On a recent visit to St. Louis, Pie Pal Jan and I visited the new National Blues Museum. The purpose of 
this interactive (think compose your own Blues music) museum is to connect American history and culture to the evolution of the Blues. We learned that the genre started in the Mississippi Delta and that Blues music is foundational to all types of American music, even rock and roll.
Sugarfire Smokehouse BBQ, which we noticed as we entered the museum, 
serves pies. The restaurant is conveniently connected to the museum through an inside passage! Any restaurant with the word “pies” listed on its window calls us, and we had to enter to see what was on offer. We chose the Mississippi Mud Pie in honor of the Blues and St. Louis.
People: Blues musicians who shared their songs and stories with those who lived and worked along the Mississippi River.
Places: National Blues Museum https://www.nationalbluesmuseum.org/
Sugarfire Smoke House BBQ, St. Louis, MO (also elsewhere, including Indianapolis)
Pies: Mississippi Mud Pie. The origin of this pie is not clear, but one story has it that on a hot summer 
day in Natchez when the river was low, people put their feet in the mud to cool off. Others mention how this pie resembles the dark, goopy mud along the river banks. In any case, the pie we enjoyed at Sugarfire was brownie-rich and chocolaty good. With each bite, we felt the cool of the muddy river while a soundtrack in the restaurant played lazy, hazy blues in the background. There are many variations of the recipe including ones with Oreo crusts and with fillings of ice cream, cream cheese and layers of whipping cream and chocolate pudding. I prefer my pie dense and muddy.
- Crust:
- 1½ cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
- dash of salt
- Filling:
- ¼ lb. butter, (1 stick)
- 2 (1 oz. each) squares unsweetened chocolate
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons white corn syrup
- 1⅓ cups sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Preheat the oven to 350 F Position the baking rack in the center of the oven.
- For the crust
- Combine the graham cracker crumbs in a bowl with the confectioners' sugar, 6 tablespoons of melted butter, and a dash of salt. Pat the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. Remove the crust to a rack and set aside
- For the filling
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the butter and unsweetened chocolate and cook, stirring frequently, until both are melted and well blended. Let the mixture cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat the eggs. Stir in the corn syrup, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Add the chocolate mixture to egg and sugar mixture and stir until well blended.
- Place the pie crust on a baking sheet. Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell and transfer the pie to the oven.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the filling is set.
- Serve the pie slightly warm or cold with a scoop of ice cream, a drizzling of chocolate syrup, or a dollop of whipped cream.
- Store the leftovers (if any) loosely covered, in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
