What should I make for dessert?

What should I make for dessert? I usually have the answer after I assess the following:

How much time do I have?
What number of servings will I require?
Is this an easy recipe?
Do I have the ingredients on hand?
Is it possible to make this recipe ahead of time and set aside?

Upon review of this list, I am able to select a drool worthy dessert that will work for my schedule. Here are a few of my favorite recipes for entertaining. Please consider adding to your Fall Dessert Table. Over the years many a house guest has enjoyed one of my dessert recipes.

What if I have still have questions?

Please let me know if you have any questions about the dessert recipes. Leave a comment or question and I will respond asap. In addition, I am happy to be a entertaining resource and share what I have learned over time. It is not necessary for you to make the mistakes that I made while learning how to cook and entertain.

Cooking food for anyone is a labor of love. It allows you to create something special made by you. This one act says that you took the time necessary to wow your guests. Yet, even I purchase desserts to go from my favorite shops when I am short on time. Although my preference is to make something home made with love from my kitchen.

Here are a few of my favorite recipes. A few of these recipes reach back from the beginning of my site. While reviewing you may notice changes in my site. Over time I am working hard to improve my writing and photography skills. Like my site, I am a work in process flawed but ever changing.

On the site, please let me know if you have tried any of the recipes. What is your favorite dessert? Is there something that you didn’t like? Is there a recipe that you would like to see on my site?

Dining With Mimi’s Favorite Desserts for Entertaining

Chocolate Heavenly Mini Bite Tarts

Southern Comfort and Oh That Chocolate Pie

Mimi’s Nutty Fudgy Indulgent Pecan Bar

St Germain Creamy Cheesecake

Southern Comfort and Oh That Chocolate Pie

Persimmon and Walnut Sticky Bread

Love the Family and Oh my That Pecan Pie

Chocolate Mint Cookie Bites Filled with Coconut Cloud

It’s Not Your Mama’s ‘Tater Pie

Updated 100 Year Old Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Never Fail Spirited Fig Pecan Bundt Cake

No matter which sweet treat that you decide, I am sure it will be special. Dining With Mimi’s Favorite Desserts for Entertaining will give you plenty to choose from. Listen to music while cooking and enjoy the process. Turn on the stereo or shout out to Alexa for Nina Simone for “I Want a little Sugar in my Bowl”

Love from Mimi’s Kitchen

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My Grandfather was the first person that I met who canned and preserved foods. Any visit would always include our family returning with Preserved Figs, Sweet Pickles and green beans.  My Grandfather had a massive garden at his home.

As an adult, I do not know how he took took care of his garden. I don’t remember my Grandfather having help but surely his garden size dictated a helper or two? Picking produce from his garden is a memory that is indelibly imprinted on my brain. At the time, I did not appreciate the value of the garden, the labor required to maintain seemed excessive in my young mind.

Gardening or preserving was not very exciting to a child. Sadly, by the time I became interested in the happenings of a kitchen, he had moved on to greener pastures. The loss of a loved one leaves a void and some opportunities evaporate with their death. When one door closes another one opens. Occasionally, we have to knock the door down to keep moving.

Fig Chess Pie Recipe and lessons from Granny

In addition to moving and never stopping, my Granny certainly taught me a thing or two about southern cooking. I learned to always cook more than you need because you never know when you may have an extra guest. Lord knows, I needed to learn this one. Cook simply and with the best ingredients that you may afford. Serve your guests with a smile and give a southern welcome.

I love preparing standard Chess Pie and serving at any gathering. My friend Jazz Girl is particularly fond of my plain-jane Chess Pie.  First of all, I knew that figs would blend well in an updated version of the Chess  pie. Figs have a sweet delicate flavor that marries well with dairy products.

In this recipe, I included a small amount of figs to the recipe for a delicate flavor. Depending on your taste and harvest, the figs could easily be doubled to increase the fig flavor. Southern Chess Pie is an old-fashioned dessert that holds up against the most discriminating palate.

In summary, simple with minimal ingredients, Fig Chess Pie recipe will entice your guests. A dollop of homemade whipped cream or a scoop of delicious ice cream would pair nicely with this pie. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Shout out to Alexa  Jillian Jacqueline for her song- Reasons

Jilliam is part of the Listen Up Campaign. https://www.jillianjacqueline.com/

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In the event you serve Chess Pie, someone inevitably will ask about the origin of the dish and name. Even today, I  am unsure of the origin based on my research. The name has a bit of mystery behind it. I was unable to find one definitive answer about the name . Internet search yielded several reasons ranging from  the following:

Corruption of word cheese
Ingredients stored in pantry or chest
Sugar content meant pie could be stored in chest  in lieu of refrigerator
Southern cook accent referring to “Jes’ pie”

My favorite version is the southern “Jes Pie”. Lord knows at times some people may have trouble understanding our Southern accent. The Chess Pie recipe is attributed to different regional locations. No matter the origination, it is a delicious and easy to make recipe.

Why make a Coconut Chess Pie?

I have served Chess Pie as a standard offering when I entertain for many reasons.

The ingredients are always in my pantry
Inexpensive to make
Quickly mixes by hand in one bowl
Bakes in 30 minutes
Cools quickly and is easy to transport
Magically it will always disappear

The Chess Pie is a favorite of my friend Jazz-Girl. I hope that she will like this Coconut Chess Pie recipe as well. I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks Talk About Good published originally 1969 by Jr League of Lafayette, Inc.  Talk About Good is celebrating its 50th birthday this year. Buy one for yourself or as a gift, the money supports a great cause.

In conclusion, Coconut Chess Pie is a great addition for any holiday table. Prepare ahead and served as needed. Pour a hot cup of chicory coffee and I am a happy girl. I may need to have a slice now.

Alexa, Shout out to Darius Rucker “Southern State of Mind”.Darius sings “You can take the guy out of the south, but in my heart I’m always there”

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