if He tries the front door, my stubbornness will kick in and the job will much more difficult. Most of the best things that have come to me were unforeseen, but in hindsight I am thankful for the ability to see how God was working to prepare me for what He wanted all along. Although I have always been a reader and a writer, life outside of my Self had previously dictated the ebb and flow of both of those activities in my life. Being at the bookstore, surrounded by so much writing and talk of writing and reading began to call to the forefront my passion for both. Suddenly, I wanted to read again and write something that other people might want to read.

But before that realization came to me, before the store even opened (those unique two weeks where we were the only people in the store, discovering all its bounty) another awakening began its formation. One lovely shift I began to assist my fellow booksellers in setting up the section for cookbooks. The rest dear ones is history. The array of books both beautiful and practical in the cookbook section beckoned to me loudly and clearly. It was the section I could not walk past without stopping to look. Even today I have to stop and check it for a minute when I walk by. In our store we have a beautiful feature armoire for the most aesthetically pleasing of our cookbooks. It has been my great pleasure to be the person who arranges the books on the armoire and gets to help select the best of them, gets to see customers stopping to enjoy them as well. I am pleased to have become the person that is generally called to the second floor when there is a cookbook question, and it is a special shift when a fellow foodie drops by my that section and I get to assist them with their selection. Equally enjoyable is locating the right cookbook for the person who is not a culinary expert but needs some guidance selecting a book. I love to see their faces light up when I hand them the book that might be the perfect selection.

Our Barnes & Noble is literally a 5-minute drive from home, making it possible for me to be with my children throughout the day before I go in for my closing shift. During my four-hour shift I get a 15-minute break. It is one of the sweetest pleasures of my day when that time rolls around. I grab an Americano from our fabulous café staff and head over to the newsstand meticulously maintained by the incredible Caitlin F. who always makes sure I get my weekly copy of The Economist. But during that break it’s the cooking section, not current events, which I am drawn to. For a few short, glorious minutes I peruse the best and most beautiful of the array of cooking magazines that we have at our store. Although I frequently find recipes that I am drawn to, think at the time I might cook, I rarely, if ever, actually make any of them (I am nothing if not consistent). But one evening dear ones, while thumbing through Real Simple’s annual collection of favorite recipes, a dish spoke so loudly to me that I knew we were destined to meet in my kitchen! It was called “French Fry Pie”…. just the mention of the making of it drew intrigue from my Facebook family. It was so compelling to me that I had to share the idea of it with several of my fellow booksellers. Being me, I had already begun to rework the recipe before my shift ended and my colleagues helped stoke that creativity. I did indeed, make the reworked pie and it delivered one hundred percent!

Dear ones, this dish is hearty, caloric, comforting and not for the faint of heart in any way! The original recipe calls for ground beef that has been cooked in the skillet, mixed with pasta sauce and topped with French fries. When you click on this link and see the picture, I believe you will come to understand why I had no choice but to make this yummy dish! After a few conversations with my bookselling friends, I decided to omit the pasta sauce and exchange it for Trader Joe’s All Natural Barbecue Sauce. Don’t let the name fool you; this sauce is sweet and delicious, with a smoky kick of chipotle that lends itself to kicking up the most mundane dish. Use this sauce and you won’t require any other seasoning. After draining the meat (also from Trader Joes, the 80/20 blend) and adding the sauce, I put it in a glass pie dish and topped it with sharp cheddar cheese and let it bake at 350 long enough to melt the cheese. I then placed my fries, which I had already cooked and kept warm with some foil, on top of the dish and baked it long enough to brown the fries. I’m sure some of us could talk for days about the correct fries to use but really, there is no great gastronomical science happening here! You play with this dish any way you want…. which makes it the perfect thing to be cooked by me! It can easily accommodate a vegan/vegetarian palette using a meat analog and omitting the cheese for vegans. I’ll leave it to the comment section for us to debate the best techniques and tweaks.

Real Simple gives you menu ideas to serve with this dish. I must object at this point and say, really, unless you are a teenager or in your early twenties, (or a pro athlete) you will not need or WANT anything else to eat with this! As Caitlin F. put it, “You made it like a cheeseburger” Exactly! It is rich, satisfying and so filling that even Mr. Ling (husband of mine) could not eat more than one serving, albeit a very healthy one. If you are in your thirties, you will eat it all, and wonder the next day why you feel hung over…for those of us forty and over…. enjoy with caution…I have to go now and plan a French Fry Pie party with my bookselling friends. …more will be revealed…