Buttermilk Pie
Last year, Peter and I took a weekend road trip to Fredericksburg, one of many charming towns of the Texas Hill Country. This quiet, restful and beautiful part of Texas, located between Austin and San Antonio, is home to several unique and delightful towns, all with a rich and interesting history. Some of the best antiquing can be found in and around the Texas Hill Country, most notably, The Original Roundtop Antique Fair, where my mother-in-law and I have been making annual "pilgrimages" to get our antiquing fix. It is also home to seasonal festivals, state parks, dude ranches, bed and breakfasts, orchards, vineyards, wineries, cultural events, and most importantly, some of the friendliest and most hospitable people you will ever meet.
As much as I love everything about the Texas Hill Country, if I had to list my Number One favorite thing, it would be the food (no surprise there!). Although you can find some excellent fine dining, I have a real weak spot for the authentic Southern, stick-to-your-ribs country cooking. Things like chicken-fried steak with white gravy, juicy, char-grilled hamburgers made with Angus beef, thick-cut bacon, fried green tomatoes, smoky-sweet baked beans, hushpuppies, coleslaw...are you hungry yet? Delicious as it all is, it's food that I indulge in only when I come out to the Hill Country, where I know I can't go wrong with true country cooking.
On our trip to Fredericksburg last year, Peter and I found a gem of a restaurant in Johnson City, called Silver K Cafe. I don't remember what we ate for lunch, but I'll never forget dessert--a slice of buttermilk pie topped with a fluffy dollop of freshly whipped cream and garnished with some sliced strawberries. It was divine. But "divine" wasn't the first word that came to mind when I moved to Texas ten years ago and first heard of buttermilk pie--it was more like "eeeww". I didn't grow up eating food that used buttermilk as an ingredient and I used to have an aversion to all things custard, cream and milk. But after my first taste of buttermilk pie a few years ago, I have since modified my initial opinion of buttermilk in all its incarnations from "eeeww" to "mmmm" and I have not looked back since.
Buttermilk pie is by no means a complicated dessert to make and the combination of only a handful of simple, easy-to-find ingredients results in a thick, creamy, spice-warmed custard that fills a buttery-rich, flaky crust. For me, buttermilk pie is the dessert that embodies true country cooking. And since we Southern people are such a friendly bunch (including us transplants), I"m happy to share this recipe with you so that you can experience a little bit of Texas Hill Country cooking right in your own hometown--no road trips required.
Buttermilk Pie
Adapted from Everyday FoodFor the crust, you can either use a store-bought pie crust, or you can use Martha Stewart's recipe for pate brisee. You can find the recipe in my post on Martha's Classic Apple pie here.
I found it beneficial to blind bake the pie crust so that the bottom would not get soggy with a liquid filling. Just be sure to let the crust cool completely before you pour in the buttermilk custard, otherwise you will risk curdling the eggs in the mixture.
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 T. all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 pie crust, fitted into a 9-inch pie plate, well chilledTo blind bake the pie crust, fit the pie dough into the pie plate and crimp the edges as desired. Prick the bottom of the pie shell with a fork. This will prevent the dough from puffing up and baking unevenly. Line the pie shell gently with aluminum foil, making sure all the edges are covered. Place pie weights or dried beans inside the foil-lined pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, making sure the crust does not begin to brown. Remove foil and pie weights from pie shell and cool completely on a wire rack.
Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, flour and sugar. Whisk in the buttermilk and the butter in 4 parts, alternating between each ingredient. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour the filling into the pie shell and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake for 15 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Cover the pie loosely with foil. Bake until the filling is set; 35-40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.
|
Subscribe to RSS |
.jpg)
No comments posted