Southern Comfort in the Great North Wet - Buttah'Milk Pie

Greetings all y'all. It's that time of year again, here in the United States, where we all gather 'round the table with friends, family and various other loved ones, and give thanks for the year's bounty.

My personal list of things to be thankful for is a little odd this year, though I am not going to get into it now. But suffice it to say that I am back "home" after, what seems like, a very long journey. You see, for all the scientific rhetoric I spout on this blog, about how 'this is this' and 'that is that' or copper ion stabilization of egg white foam, when it really comes down to brass tacks, I am merely a good ol' country boy who likes to cook. And while I may not hail from south of the Mason-Dixon (although my great-gramma did travel from 'Misserruh' to Oregon in a covered wagon), there are a lot of Southern victuals on my comfort food list and that's just all kinds of good. Especially when that involves Buttermilk.

Now don't go turnin' your nose up in the air over buttermilk. That's how people drown when it rains. ;) Buttermilk is deliciously tangy, like yogurt, cream cheese or sour cream. Not only does it get your show pig all cleaned up and smellin' good for state fair, it makes awesome biscuits, impossibly delicious cinnamon rolls, AND also cooks up one hell of a custard pie. Kinda like a cross between cheesecake and créme brûlée, in a way.

So if yer havin' a hankerin' for either one, this is a quick an easy way to get a fix. Know what I'm sayin'? It don't need to be all kinds of fancy, just a little bit of vanilla and your good to go. None of this lemon zest, coconut extract, orange blossom water or vinegar (that's Vinegar Pie), although I have to admit, I do sprinkle the top of the custard with a little demerara sugar so it brûlées the top, but it's completely unnecessary. That's just my city-fied way of fixin it now.

So give it a try. You won't be disappointed, I promise you. In fact, I'll venture to say, "You'll be happier than a hot hog in a cool puddle of mud." that ya did.

Buttermilk Pie

1/2 recipe of Pâte Brisée (No cornmeal, that's Chess pie)
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 TB AP Flour (plus a little extra to sprinkle in the bottom of the shell)
Pinch of Salt
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz Butter, melted
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
optional Demerara Sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Melt butter and set aside to cool (or you'll end up with scrambled eggs)

Roll out the pastry dough and line a 10 inch pie plate then dust the bottom with flour and refrigerate.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs well.

Add sugar, flour and salt; whisking until homogeneous.

Add vanilla then begin slowly pouring the melted butter, while whisking to create a sort of emulsion with the eggs.

Add buttermilk and whisk well.

Pour batter into shell,

Sprinkle the top with Demerara sugar if you like, or not, it's up to you.

Bake until the custard is just set and the center still jiggles a little, approximately 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Cool for at least 1 hour before serving, or cool to room temp and chill before serving. Me? I like it room temperature, cause that's about the longest I can wait before cuttin' a piece.

Mangia!!
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