By The week after Thanksgiving and I have been thinking about CJ and Shanice. I have been thinking about the particular quality of "I am sure" in a Simms man—the way Calvin said it to me in the Ensley AME parking lot in 1991, the way CJ said it at my kitchen counter last Thursday. Certainty is not something the Simms men perform or display or announce in advance. It arrives quietly, stated plainly, without embellishment, and when you hear it you know it is real because everything before it was uncertain and this is not. Calvin was certain. CJ is certain. I trust the certainty of Simms men. I have thirty years of evidence.
Destiny called Sunday evening. She said, "Mama, how are you feeling about CJ and Shanice?" I said I was feeling good about it, that CJ was certain and CJ was not wrong about things he was certain about. She said, "Travis wants to ask you something." There was a slight pause on the line—the kind that has a decision in it—and then Travis came on the phone and he said, "Mrs. Simms, I want to marry Destiny. I want to do it right and ask you and Reverend Simms properly." I held the phone for a moment. I said, "Travis Abernathy. You peeled sweet potatoes at my first Thanksgiving without complaint." He said, "Yes, ma'am." I said, "You brought your grandmother's sweet potato pie to my kitchen at Christmas." He said, "Yes, ma'am." I said, "You have been good to my daughter and you are steady and you hear what she's saying and you bring her coffee when she comes off a hard shift." Long pause. He said, "Yes, ma'am." I said, "Talk to her father. Then come for Sunday dinner." He said, "Yes, ma'am, I will." And I hung up and found Calvin and told him and Calvin sat down in his recliner and said, "Lord." Just that. Lord. The prayer and the thanksgiving and the whole response in one word.
When Travis said “Yes, ma’am” for the fourth time and I hung up that phone, the first thing I thought about after I found Calvin was pie—the kind of pie a man brings to someone else’s kitchen because he wants to be known there. Travis has been bringing pie to this table for two years now, and this coming Sunday when he sits down with Reverend Simms, I will have one waiting. This Mock Apple Pie has been in my rotation since my own mother made it; it is humble and it is surprising and it is exactly right for a table that is making room for someone new.
Mock Apple Pie
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- Pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie
- 36 butter-flavored crackers (such as Ritz), coarsely broken (about 1 3/4 cups crumbs)
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the bottom crust and set aside.
- Make the filling. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and cream of tartar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add lemon. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.
- Layer the crackers. Scatter the broken crackers evenly into the prepared pie crust. Pour the warm lemon-sugar syrup slowly and evenly over the crackers. Dot the top with the butter pieces and sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Top and seal. Lay the second crust over the filling. Trim, fold, and crimp the edges to seal. Cut several small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.
- Bake. Bake at 425°F for 30—35 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. If the edges begin to brown too quickly, cover them loosely with foil.
- Cool before slicing. Let the pie cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting. The filling will set as it cools.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 420 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 68g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 310mg