Custard Pie - Week 11

Custard Pie  - uncooked egg mixture added to a crust and baked together.

This is another basic pie. I've struggled with determining the characteristics of each pie to ensure that I have a diverse pie selection. The custard pie differs from a cream pie because the mixture is baked in the crust where the cream filling is cooked before it is placed in the crust.

This week, I was fortunate to have a guest cook in the house. My son, Luke was home for a few days of his spring break from college and agreed to try out baking a pie. He made the crust from scratch, and then mixed up the filling. He did a fine job, and it was fun being able to watch him make his first pie.

This is my Grandma's original recipe. She gave it to me 20 years ago when I was a new homemaker, and needed to expand my cooking skills. I appreciate the time that I got to spend with her in the kitchen over the years. Unfortunately she is unable to cook in the kitchen anymore because of her eyesight, but she still would be cooking and baking us great meals and desserts if she could because she always enjoyed cooking for the family. My personal favorite dish of my Grandma's is her Rice Pudding. I have had other rice puddings, but none compare to my Grandma's. When I was a child, I remember always looking forward to my Grandma serving it at least once during my visit where I would take seconds and thirds.

Ingredients:

4 slightly beaten eggs

3/4 cup sugar (scant)

1/4 t. salt

1 t.vanilla

2 -1/2 c. scalded milk (See scalded milk note in this post)

Cinnamon or Nutmeg

Directions:

Mix eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Slowly stir into hot milk. Pour into 9 inch pie shell unbaked. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon. Bake on lower shelf in 450 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 425 degrees and bake 10 minutes longer or until set. Generally use a toothpick or go by looks.

I enjoyed spending time in the kitchen with my son sharing one of my Grandma's recipes. This is a classic recipe that is perfect for cool treat at the end of a meal. Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite recipe or kitchen memory from your Grandma?

The Piesearch

With every good challenge there must be some research that must be done to achieve success.

I've gleaned pinterest and the internet for all pie possibilities, and studied up on all pie methods through recipe books from yesteryear. And to make sure that I pay tribute to the original piemakers in my life, I brought out the recipe boxes and cookbooks that contain all recipes from family members.  

One of the more interesting cookbooks I have found is "Cooking For Young Homemakers, An Edition of Encyclopedic Cookbook" printed in 1964, but was originally printed in 1948. The pie section alone boasts 300 Superb Pies and Pastries. It contains many images that assist in perfecting your pie abilities. 










The book describes good pastry as "flaky, tender, delicate and evenly browned. It is not crumbly, but when broken, shows layers of flat flakes, piled above the other with air spaces between."  The book also states "To achieve this result the cook must be quick and "light-handed, since pastry cannot be good if handled roughly or slowly."

I have taken note of several different methods, pie crusts and an extensive variety of pies and plan on sharing my findings in the coming year 2014. Believe me there are many more methods, types, and selection than I could have ever imagined, but I will put my best effort forth in giving you a great selection of pie! I have nearly 100 recipes that I have picked out to share, ranging from sweet to savory to pie-spired, I am confident that there will be something to satisfy nearly everyone's taste for pie!