It literally took me DECADES before I could enjoy a slice of pie without feeling guilty about the calories. Now I enjoy a slice if I find something unique because--basically--I don't care anymore.
A few years back "Scratch Bakery" (Durham, NC) was on Unique Sweets and showcased their Buttermilk Pie. The shop looked amazing and so I routed one of my trips up there to stop in and try a slice.
It was...well, it was okay.
(Residual echo of Mom's voice in my head: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything.")
The overly-sweet pie had started to weep and at the time I wondered if years of enforced pie celibacy had set me up for inevitable disappointment.
But then last week I found pasteurized (not Ultra) heavy cream AND buttermilk and decided to try the pie myself. I had a roll of Pillsbury fresh pie dough and the time and thought: What the hell.
I think that a lot these days.
Using Allrecipes version, the only tweek I made was to add 2 TBL of home-made crème fraiche to give even more tang to the pie. It was a good addition.
The recipe says to bake 40-60 minutes. I checked at 40 and the pie "looked" done, but the custard tested slightly damp. I gave it another 20 minutes and that sucker ROSE a full 2" from the earlier test. It ends up subsiding to a flat surface (cracked, of course), but the top had browned nicely and it still had a creamy texture.
I whizzed the entire thing with a stick blender for no other reason than I'm lazy.
3 eggs
1.5 C sugar
1/2 C butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 TBL flour
1 C buttermilk
1 TBL fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
2 TBL crème fraiche (my addition)
1 unbaked 9" pie shell.
Whiz everything together. Bake at 350 for 40-60 minutes.
The texture and basic flavor profile is custard-y, but with a tang that displaces the overwhelming sweetness of most custard pies.
I enjoyed it both warm and cold and gave half of the warm pie to my neighbor and her 91-year old mom. That smile was worth ALL the calories.
http://www.piefantasy.com/
A few years back "Scratch Bakery" (Durham, NC) was on Unique Sweets and showcased their Buttermilk Pie. The shop looked amazing and so I routed one of my trips up there to stop in and try a slice.
It was...well, it was okay.
(Residual echo of Mom's voice in my head: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything.")
The overly-sweet pie had started to weep and at the time I wondered if years of enforced pie celibacy had set me up for inevitable disappointment.
But then last week I found pasteurized (not Ultra) heavy cream AND buttermilk and decided to try the pie myself. I had a roll of Pillsbury fresh pie dough and the time and thought: What the hell.
I think that a lot these days.
Using Allrecipes version, the only tweek I made was to add 2 TBL of home-made crème fraiche to give even more tang to the pie. It was a good addition.
The recipe says to bake 40-60 minutes. I checked at 40 and the pie "looked" done, but the custard tested slightly damp. I gave it another 20 minutes and that sucker ROSE a full 2" from the earlier test. It ends up subsiding to a flat surface (cracked, of course), but the top had browned nicely and it still had a creamy texture.
I whizzed the entire thing with a stick blender for no other reason than I'm lazy.
3 eggs
1.5 C sugar
1/2 C butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 TBL flour
1 C buttermilk
1 TBL fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
2 TBL crème fraiche (my addition)
1 unbaked 9" pie shell.
Whiz everything together. Bake at 350 for 40-60 minutes.
The texture and basic flavor profile is custard-y, but with a tang that displaces the overwhelming sweetness of most custard pies.
I enjoyed it both warm and cold and gave half of the warm pie to my neighbor and her 91-year old mom. That smile was worth ALL the calories.
http://www.piefantasy.com/