This is a gooey, delicious pie, but we made it for a sad reason. As some of you may already know, a fellow foodie suffered the worst possible moment last weekend: Jennifer Perillo’s husband passed away suddenly. He had a heart attack though he was too young to have one. Twitter exploded with support as the news spread, and several bloggers wrote posts so expressive they brought tears to the rest of our eyes.
We first got to know Jennie soon after Food52′s launch, and before long we were trading anecdotes, food tips, and funny stories on twitter and in comments. Jennie blogs about food and family at In Jennie’s Kitchen; she’s a fabulous cook, an upbeat person, and also a career and life inspiration to those of us on the food path.
It is always humbling to be on the sideline of someone else’s pain. You feel deeply for them, you send thoughts and condolences, but you’re also rendered helpless. We are grateful to know there are close friends and family there for Jennie in person; all we can do is keep her present in our thoughts. But, amazingly, Jennie gave us all another way to react-she’s letting us go where we’re comfortable, the kitchen, and use what we create there to tell her know we’re around and that we care. How strong and selfless a thing that is to do!
So here’s our Peanut Butter Pie, full of sweet strength for Jennie. We’ll be indulging in it with our own loved ones, treasuring that we have them in our lives, as Jennie has asked us to do. Visit In Jennie’s Kitchen for the recipe, and leave her a few crumbs there of love and support. Food52 will be creating an index of everyone’s pie posts, and Gluten Free Girl is organizing more concrete ways to be there for Jennie and her girls.
From our kitchen, sending love to Jennie’s,
Cara and Phoebe, THE QUARTER-LIFE COOKS
