Pat Nixon’s Angel Pie

“Pat Who?”

Some of my younger readers might not be familiar with Pat Nixon, but we ‘Baby Boomers’ would certainly recognise her as the wife of former U.S. President, Richard Nixon. Nixon (aka ‘Tricky Dick’), was the only U.S. president to resign from office, as a result of the Watergate scandal in 1974. Before becoming President, Nixon was also Vice President for eight years under Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961), long before Watergate.

When recently downsizing, I came across a 1960 magazine article titled The Pat Nixon Cookbook, which my mother had tucked away. The article states that Mrs. Nixon began collecting recipes at age 13 after her mother died. She did not consider herself a gourmet and preferred cooking “wholesome food, simply prepared, like rare roast beef and Irish stew.” Evidently, this approach had kept her and her husband in good health and helped to maintain their weights respectively at 110 and 165 pounds (how did they do it)!

Typical 1960s food?

While perusing the various recipes from Pat Nixon’s Cookbook, I saw a few typical 1960s recipes such as Meat Loaf, featuring beef combined with a can of tomato soup and topped with several strips of bacon. There was also a recipe for Shrimp Superb, made with 17 boiled eggs (??), shrimp, bleu cheese dressing, and a topping of crushed potato chips (reminds me of my mom’s Tuna Casserole back in the day)! Even though Richard Nixon was fond of cottage cheese and ketchup, evidently this recipe didn’t make the cut for her cookbook!

However, the recipe that attracted my eye was Pat Nixon’s Angel Pie. I had never heard of this dish before but reading through the recipe, it reminded me a lot of Pavlova (see my recipe for Pavlova and Mixed Berries). First, three egg whites are beaten with sugar until stiff peaks form, then spread into a pie plate using the back of a spoon.

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Next, bake the shell for 40-50 minutes at 275 F. until the ‘crust’ turns slightly golden and puffs up a bit. Don’t worry if the crust cracks!

How to make this pie look more exciting!

Finally, a combination of melted chocolate and whipped cream is poured into the cooled pie crust. However, you’re not done yet! In order to make the pie look more exciting I added an extra blob of whipped cream in the center, a drizzle of melted chocolate, and some chopped peanuts. I think Pat would have been proud!

The Conclusion

Although the pie looks a little rustic, it was very rich and delicious- very hard to stop eating! It’s very similar to Chocolate Cream Pie made with traditional pastry crust, however if you want a simpler method for making crust, Pat Nixon’s Angel Pie is the way to go!

P.S. Be on the lookout one day for my Watergate Salad recipe (ha ha)!