Buttermilk Pie

Hello again everyone!  So glad you're stopping by.  Thank you for your patience during my absence.  It was difficult, long week with an exhausting one-day 850-mile drive on each end.  But I was lucky to spend the week with my very sweet mother and, as a bonus, I was able to spend the day with part of my OKC Bombing family, Sharon and Dallas.

While I wasn't able to persuade Sharon and Dallas to let me take them out to lunch, I was lucky enough to be able to sit down to an incredible dinner which she prepared.  She made a wonderful roast (Cattleman's of OKC!) with mashed potatoes, carrots (yummmm), salad and this incredible buttermilk pie.  Many years ago, I used to get a chess pie which, I believe, is pretty close to this recipe.  But Sharon's pie was extraordinary.  And for a person who doesn't have a sweet tooth, that's about as good as praise as you can get.

It's kind of a consistency of a lemon custard in a meringue pie.  I actually tried cooking this for the first time while in OKC, but I believe the oven I was using may have been at a higher temp because it came out solid at the lowest cooking time.  But I also used butter instead of margarine (I'm not a foot scientist, so I have no idea what the different cooking properties these two have, but the second pie came out perfectly with the margarine).  I was a bit gun-shy, so I lowered the temp when I cooked it tonight, but it ended up taking much longer.  So given that I know my oven is calibrated at the correct temp, these directions should work for you.

Along with yeast, I have given up on trying to make a homemade piecrust.  But Sharon, bless her heart, gave me the thumbs up on using the refrigerated, roll-it-out-yourself piecrust.  If you are a good piecrust maker, hats off to you, knock yourself out.  If you're a wuss like me, feel secure in knowing your pie will still come out wonderfully.  Just make sure your oven is set at the correct temp (you can buy one of those hanging thermometers at Wal-Mart for about $5) and start checking the pie at 45 minutes.  The pie filling should be brown and blistered a tiny bit (providing a wonderful crunchy top) and there will be a slight jiggle to the pie when you gently shift the pie pan (I also used a pie ring for the last 15 minutes that fits around the edge to keep the crust from burning...you can find them at Bed Bath and Beyond and other kitchen suppliers like the big box stores).  I think the secret is to get the top to that perfect, crusty, brown top while the pie is not completely set, as it will set as it cools on the wire rack.

BUTTERMILK PIE (6-8 servings)

1 7/8 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp table salt
1 stick melted margarine, slightly cooled
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk

Mix sugar, flour, and salt in one bowl.  In another, whisk together eggs, cooled margarine, vanilla, and buttermilk.  Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

Pour into unbaked pie shell.  Bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes.  Let cool and come to room temp on a wire rack.  Keep remaining pie refrigerated.

Recipe Source: (my friend, Sharon Davis, via Junior Hospitality Club, Inc. cookbook, Oklahoma City, OK, 1974)