Today is National Bavarian Cream Pie Day. Melt a decadent and allow to chill; fold in whipped cream -please, use the real stuff- and then fill a graham cracker pie crust, or shell of choice. Chill again and enjoy.

Is the origin Bavarian? How does a rich cream pie get that name? Bavaria is a region in SE Germany in the area around Munich and Nuremberg. It borders Austria, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. The area is well known for their beer consumption, especially during Oktoberfest.

But a cream pie? That’s odd. How did this prosperous region in Germany, known for lederhosen, dirndl and beer become synonymous with cream pie? It seemed bizarre to me that I couldn’t find any information on the origin of this dessert. And to make it even more confusing, when I looked up recipes for this dessert I found some that used chocolate and some that didn’t, but I think a true Bavarian Cream is simply a rich custard chilled in a shell and topped with chocolate curls. Add chocolate and you get a Chocolate Cream Pie.

So any way it rolls, and it likely is one of those dishes that is totally open to interpretation, I am thankful today that I am not a stickler for such details, and that I can make a short and simple post about the true meaning of this holiday.

Thanksgiving is quickly becoming one of my favorite excuses to cook. Like I need one, right? But when I haul my huge 22# turkey onto the grill in a few hours and smell the cherry wood smoke that billows out of it as it cooks, I get a little giddy. When I catch a whiff of the yams as they bake in the oven, or see the pillowy mounds of potato, the golden roasted carrots and the richly colored cranberries, it all serves to remind me that I have so much and am blessed with such abundance, and I don’t always make the time to remember what that is, and for that I need to be a lot more careful. Nothing is promised in this world, and given the current state of the economy, it teeters ever more precariously than ever before. We are healthy and strong and we manage- sometimes with a lot of prayer but we manage- and when I swiped my debit card at the grocer and packed up my bounty, I said a prayer of thanks for the fact that, for one more year, I can enjoy the harvest (figuratively….) and sit down to the repast that speaks of all the work that’s been done this year. My husband works so hard for us and I am so thankful that his business is prosperous and his hands are full, sometimes too full but he manages the best he can. I’m very thankful for the opportunities I have had this past year to utilize my skills and look forward to where that will take me. Our son is very healthy and strong, he’s really doing well in his first year of high school and he’s happy with life. Our families- God has blessed us so abundantly in that regard- our wonderful, loving and generous families continue to bring us so much joy and laughter. There is a lot going on in the next month with them and I look forward to it all.

So be thankful for a moment, whether your life is exactly where you feel it should be or you seem a little off track, take a moment and just say ‘Thank You’- for the fact that you can see, draw in a deep breath, and hear your heart beating.

Happy Thanksgiving!