Arkansas Possum Pie

In separate medium bowl, whisk sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, flour and salt until combined. In saucepan over medium heat, add egg yolk mixture and flour mixture. Whisk constantly until pudding begins to thicken and bubble. Add butter and vanilla extract, stirring until butter is melted. Pour chocolate pudding in shallow bowl. Cover with plastic wrap touching pudding to keep it from forming skin. Refrigerate

30 minutes.

Pour pudding over cream cheese layer. Cover pie with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

To make whipped cream topping: In stand mixer bowl, add heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whip until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream over pudding layer. Drizzle pie with chocolate syrup and sprinkle with chopped pecans.

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Roald Dahl’s classic children’s books are facing revision

year ago, the works of Theodore Geisel, the brilliant writer/ cartoonist better known as Dr. Seuss, came under fire. According to CNN, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced that “If I Ran the Zoo” and five other Seuss books that portrayed people in ways that were “hurtful and wrong” will no longer be published. After the news went public, Geisel’s fans scrambled to get unabridged copies of the “Seuss Six” while the opposition agreed with the decision to ban the books. As of this writing, though, the banned books were still available on Amazon at a hefty premium.

If banning Dr. Seuss wasn’t enough, British novelist Roald Dahl’s children’s books will be, as the New York Times reported, “rewritten in an effort to make them less offensive and more inclusive.”

Dahl, who passed away on Nov. 23, 1990, created a wonderfully diverse group of characters for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” his 1964 children’s novel about a special factory and its reclusive owner. Dahl continued this storyline in 1972’s “Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator,” an adventure that sent the characters to places such as “Space Hotel USA.”

Dahl’s work also was adapted for 1971’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” a cinematic adventure with Gene Wilder playing the eccentric Willy Wonka. The chocolate maker sent out golden tickers hidden under labels of candy bars in an effort to find an heir. Unlike Tim Burton’s 2005 adaptation, Charlie (Peter Ostrum) didn’t have a father and worked hard to help his family. After he found the last golden ticket, Charlie and his Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson) joined the other winners on a fabulous, albeit strange, journey through the inner workings of the factory.

Both the novels and movie adaptations served as cautionary tales for children and adults. Augustus Gloop, for instance, was always hungry even when surrounded by candies and other delectables. Greed overtook him and he ultimately fell into a chocolate river and was sucked up a pipe. The other children, with the exception of Charlie, let their own greed lead them astray.

Gum chewing aficionado Violet Beauregarde, for example, grabbed a piece of experimental gum that turned her blue.

At the end of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” Charlie, of course, won the grand prize and was going to learn candy making secrets from Willy Wonka. Mr. Wonka said that when the other children and parents leave the factory, they will be restored to “their normal, terrible old selves, but maybe they will be a little bit wiser for the wear.” That’s a great lesson for adults and parents when they find themselves tempted to do things they shouldn’t.

In 1905’s “The Life of Reason,” George Santayana made the comment, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Banning Dr. Seuss books and creatively editing the works of Roald Dahl doesn’t make any logical sense. We have to look back in order to move forward.