Again with the Pie

Plums are in season and all over through the breeze way this way and that way. I went to make a pie and retrieved the NY Times Cooking Plum Chutney Crumb Pie recipe by Melissa Clark. One third of the plums get cooked with herbs, including rosemary from the garden, and spices including black pepper; just black pepper and I put in peppercorns. The seasoned plums tasted marvelous and I felt light and airy thinking about bringing that tasty treat to my cousin without realizing that peppercorns were lurking, hidden in the bottom of the pot, then the bowl, then the pie shell. My crumb topping didn't have the pastry chef appearance of, say, a lattice pastry top, but the plums looked wonderful and my number one taster carefully carried it to another house for dessert. Do you know what happens when you bite down on a peppercorn, even one that simmered for 30 minutes? Its like a jalapeño, only much more aromatic, filling a mouth with hot vapor. Two of us hit one at the same time and we stared at each other, wide eyes, what is happening here? I went through the list, "ginger, star anise, cinnamon, cardamon, rosemary and, oh no, peppercorns!" I made an announcement: "If you feel a little round ball, spit it out unless you want the pepper explosion." Too late for another guest; his eyes widened just like ours did.