In honor of the official beginning of the Summer Season, I give you...

My favorite summer pie recipe.

The first time I ever went to a Pampered Chef party, my good friend Susan was the "chef." And let me tell you - I've been to a few other Pampered Chef parties since then, but no one has ever compared to the professionalism or the mad sales skills of Susan. She cooked some pretty yummy stuff (using all the various PC equipment, of course) and put on one impressive show. She made the famous Pampered Chef Red White & Blue pie or whatever it's called. Come Memorial Day, I still crave it every year.

Only I make it w/out the Blue[berries]. So I guess it's just the Red & White pie.

1. Bake one deep dish pie shell according to package directions. Let cool.


2. Rinse one quart of strawberries. Cut four strawberries in half length-wise, leaving the tops on. Top the rest of the strawberries and slice.


3. Melt 4 squares white baking chocolate. Dip the eight strawberry halves in the chocolate and set on waxed paper to cool.


4. Scrape remaining chocolate over the bottom and sides of baked pie crust. Layer sliced strawberries over chocolate.


5. In a medium mixing bowl, whip one 8-oz package of cream cheese with a whisk until smooth. Add 3/4 cup cold milk and blend well.


6. Add one 3.3-oz package* of white chocolate instant pudding. Stir until mixture begins to thicken. Fill pie shell.


7. Garnish with chocolate-covered strawberries and refrigerate.

* - This is the small box of instant pudding mix. If you use the sugar-free pudding, it will be a 1-ounce box. Do not try to use three boxes of the sugar-free pudding because you think you need 3 ounces of pudding. Not that I did that or anything.