Page 190 - United States of Pie

featured a black bottom pie from Geneva, Wisconsin, with photo
included. The year after, a syndicated column by Mrs. Gaynor
Maddox describes it as “one screwy-looking pie,” attributing its

origin to the Brown Derby: “Out there in Hollywood where so
many odd things happen,” she writes, “this pie turns out to taste
more sensible than it looks.”
Recipes are ephemeral. They’re jotted down on scraps of
paper, whispered from ear to ear, clipped from the newspaper. So
while we may never know just who invented this gorgeous relic
of American desserts, all documentary evidence seems to lead

back to the West. I tilt my hat to the region; this is one hell of a
pie!