Old School Buttermilk Pie

Buttermilk Pie well you know I had to defrost some buttermilk for some cookies I was making.


This Buttermilk Pie for my Pa was worth the time. Wait it took no time really gee ! I always have buttermilk in the freezer because I always have more that I need when baking. So out came the buttermilk and in goes the Buttermilk Pie. The funny thing is that no one but my Mama ever heard or had it. 

Strange how some of  the food's our parents-parent's made are either dying or forgotten. 

Well this Buttermilk Pie has been revived by this family for generations to come. Let's start by making the crust

Ingredients for the crust

1 packet of graham crackers from a box (It usually has 9)
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup of butter room temperature or melted

In a food processor grind up the graham crackers until reduced to crumbs. Add the sugar and pulse until combined. Pour in vanilla and melted butter and process until crumbs are all moist.

Press firmly and evenly into a 9" pie pan. Make sure you push it up the side till it is a safe distance from the top of the pan. Look at my pictures and notice that the crust shrunk after it baked. You can bake the crust at this point (or not) in a 375 degree oven until edges are brown. Then set aside to cool.

* Crust changes I made. I used brown sugar it make a more flavorful crust and give the edges a little crunch. Break up your graham crackers prior to running them in the food processor other wise you get to many big chunks. I left the pieces of graham cracker that did not break up. Some of them were about say little nugget size and they floated into the pie, so good!. Also I did not bake it prior to filling it and it turned out great. Actually I forgot to bake it because I was so excited and lucky me it was ok. And last but not least once the crumbs were crushed in the food processor I turned them out into a bowl added the ingredents for the crust and  mixed the crumbs by hand. I like to feel that the cracker crumbs is completely saturated and I do not like my crust to be pulverized by the food processor. I am a texture girl.

I had to show you my home made vanilla extract .Try making some it is a no brainer so easy. Actually it makes itself.

Ingredient for Buttermilk Pie - Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

2/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt - sift this and the nutmeg in with the flour prior to adding to mixture
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
3 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter (softened)
1 /12 cups of buttermilk

In your mixing bowl combine brown sugar and flour mixture until combined. Add eggs one at a time until mixed. Add vanilla, butter and buttermilk and mix until smooth.

Pour your buttermilk mixture into the prepared graham cracker crust it should fill about a 1/2 inch or so from the top of the crust. Put your pie into a preheated oven 350 degrees and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until the pie is set. It is not the same as cream cheese it should not giggle. It will be light brown on the top. Cool and serve warm or cold.

Old School Potato Salad

Potato Salad I call it old fashion Potato Salad because I like to consider myself Old and Fashioned. So I tweaked this a bit as usual.I went through my cook books and everyone has a different way of making it. When I came to a recipe that called out for Miracle Whip I mean that is not even Mayonnaise to sweet.This is how I have made Potato Salad since the beginning of my cooking time Circa 1979.

I'm sorry my pictures are a few and not like always but I was battery dead between the steps. Everything did come from our garden except the sauces and spices.


Ingredients
8 large potatoes (mine were smaller )
1 cup Mayo
3 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tbsp horseradish
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 cup diced celery
6 radishes chopped
4 hard boiled eggs chopped
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tbsp Paprika and Dill (garnish)

A few notes:

** I make everything for my potato salad a day ahead so it can get good and cold and the flavors meld together. I mix it the morning of the BBQ or when it is to be eaten and let it sit for the day in the re-frig soaking up its flavors.

** If you start with hot water when boiling potatoes/eggs they cook too fast on the outside and get mushy before the middle is cooked. Starting with cold water lets the entire piece of potato get hot along with the water and it cooks through evenly. Ok Potatoes get porous as they cool so sprinkle some vinegar on while they are hot and they will keep the tangy till you mix up the salad. If you want a firmer potato use red skin potatoes. I like plain ole' russet potatoes. The garden ones were tiny!

**Also cook your potatoes to the texture you want. Cooked to long they are mush not cooked enough they are rock like. Keep them fork easy but not fork tender.

**While your potatoes are boiling you can take that time to chop the rest of the ingredient
You might as well do the eggs (same as potato start in cold water)and potatoes at the same time (Separate pots) why heat the kitchen twice. I swear my kitchen is always cooking something I wish I could still wear a bikini. lol................ could you imagine

** All chopping is to bite size the potatoes are the larger and the remaining veggies are small.

** Also if you want to tweak the dressing do it do not be scared to add that is the beauty of cooking but remember you can put stuff in but you can not take it out.

Prep

Chop your potatoes and boil till tender.

Hard boil your eggs (cold water like the potato)

Chop your other ingredients the onion, radish, and celery

Put you chopped veggies in a bowl in the refrigerator

Once your potatoes are cooked strain them let them sit for a bout 5 minutes so the water drains. While your potatoes are still warm sprinkle them with a little cider vinegar or pickle juice they will hold that tang till you mix it up tomorrow.

Now pop them in a bowl and put them in the refrigerator (covered)

The eggs are boiled you can let them cool to room temperature and pop them into the refrigerator also (Chop tomorrow they will be harder when cold and chop easier)

Ok zzzzzzzzz Wake up it is the morning of the next day..

Time to mix the salad



Grab all your ingredients potatoes, eggs, chopped veggies also grab you dressing ingredients.

Shell and chop your hard cooked eggs

In a large bowl put your potatoes, veggies and eggs, no mixing yet.


You do not want to mix to much because potato salad have a habit of breaking down if worked to much.





Lets stir up the dressing

Grab a small bowl and mix your Mayo, vinegar, mustard, horseradish  and red pepper flakes (Optional)
Put all this in the bowl and stir I stir this stuff with a whisk it seems that the whisk makes things seem light....




Ok are you ready I'm so excited add the dressing and mix it all up be gentle there is no rush!

How does it look?

How does it taste?

Now is your time to taste and add what you think might make it better? A little salt ? Pepper? I do not use salt in a lot of my cooking I like people to add there own.


How is It? Let me know.................

Fricassee Chicken

Fricassee Checken is a reicpe I have heard of over the years. But this chicken reicpe was never made by this girl.

Well day two and Fricassee Chicken here we come. This is from the book "New Delineator Recipes......1930

Keep in mind the directions are simple and to the point. I have given you more pictures than instruction but that is the way they did it back in the day!

Fricasseed Chicken

1 chicken
2 tablespoons of butter or other fat
2 cups of chicken stock
2 tablespoons of flour
1 cup of milk or cream
1 egg yolk
salt and pepper
Herbs
Salt pork
Rice or dumplings





Singe, clean and cut up the chicken. Brown in a pan with the butter, drippings or chicken fat.







Cover with boiling water, add salt, pepper herbs and few slices of pork salt.















Simmer until tender (about one hour)

Strain and thicken one pint of liquid with the flour mixed to a smooth paste with a little cold water, add the milk or cream beaten with the yolk the egg.







 

Heat again until slightly thickened, pour over the chicken and serve with rice or dumplings.



This dish turned out so delicious I never expected it to be. I called my mommy after I cooked it and she told me it brought back so many memories of when she was little when they had no money.






Back in the day this was a cheap dinner and filling thus yummy.

Old School Popover's

My Grandmother's Popover's. So first let me apologize for the long pause in recipes. I have been taking care of Mama and now she is living here at my home and all is good. As a matter of fact now all is delicious. I am going to crank out some of Mama's favorite recipes. The first one she could remember is her Mother (Twila's) Popover's .




She says they were yummy and she use to just make them plain. So I asked what Mama would like to add to ours. She said some basil and cheese. Now the easiest cheese I thought without adding any more texture would be the Parmesan cheese in the jar. I usually use fresh shredded but what the heck I will go out of my comfort zone.

Twila's Popover's

You need 6 ramekins but we used a large six cup muffin pan.

2 beaten egg's
1 cup of whole milk
1 tablespoon of cooking oil (not olive)
1 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt (not kosher)
* We added 1/4 cup chopped dried basil and a half cup of Parmesan cheese


If your muffin pan is non stick I suppose you do not have to coat it but I did coat each cup with some shortening. I was glad I did this because after we baked them they stuck a tiny bit. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet and set it aside while you get your batter ready.





In a mixing bowl beat your egg's.

Now add the milk and cooking oil.
Add your flour and salt.

 * Now add the extra ingredient's if you choose.




You can now beat everything together with your whisk until smooth.




Fill the muffins tins half way full.







Bake in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes or till the popovers are firm.

Immediately after your remove them from the oven prick them with a fork to let the steam come out. Hey cook them longer if you want them to be crispy.

But do it once the oven is off and watch them.
Serve warm...                                      .




The texture was indescribable. Mama and I sat trying to figure out what the texture was similar to. We tried to figure it out till there was only two left...

  Popover Heaven