WCDH Recipes
Bluberry Pie
Terri Wuerthner
Aunt Lorna made this pie every summer from the time she was a little girl in Ashton, Louisiana. She and my dad were routinely sent down to the Bayou behind the house at Home Place to gather crawfish for noontime gumbo, and blueberries for a fresh pie. Like most Cajuns, they were able to rely on the productive land and seafood-laden waters for much of their food.
1 quart blueberries
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 pie crusts
1 tablespoon cold butter
Place 3 cups of the berries in a large bowl.
Place the remaining cup of berries in a blender or food processor with all other ingredients, except pie crusts and butter. Process for a few seconds until fairly smooth. Pour over berries in bowl and mix well.
Place one of the pie crusts on the bottom of a pie plate and gently fit it in, trimming the edges even with the edge of the pie plate. Moisten top edges of crust with water.
Transfer berry mixture to the prepared pie crust, dot with the cold butter (cut in several pieces) and top with 2nd crust, folding edge of top crust under edge of bottom crust. Gently press on edge of crust to form a seal, and crimp with fingers or a fork. Cut 4 or 5 two-inch slits in top of crust (not too close to the center).
Bake at 425 for 10 minutes; turn heat down to 400 and bake an additional 40 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting; juices will be completely set after about 4 hours but pie may be cut after 2-3 hours, if desired.
Mrs. Clark's Iron Skillet Cornbread
Makes one cornbread in a 8 or 9 inch cast-iron skillet
Serve with butter, honey and hot sauce, if you\'re so inclined.
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 egg
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon oil - like corn, safflower or canola
2-4 tablespoons butter or bacon fat
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl combine the cornmeal, baking powder and salt.
In a smaller bowl, stir the baking soda into the buttermilk.
In a third bowl - whisk together the egg, sugar and oil and then whisk in the buttermilk.
Oil or spray an 8 or 9 inch cast-iron skillet with Pam.
Put skillet over medium-high heat, add butter or bacon fat and heat until slick and sizzling. Tilt pan to coat bottom and sides. Add wet ingredients to the dry and stir together until just combined. Do not over mix.
Immediately put skillet in hot oven and bake until golden brown - about 25 minutes.
The Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow (WCDH) is a program of the Communication Arts Institute.
