Buttermilk Pie with
Lemon/Mint Sauce
Country Eats
A few years ago I had lunch at Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Miss Bobo's is no longer a boarding house although it is a lovely old two-story ante-bellum mansion that began life as a hotel before becoming a boarding house in 1908 when Mary Bobo and her husband, Jack, took over. Today the place is owned by Jack Daniels Distillery and serves traditional Southern fare such as fried chicken, turnip greens, fried okra, and stewed apples. Meals are served family style - there were 12 of us at my table - and as in most families bowls of food are passed around the table. There were three or four desserts available and I tried the only one I'd never had: Buttermilk Pie.
As usual, I looked up a lot of recipes and found they all fell into two basic categories, one flavored with vanilla and the other with lemon. One of the blogs I ran across said that the vanilla-flavored version was more Southern while the lemon-flavored version was Northern. The lemon intrigued me because when I'd had it at Miss Bobo's I'd been vaguely reminded of Shaker Lemon Pie, but I figured I should go with the Southern style an use vanilla. Nevertheless, I couldn't get that added lemon bite out of my head, so I decided to make a lemon sauce as a topping.
Try these buttermilk desserts too:
Buttermilk Pudding
Buttermilk/Pineapple Sherbet
A few years ago I had lunch at Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Miss Bobo's is no longer a boarding house although it is a lovely old two-story ante-bellum mansion that began life as a hotel before becoming a boarding house in 1908 when Mary Bobo and her husband, Jack, took over. Today the place is owned by Jack Daniels Distillery and serves traditional Southern fare such as fried chicken, turnip greens, fried okra, and stewed apples. Meals are served family style - there were 12 of us at my table - and as in most families bowls of food are passed around the table. There were three or four desserts available and I tried the only one I'd never had: Buttermilk Pie.
One of the blogs I ran across said that the vanilla-flavored version was more Southern while the lemon-flavored version was Northern.
I'd heard of buttermilk pie before, a custard pie featuring buttermilk, but this was the first time I'd run across it. Frankly, it was too sweet for my taste, but I figured the sugar could be toned down and I really liked the buttermilk tang. So I made a mental note to find a recipe and try it again. A few days ago I finally got around to it.As usual, I looked up a lot of recipes and found they all fell into two basic categories, one flavored with vanilla and the other with lemon. One of the blogs I ran across said that the vanilla-flavored version was more Southern while the lemon-flavored version was Northern. The lemon intrigued me because when I'd had it at Miss Bobo's I'd been vaguely reminded of Shaker Lemon Pie, but I figured I should go with the Southern style an use vanilla. Nevertheless, I couldn't get that added lemon bite out of my head, so I decided to make a lemon sauce as a topping.
Buttermilk Pie with Lemon/Mint Sauce
Serves 8.
1 1/4 c buttermilk
4 eggs
3/4 c sugar
2 tbsp flour, plus a little for dusting
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 c melted butter
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
Lemon/Mint Sauce:
1 c water
1/2 c sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
dash salt
1 c water
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp mint extract
2 or 3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
Heat oven to 325F.
Lightly beat eggs then whisk in sugar and flour. Add buttermilk, nutmeg, and vanilla and mix. Whisk in melted butter.
Dust the unbaked pie shell with a little bit of flour. Pour batter into shell, and then sprinkle a little more flour on top. Bake until the custard is set, 60 - 70 minutes. (The pie is set when the center no longer jiggles.)
Cool on a wire rack.
Lemon/Mint Sauce:
In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in water and cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Stir until butter is melted and mixture is well blended.
Try these buttermilk desserts too:
Buttermilk Pudding
Buttermilk/Pineapple Sherbet
5 Comments:
oh, yes, we did love the buttermilk pie my wife made with grass-fed buttermilk delivered by our favorite Maryland dairy, South Mountain Creamery. If the only buttermilk you've ever tasted is the kind from the supermarket, you are in for a surprise if you can get some cultured at a local dairy. So thick, you almost have to shake it out of the bottle.
Ed,
Although I didn't use it in this pie, I do have an intermitent local source for both buttermilk and whole milk.
I have never had a buttermilk pie... it looks really good!
Buttermilk Pie is a family tradition. We would fight over it at Grandma's on Sundays. Cousin Tony would hide them from me on a high shelf. These days he brings them to family reunions and gifts them to those of us who love buttermilk pie.
Helped Grandma make them once. She was out of vanilla and told me to use lemon extract instead. Southern to the bone but she was flexible about buttermilk pie.
Christy,
Very cool story.
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