The first piece
My dad's favorite pie is this egg nog pie. He grew up with it, and my mother has been gamely making this for him since the mid-sixties (when his mother died). For decades it would "fail" with the yellow "egg nog" layer separating into a thin, dark yellow rubbery layer on the bottom, and a very pale yellow layer above. (The failed pie is still quite yummy, however, and always managed to get eaten.) All of this is covered with a layer of whipped cream (as illustrated) before it's put in the fridge to set. As a result, one doesn't know if it's gone wrong until you cut the first piece, with everyone watching.
So Mom has put up with all sorts of good-natured ribbing about this, made all the worse that her friends can do it, and I have in fact successfully made this pie for nearly 20 years now.
Somehow she seems to have largely "fixed" the problem, however, as her batting average must be around 80% for the last few years. None of us (including her) know for sure what she's doing differently, but we don't look gift pies in the mouth.
This is this christmas's pie, which was one of her best yet. Fluffy and delicious. I had the last piece tonight, and it was still wonderful. Unfortunately Dad and solid food aren't on good terms at the moment, so he only got to see the wonderful pie, but having him at the table with us for part of christmas dinner was a wonderful treat in its own right.