Thelma Myrick was a friend of my Aunt's who lived in Snyder, Texas. Though in her late twenties, she had always heard that in order to get somewhere you had to work hard. Well, Thelma wanted to be anywhere but Snyder, and when she got there, she wanted to be special. So she did work hard. She worked hard as a single mother raising her children, and she worked even harder as a housekeeper by day and a commercial cleaning lady by night. One of her late night jobs was in the town's best restaurant, The Colonial House, known for its comfort food and tasty desserts.
Of all his desserts, Head Chef Walter was most famous for his fabulous cheese cake pie and the amazing crust that held the light dessert together. People would come from miles around just to stand in line in the hopes of buying one, and everyone who tasted it, wanted to know what was in it. But Chef Walter guarded his recipe with his life. He guarded it so well, that he only made the cheese cakes after the restaurant closed at nine o’clock.
One day Thelma's youngest daughter came home with a flyer stating that there was going to be a bake off at her school. The winner of the contest would receive five dollars, a new hairdo at Bobbie Lynn’s Beauty Shop and their picture on the cover of the Snyder Gazette. Because it sounded so "special," Thelma knew she had to enter. But a peanut butter and jelly sandwich minus the crust was not going to make anyone look twice at her. She had to come up with something amazing, something fabulous... Chef Walter’s cheese cake pie. Thelma wanted the recipe and decided to find a strategic way to get it. She knew Chef Walter would leave the restaurant by eleven. Only then would she be expected to start cleaning. But what if she came early? Not to clean, but to learn. She could hide in the pantry behind the bags of onions in clear view of the stove and see everything Chef Walter would do in the still of night.
Right on schedule the restaurant closed and Chef Walter began his work. Thelma was shocked. It didn’t take long for her to find out that his secret for the amazing dessert was not the hard work put into the concoction, but the simplicity of the recipe. All he did was melt the butter in the pie pan, add flour, a little sugar and pressed it into place!! That night Thelma cleaned the restaurant better than she had ever cleaned it before. There was reason to celebrate. In a few days, she would be special, and everyone would know it, including the man of her dreams. Exactly who he was, she hadn’t a clue. She just knew he was waiting to discover her in the Snyder Gazette.
Thelma arrived early to the contest area, to turn in her pie. The bake goods were all issued a number instead of a name. Thelma’s beautiful prize winning entry was simply “contestant #3". At the school assembly the principal announced the judges would be none other than Chef Walter and his wife Mavis. Thelma was horrified and feared the worse. Sure enough as they reached her pie, Mavis took the first bite and then offered it to Walter. Well, it didn‘t take too long for the crowd to realize something was wrong with the judges.
Mavis was openly upset and some say she accused her husband of having an affair right in front of the entire school faculty, parents and students. How could Walter have given their prize cheese cake pie recipe away? Poor Walter, as hard as he tried, couldn't convince Mavis he was innocent of any wrong doing. Thelma’s entry won, and my Aunt said Mavis stood in the shadows for hours...waiting to see its owner, while the pie sat there and melted. Thelma of course never came forward as "Contestant #3." Because she knew claiming it would make her special in a whole different way. She wanted a man... just not Mavis’. Time passed... Thelma canceled her subscription to the Snyder Gazette.
Contestant #3 Pie Crust
aka
Chef Walter's Cookie Crust
Crust
1 Cube Butter or Margarine
2 tablespoons sugar
1Cup Flour
Melt Butter or margarine in a glass pie pan
Add the sugar and flour
Blend and Hand press into the pan
bake at 400' for 20 min. or until golden brown
While crust is baking prepare the filling
Cheesecake pie filling
2 boxes cream cheese (8 0z each) room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
Beat the cream cheese and sour cream together.
Slowly add the powdered sugar and finally the vanilla.
When well mixed pour into cooled crust (If you are adding crushed strawberries, fold them in at this time.)
Berries or Cherries
1 Can Comstock Cherrie Pie Filling, as I have in the picture, lovingly placed on top of the filling.
or as I make it when the big beautiful strawberries are in season.
2 cups fresh strawberries
Cut them in half and arrange on the top of the filling
You can also crush a small box of fresh strawberries and add a little sugar to taste and fold into the filling, before pouring into the cooled pie crust.
Refrigerate the pie at least overnight.