Tracy Cooks in Austin: Buttermilk Pie (my altered for me version)

Monday, February 4, 2013

Buttermilk Pie (my altered for me version)

I love Southern food, Southern people, Southern ladies, Southern gentlemen...I hate Southern weather but I'm learning to cope (sort of). I hate my feet so the 11 1/2 months a year that are flip flop weather down here bugs me.

Perhaps if I invested regularly in pedicures, like some rich girl, I could start to enjoy the flip flops and stop yearning for socks. I miss socks. I miss thick, squishy, make you taller, socks. I miss sliding across wooden floors in socks and I miss pretending I can ice skate better than I can on linoleum in socks and I miss twirling in them. You can't twirl in flip flops, they stick, you go flying, it's not pretty.

IN any event, I'm here to talk about pie.

I love buttermilk pie (and it's close cousin the Chess pie) and have become well familiar with them since I've lived in Texas. I don't want to stomp on the old ladies of the south who created and made buttermilk pie famous and well loved down here. This is my humble ode to their brilliance, their delicious pie that they made without thinking about, whipping it up for family and friends with pride and charm and sweet humility. That's my most favorite things about the southern lady cooks that I meet here.

I did, however, futz with it a teeny weenie bit and have my own version that, although purists will be horrified, I think is equally as delicious. This is my nod to those ladies.

This is how I do it.

TRACY'S ORANGE BUTTERMILK PIE

Make a pie crust, this is the one I use, don't bake it, just line a 9 inch pie plate
http://www.tracycooksinaustin.com/2013/01/chocolate-pie-chocolate-meringue-pie.html

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla (I use vanilla bean paste)
1 stick melted, unsalted, butter, cooled to room temperature
4 eggs (large or better)
1 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon orange juice (FRESH, squeeze it from the orange you're going to zest)
1 Tablespoon orange zest
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (and more for the top)

Quickie instructions:

Preheat oven to 425
Combine milk and lemon juice in 1 cup measure, leave for 5 minutes.
In large bowl, combine everything else
Add milk/lemon juice and stir well
Pour into prepared (uncooked) pie shell
*for added delight, grate a little nutmeg on top and sprinkle with a little bit of sugar before it goes into the oven.
Bake at 425 on LOWEST oven rack for 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 350 and bake another 30-40 minutes until just set. IF if wobbles a little in the very center, that's perfect.
Allow to cool a while on a rack.

This is great warm, cold, cool, room temperature or anytime.

I hope you love my take on a southern classic!!

Long winded, with only a few pictures, version of instructions:

Same instructions! :)

I just love this pie. There's not many pictures to take and I wasn't going to blog it until it went in the oven so I have no "before" pictures. I'll update the post next time but for now, here's a few 'after' shots. This is one of the most delicious pies I make and I think you should try it, northern or southern, I look forward to hearing what you think.

It's just a basic custard pie but it's a little tangier and I like my addition of orange zest. The top gets a slight crisp layer from the sugar (sometimes I sprinkle additional on top before it goes into the oven) and I am guilty of grabbing a big slab of it, cold from the fridge, and walking around eating it with my hands. It's refreshing, rich, delicious, delightful and worth every single moment of sweet anticipation.