Carmel Pie

Carmel Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

My introduction to veterans came when I married into Dana’s military family. Since the American Revolution, there has been a Walker from this family tree serving in every conflict that our nation has been engaged in with the exception of the Spanish-American War. My father-in-law is a veteran of World War II, the Korean, and Vietnam War. He entered the military after lying about his age to a judge, who gave him the choice of going to jail or to war. When the judge informed his mother, she told the judge that her son was only sixteen. So Dana’s dad went to another town, where lied about his age again, and joined up with the Navy ending up on one of the boats guarding the bay where the Japanese surrendered. After two years he joined the Army then thought about joining the Marines, but they told him he would have to go through boot camp again so instead he joined the Air Force serving sixteen years. He retired with twenty-one and a half years in military service. Just between my father-in-law, his two sons, one daughter, and three grandsons there has been a total of 73.5 years of Walker military service given to our country in the last three generations.

Standing erect his five sons still loom over their dad head and shoulders, but all the boys respect their dad’s ability to handle himself. He could break cement blocks in two with one hand and do one handed push-ups into his late sixties having to stop when he had trouble keeping his balance. After retiring from the military and turning his life around from being an alcoholic, my father-in-law started a rescue mission in the city of Fort Myers to help others. Word quickly got around not to mess with the head guy despite his being a preacher, small size, and age. One street fellow started giving trouble and pulled a knife on my father-in-law. He took the knife away from the fellow and threw it over to the curb about the time a policeman came by and asked, “Reverend you need some help?” Dad Walker said, “No somebody just needed to know who was boss around here. It’s all taken care of”. He then reached down shut the knife, dropped it in the man’s pocket and told him, “If you reach in your pocket, I’ll break your hand.” The poor guy was so nervous he didn’t know what to do with his hands. Another time some guys got into a fight in the dormitory. One of the fellows was enormous called Little John. Dad Walker and a son stopped the fight. My father-in-law then shoved Little John in his room, shut the door, and told him to stay there. In a few seconds slowly and very carefully Little John opened up the door and asked quietly, “Preacher can I come out now?”

My Carmel Pie has a smooth Carmel filling sandwiched between cool whip and a graham cracker crust making a rich elegant dessert that will grace any occasion. Even though this simple dessert takes hours to make it is well worth the time invested. I usually make two pies at a time. Preparation time for my Carmel Pie is a little over three and one half hours and this recipe makes one 9-inch pie.

Carmel Pie

1 (9 inch) graham cracker crust
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 oz) cool whip

Remove the label and immerse the can of condensed milk in a kettle of water completely covering the can. Bring to a boil and slowly boil adding water as needed for three hours. Let cool. Open and pour into the graham cracker crust using a spatula to smooth it out. Layer with cool whip and chill before serving. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon!

Weekly tip: When cutting frozen pies first dip the knife into warm water to make the slicing easier!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com