Daisy Dean Doolin: Inventor of the Frito Pie Celebrates 75th Anniversary

There are no statues in the public squares of America to honor Daisy Dean Doolin, but there should be. This blessed lady is the inventor of one of the simplest and most satisfying of all American comfort foods, the Frito Pie, which celebrates its 75 anniversary this year.

Children and adults have enjoyed this carry along treat at state and county fairs, Friday night football games, Little League and Jr. Baseball snack shacks and on AYSO soccer fields all over the country. In its purest and most elegant form, this humble little dish is not served in a dish at all, but in the slit-open single serving bag of Fritos itself. A generous ladle of canned chili is poured into the bag over the chips and a good pinch of grated cheese is sprinkled over the top. Stir with a plastic fork or spork, and enjoy.

Mrs. Doolin's economy of ingredients and the genius of its simplicity hardly qualifies the quick and easy assembly of a Frito Pie as a recipe at all. Her inspiration came after her son, C.E. "Elmer" Doolin wanted to buy the recipe and marketing rights for some little corn meal strips, deep fried and salted, which he enjoyed eating in a little Mexican cafe in San Antonio, Texas. His original plan was to bag and market the little corn chips as an accompaniment to soups and salads. Having a plan but no money, he came to his mother for a loan of $100 to make the deal. As the family story goes, Daisy hocked her diamond wedding ring to raise the money . Soon, the Doolins were frying up and bagging mounds of the golden little strips in Mama Doolin's kitchen and selling them to stores and restaurants all over Texas. Fritos caught on as a snack food, and the Fritos empire was born.

To make Fritos more versatile, Elmer asked his mother to think up some recipes using the chips so he could print them on the package. Her first and most famous was the Frito pie, created in the first year of the company's existence, 75 years ago.

The authentic version of the recipe does not resemble a pie any more than an Eskimo pie resembles an Eskimo. In subsequent years, however, many well meaning cooks, who apparently can't tolerate perfection when they see it, have attempted to modify the recipe, including the misguided quest to make its shape conform more closely to its name. Today, any number of concoctions in round dishes are advertised as Frito pie recipes, and some of them are excellent. They may be different and delicious, but they are not a substitute for Daisy's original.

And, for those who have grown up on the real thing, they never will be.