Peanut Butter Pie

I drove cab for a number of years. I figured if my ex- could make money driving cab (and he did), I'd give it a try. Ended up meeting my second husband that way; by the time he quit driving, he'd been a cab driver for "only 37 years," garnering the nickname Rookie by one of the dispatchers.

One Friday just before Thanksgiving, I got a call to pick up a fare at a nearby grocery store. After we'd loaded his groceries and found out where he was going, we headed off. During the drive, we talked; I discovered he was a single parent (divorced, sole-custody of a son and daughter, both late middle-school age), where he worked, etc.

As we pulled up in front of his place, he asked me to honk the horn; immediately, his two kids came out to help. The first words from his daughter were to ask if he'd gotten the ingredients for the peanut butter pie. He had, then explained that their church was having a pre-Thanksgiving get-together for church members and everyone was to bring an item. This was their offering.

"What's in the pie?" I asked. He gave me a funny look and answered, "Well, there's peanut butter..."

By this time, the groceries were unloaded, the trunk closed, and the kids were heading inside; I got paid and left.

The following week, I managed to pick the same man up. This time, during the small talk on the way home, I discovered the ingredients for the pie, but not the amounts. It wasn't until the third trip - three weeks in a row! - that I was able to get the recipe from him.

It seems that there are several restaurants that have peanut butter pie. I've tasted a few, but this simple recipe is, by far, the best.

I've tweaked the recipe a little: the original calls for 1/3 cup of confectioner's sugar and 1/3 cup of peanut butter; I've upped both to half-a-cup.

PEANUT BUTTER PIE

8-ounce tub of Cool Whip (see note)

8-ounce block of cream cheese (see note)

1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth is preferable)

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

Pie crust (see note)

Put Cool Whip, cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. With beaters, beat on high. Pour into pie crust, smooth out, and freeze for 1 hour.

Note: Cool whip (or store equivalent) can be fat-free. Cream cheese can be regular cream cheese or the 1/3 less fat kind, but do not use fat free, as the pie won't set up right. I usually use a store-bought graham cracker crust for the pie, which is what the man used to make this. However, you can also use an Oreo cookie crust.