Today, Charlotte, New Carolina, is a cosmopolitan city but it wasn't always so.
Back in the 1950s when I was in high school, my friend Jeanne, who had moved to Charlotte from New York City, often said she wished we could go out for a pizza. There was no place in Charlotte where we could get one.
I had never heard of pizza when Jeanne first mentioned it, so I asked my mum if she knew what it was.
She said no but she had read about it in a magazine. She took out the magazine and we read that it was a pie with tomato sauce, some kind of meat and cheese.
Mum said she would try to make one. She produced a pie made with a crust containing tomato sauce and a meat loaf — which was topped with melted American cheese.
Family lore
We called it pizza but somehow I didn't feel completely comfortable telling Jeanne about it.
Eventually, pizza made it to Charlotte. Jeanne told me a pizza place had opened up out on the road to the airport. She borrowed her family's car and we drove out there.
My eyes popped when I saw the flat piece of dough covered with pepperoni, a thin slathering of tomato sauce and melted mozzarella cheese.
Jeanne sprinkled a slice with red pepper flakes and took a huge bite. from the pointy end of the slice.
I had trouble with my slice because it wilted as I tried to bite it. I finally cut a piece with a fork, much to Jeanne's amusement.
I liked it but it sure looked and tasted different from my mum's concoction.
When I got home from our excursion to the new pizza restaurant, I said: “Mum, your pie is really good but it's not pizza.''
Ever-practical, she responded, “What shall we call it then?''
We thought about it and got my dad and my sister, Jean, involved in the debate. The winning name was Burger Pie.
It has been a family favourite ever since Mum invented it. It also became a good piece of family lore to share with visitors.
RECIPE
Burger pie
Servings: 4 to 6
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 white onion, diced, small
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 pound meat, ground, 90 per cent lean
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs, herb-flavoured
- 1 tbs A-1 steak sauce
- 1 tsp thyme, crumbled and dried
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper, ground
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce (plain or flavoured)
- 1 pie shell, frozen and 9-inch deep-dish
- 2 ounces cheese, shredded (American, Cheddar or mozzarella)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place olive oil in a skillet and sauté onion and celery for five minutes, until they're soft.
In a mixing bowl, blend meat, egg, bread crumbs, steak sauce, thyme, salt and pepper.
Add the sautéed onion and celery. Prick the bottom of the pie shell in several places and spread half the tomato sauce over the bottom.
Add the meat mixture and shape to fit in the crust. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the top.
Bake for an hour. Cool pie. If a lot of meat liquid has accumulated, drain and discard.
Sprinkle the cheese over the top 15 minutes before serving and place under the broiler for about five minutes to melt the cheese.
