Bastille Day! (and a recipe for French Silk Pie)

We used to throw a little dinner party every July 14, with boeuf bourguignon and red wine and friends.  That was back when we had a life.  And friends.  
 
Nowadays we happen to catch a snippet of the Marseillaise on the radio on a Thursday morning and we smack our foreheads and say, "Golly!  Today is Bastille Day!  Next year we must to remember to throw a little dinner party on July 14, with boeuf bourguignon and red wine and friends!" and then we forget about it again.
 
Thus, no dinner party tonight; but these two things in honor of the occassion.  
 
First:  Not a snippet, but the full-blown Berlioz choral and orchestra with superstar tenor rendition of the Marseillaise.  This'll make your bosom swell with patriotic fervor even if, like me, you're not even a little bit French.  
 
Second:  A recipe for French Silk Pie.  I printed this out from an e-mail listserv (remember those?) back 1994.  I think you can still find versions of it if you poke around the web, but they're all uncredited, which is too bad because whoever came up with this should be on the short list for the Legion of Honor.  
 
Raw egg alert:  the filling is not baked.  I think it's totally worth the risk but I live on the edge, you know.

French Silk Chocolate Pie with Meringue Crust

Meringue crust:

2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 300.  Beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until foamy.  Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until very stiff peaks hold.

Fold in pecans and vanilla.  Spread in 9" greased pie pan.  Bake 50-55 minutes.  Cool.

Filling:

1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 ounces (squares) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg yolks
2 eggs

While crust cools, cream margarine and add sugar gradually.  Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla.  Add 2 egg yolks and 2 eggs, one at a time, beating 5 minutes after each addition.

Pour filling into meringue shell and refrigerate at least three hours, preferably overnight.

Serve topped with whipped cream, finely chopped pecans and grated bittersweet chocolate.

Serves 8.