Taste the decadent, dark chocolate and strawberry pie my dad describes as a keeper

Most every evening, like some vampiric craving, it hits me. Just one tiny bite of rich, dark chocolate (definitely no more than three bites) is all I need. For me, it's the perfect finish and leaves my taste buds completely satisfied after supper. After years of dedication, I believe I've even developed a superior way to savor chocolate: Don't chew it but rather patiently allow it to melt slowly between your tongue and the roof of your mouth until it's gone. I have actually spent time explaining how much better it tastes when you give your taste buds time to appreciate it, urging people to "Resist the Chew!" 

And as an added bonus, my method prevents it from getting stuck in your molars, which I really don't like. I'm here to help where I can.    

Interestingly enough, and as much as I love chocolate, I don't want it in the summer. I don't even think about it. For three months, I don't buy it, I don't crave it or even take it when it's offered. I don't know if it's the heat or that I'm getting the magic that's in chocolate from somewhere else, but whatever the reason, my lack of interest in it for three months out of the year has always been a predictable oddity of mine. 

I like my chocolate like I like my coffee — dark, rich and some may say fancy. I like chocolate with the highest cocoa content I can find with the fewest ingredients and definitely without milk. I find my chosen darker-than-dark variety of chocolate very palatable, but a few of my friends call it "black butter."

I admit I am pretty much the target consumer for smaller artisan, organic chocolatiers, and coffee producers for that matter, with their clever names, beautiful packaging and eco-friendly practices. I love being romanced by their promises of protecting birds and treating their workers well with their shade-grown, pesticide-free beans. I use the purported health benefits of high-quality chocolate as part of my elaborate rationalization for spending a little more for my near-daily fix. 

There is some science behind why I love my chocolate like I do. For one thing, the higher the cocoa content, the higher the flavonoids, antioxidants and even polyphenols, those wonderful compounds that can lower your blood pressure, protect your heart, prevent cancer and protect blood vessels. Quality chocolate is also high in magnesium, which helps relax your muscles. It has theobromine and a little caffeine, which when combined provide a mild cannabis-like effect, calming your nerves and making you feel at peace. Additionally, chocolate has naturally occurring L-tryptophan in it, which helps make serotonin in your brain, which in turn makes you feel happy! And if that weren't enough, phenylethylalanine, an amino acid that triggers the release of dopamine, is also in chocolate. Dopamine is a vital part of the brain's reward system and makes you feel really good. 

So yeah, summer's over and it's hurricane season! I think I might need to pick up a lot more chocolate.                      

Fall is definitely in the air despite being unseasonably hot, and like clockwork, my chocolate cravings are back. This pie is one of my favorites for this time of year as strawberries are still in season and still so delicious, and my love of chocolate has returned after hibernating for the summer. This is an unbaked pie, except for the quick-bake vanilla cookie crumb and butter crust that is easy to make and amazingly good. It's served cold, so it bridges the gap between the fruit desserts I enjoyed throughout summer and fall's call for chocolate.   

For this pie I use Equal Exchange Bittersweet Chocolate Chips 70% Cacao Content, but any bittersweet chips will do. If you don't like dark, bittersweet chocolate (or don't think you do), understand that the cream cheese and whipped cream mellow the chocolate in the filling, so you need the strength of flavor the bittersweet provides to hold its own when combined with the other ingredients. 

This pie has four layers of flavor that, without fail, give you a dopamine hit of pure sensual pleasure with every bite. It's that good. To this day when I take my first bite, my shoulders drop, my eyes close, a little guttural grunt of bliss escapes as I exhale — as my dad says, "This pie…now it's a keeper."

The vanilla cookie crust is wonderful just on its own, but the filling on top is better than any chocolate pie I've ever had. It has a bolder, truer chocolate flavor with an amazing, creamy mouth feel. Similar to how a bit of salt enhances the sweetness of watermelon, the bright zingy acidity of the fresh strawberries provides just enough contrast to the filling to somehow elevate it even more. Lastly, the drizzle! The pure bittersweet chocolate drizzle dashed across the strawberries is the final slaying. If this pie could sing, it would sing in perfect harmony with lots sex appeal.   

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Whatever your stressors happen to be right now — having a hurricane entering the Gulf of Mexico, back-to-school issues for yourself or your children, work stress, car trouble or maybe you just read the current news headlines — this pie makes it all better. Feel free to re-name it "Happiness Pie." It is magical! Whatever you decide to call it, you are going to love it.

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