By Luann Anderson, editor at YWAM Publishing

My eighteen-year-old daughter Rebekah, a foodie like me, appreciates good cuisine all year round. Birthday celebrations, however, take it up a notch, and in our family, every detail of the menu is selected by the birthday honoree. Last year Rebekah ordered fresh crab (we cook them live), artichokes braised in lemon and olive oil, and hot chocolate cake.

Yes, I like to cook. My Italian family, all adventurous eaters, has provided me with abundant motivation to try new recipes over the years.

During a recent birthday-menu discussion, Rebekah requested a spinach-feta quiche, roast beef sandwiches, and, once again, hot chocolate birthday cake. At the time I was editing A Cup of Cold Water: Hospitality at Its Best by Debbie Rottier, and even though we’d already set the dinner menu, I had my sights on Debbie’s mango pie recipe, one of a host of scrumptious listings at the end of her book.

A little about Debbie: having served in leadership with Youth With A Mission hospitality ministries all over the world, she’s put together an inspiring read about sharing God’s love through a lifestyle of hospitality. During the publication process I wholly enjoyed getting to know her and learning more about the joy of offering “a cup of cold water.”

Back to the mango pie. With only five ingredients (not counting the homemade pastry shell) I figured I could manage cooking one more thing. I may have been wrong about that. The quiche, the cake, the pie, and a few little side dishes took up every inch of kitchen space that day. The sun was shining as I cooked dinner and I was in my element, not paying enough attention to what I was doing as I retrieved the quiche from the oven.

Like a slippery toddler, the hot quiche plate slid out of my oven-mitted hands and shattered on the kitchen floor. Little bits of spinach, egg, and glass shards landed everywhere. My family walked in from the living room when they heard me scream. (It was more of an “I can’t believe I just dropped that” scream.) Still, at the end of the day, we had a lovely time together with lots of dessert.

The mango pie? It turned out beautifully. Light and sweet, the leftovers were perfect with a cup of coffee the next morning.

What makes an excellent cook or hostess? In A Cup of Cold Water, Debbie Rottier reminds us that it’s all about serving, loving, and giving. Her hospitality insights—and her mango pie—offer more motivation to do just that, served up with love and simmered slowly all day long.

Debbie Rottier’s Mango Pie

• 1 cup sugar
• 3 Tb. Flour
• 5 fresh mangoes, cut up
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 450°F/230°C. Prepare pastry from favorite recipe.

Stir together sugar and flour; spread half of mixture in pastry shell. Place mangos cut side down on sugar mixture; sprinkle rest of sugar mixture over fruit. Pour whipping cream on mangoes; sprinkle cinnamon on top. Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F/180°C. Bake 30–35 minutes longer. Remove foil for last 5 minutes of baking.