November 22, 2011

Odd pie

I like pie...and not just because the cake is a lie.

My paternal Grandmother is a helluva pie maker.  You know those "homemade" pies you could get at the mom & pop restaurants out in small town America?  If you don't, that's a personal problem you need to take care of.  My Grandma used to work at one such place and she made their pies.  Her house had an upstairs kitchen and a downstairs kitchen.  The side porch had two freezers: one for normal use and the other for cakes, cookies, and pies.


While I love pie, I've never been much a pie maker.  I think I've tried only a handful of times and right now I have another attempt in the oven.  No, it isn't a fresh prune pie.  I don't have a finished pie to take a picture of and when I did an image search for my pie this picture came up.  I think Google pays attention to my location and even though the only common word I searched for was pie, I got this.  If you try to make an Idaho Fresh Prune Pie, let me know how it came out.

My current attempt is even more special.  Carolyn and I have been watching Bizarre Foods on Netflix. In one of Andrew's travels he was offered some Sauerkraut Pie.  If I recall correctly it is an old Amish recipe.  He liked it and I thought to myself, "Hey!  I've got some fresh kraut and I'm not afraid to use it."  I didn't have a recipe, but I haven't let something as simple as that stop me before.

A quick look around the interwebs landed me at www.sauerkrautrecipes.com They had a listing for Sauerkraut Pie that seemed simple enough.  The original cook is Samuel Hofer from his book "A Passion for Sauerkraut: The Humble Vegetable for Good Health".  I want to give credit where credit is due...or at least let people know who to blame in case this pie goes South.  I'm just kidding, I stand behind my own failures in the kitchen.  Since I was planning on bringing one of these pies to Thanksgiving Dinner I figured a test run was in order.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Sauerkraut Custard Pie
3/4 cup cream
1-1/2 cups sauerkraut, drained and finley chopped
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (9- inch) pie shell
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  1. In a large bowl, mix cream, sauerkraut, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Pour mixture into pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted into filling an inch from the edge comes out clean.
     
  2. This recipe will make one 9-inch pie. If you wish to make more than one pie, the calculations are easy. Simply multiply the ingredients by the number of pies you wish to make. 
   November 23, 2011 Edit:
Shared on Frugal by Choice, Cheap by Neccessity
Shared 2012.09.24 
The Sauerkraut Pie isn't bad.  I'd probably pass it up for one of my favorite pies, but if I had the choice between peach, cherry, or sauerkraut, I'm going for the kraut.  The cool thing about this pie is that it is about contrasts.  The pie is sweet and sauer at the same time and exhibits a simultaneous crunchy and creamy smooth texture.  I had no problems going back for a second slice this morning.

No comments: