By Bessie Grimes:

Susan Bentley, President of the Fatso Club’s Banquet Committee, set out the guidelines for the October Feast.

“You know the rules. Each person spends a minimum of $100.00 on the dish of his or her choice. Each dish must contain at least 1000 calories per serving and be as rich and decadent as possible. As you know, each recipe must provide helpings for fifty people; that’s a cost of $2.00 per serving; very reasonable. you may choose from the following categories: soup, entre or dessert. The dessert can be a pie, a cake, or a dairy extravaganza; the richest sundae or banana split ever seen. Our serving sizes are about twice as large as any you’ll get in an ordinary restaurant. Have fun and we’ll see you at dinner in a week’s time.”

“Susan, you make it harder all the time,” grumbled Kate Southerland. “However are we to spend so much on one single dish?”
“I did not specify size, just the number of people you need to serve.”
“Oh-yeah! That makes a difference. Soon people won’t be able to get here. I already weigh 350 pounds.”
“Well,” Susan responded, “I’m a good 400 pounds. A person might as well live it up while they can.”
“I don’t even want the food anymore and creating it is a chore. Murray doesn’t object. He licks the bowl every time and he’s bigger than I am now.”
“Murray was always the biggest man in the group.”
“True. He must weigh 550 pounds now. Well, I guess it will be dessert again. My desserts are always winners, but I’m running out of ideas. It always has to be something different.”
“That’s where the fun is; being creative.”

As Kate drove home, she realized that she needed a miracle to fulfill Susan’s requirements. She didn’t know what she would prepare. She’d already made everything she could think of. Apple crisps, banana desserts, deluxe chocolate and raisin creations had all come from her kitchen on similar nights. Her lemon pie was beyond rich with its creamed honey topping, but it wouldn’t do. All the group had tasted it more than once.

She stopped beside an ice cream shop. Perhaps this place would provide some inspiration. She could start by trying out some of the new flavours the proprietor was promoting.
“We have a really decadent maple pecan ice cream we’re trying out,” the sales clerk told her. “Three scoops as usual? We make it with fresh dairy cream and ground pecans and top it with real maple syrup.”

“Sounds good.”

Kate savoured the taste. When was the last time anyone had used maple syrup? She didn’t know. She did know it would be expensive. No one ever had a sale on genuine maple products. They were hard to get for one thing.

When Murray heard what she planned, he smacked his lips. “A few years ago, I tasted a great shoo-fly pie,” he said. “It’s all cane sugar. Maple syrup should be splendid. Then top it off with this wonderful ice cream.” He paused to lick the cone she had brought him. “It would be easy enough to make on the day. Do you have a freezer at the hall to keep the pies cold enough until they’re served?”

“We do,” Kate answered. “I’ll call Susan and reserve space for twenty pies right now. We’ll quarter them, but someone may want seconds.”
Murray grinned. “I know I will.”

“Quarter them?” Susan questioned. “Decision made! Make twenty-five pies and everyone gets half! This is the best dish I’ve heard of in a long time. I’ve tried that ice cream. I’ll make sure you have the freezer
space.”

Kate nearly cringed at the amount of work ahead of her. Thankfully, the dinner was an evening affair. She made the pie crusts two days before; then went shopping for the maple syrup, ice cream, butter and pecans. She locked the ice cream in a special freezer in the basement so Murray wouldn’t get into it. That was one place he couldn’t go anymore. He was just too big.

On the day, she prepared the filling. It had cost her over $150.00 to obtain enough maple syrup for both the filling and the topping. She folded in the ground pecans as the mixture was heating, then poured it into the pie shells and took them downstairs to cool. At the hall, she added the ice cream and the extra maple syrup.

Privately, she wondered how they could eat all these pies, but this group was amazing. The menu included rich, cheesy pasta dishes, king-sized hamburgers with multiple fixings, and a soup made of rich cream cheese, cauliflower and potatoes. Over fifty loaves of bread were consumed, along with enough plum pudding to seriously disable an army.

Still, Kate reflected, her dish had been an unqualified success. All the pies had disappeared.

“Oh-h-h,” moaned Murray on his way home. “Now I do have to lose weight!”

The dinner had been a success.