Just Sweet Enough

I'll be away tonight with my band, The Yesterukes, for a gig that includes dinner. So this morning I made dessert so that Daddy-O would have a treat for supper to go along with his leftover roast from last night. I had saved this recipe from our electric co-op magazine a few weeks ago. This was one of my favorite desserts to get at Morrison's Cafeteria when our girls were little. They loved going there. It was a good place for them to try lots of vegetables.

When Mommy was just about the age that Baby Sister is right now (age 2-1/2) she was with my parents for the day. They were in the car when her grandmother asked what she would like for lunch, thinking they would stop by McDonald's maybe, while they were out. But that little voice in the back seat answered, "Peas, carrots, cabbage..." My mother was astounded that she didn't ask for a Happy Meal. I don't think at that point, she had ever been to a McDonald's. Children will not cannot constantly ask for chicken nuggets and fries if they don't know there is such a thing! By the time she did go to a McDonald's, she already loved to eat many other foods.

My mother never owned a wire whisk and managed to consistently cook delicious meals, but, my goodness, cooking is easier with a few tools besides a spoon. Use a whisk to quickly mix this up. To make this easier to put in and out of the oven, place the pie shell on a HEAVY cookie sheet. If your cookie sheet makes a "pop" after it's been in the oven a few minutes, it's a thin one and will not stay flat while your pie is baking. The thin ones will twist as they heat. This recipe fills the pie shell so completely that some of the custard is bound to slosh out if that happens.

This was my first time making a custard pie. When it was getting brown too quickly, I placed a sheet of foil loosely over the top. And of course, it stuck a little when I removed it. This is what it looked like when it was done. It settled as it cooled and looked more like what I was expecting.  

Mark Bittman says in his book, How To Cook Everything, "By the time a custard appears to be set, it's almost always overcooked. You must make a leap of faith and remove it from the oven while the center is still wobbly. When you get the timing down, you'll be making brilliant custards." Yes, mine was jiggly but a toothpick in the center came out clean. Also, remember this is not super sweet like many pies. It's just sweet enough.

EGG CUSTARD PIE

4 eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2-1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 9-inch unbaked, deep dish pie shell

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, beat eggs, then add sugar, salt, milk and vanilla. Beat well, then pour into pie shell. Bake 35 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Once cooled completley, refrigerate until ready to serve. Refrigerate any leftover custard.

The magazine version of this recipe said to use a regular pie shell, and bake for 30 minutes, baking leftover filling in individual buttered ramekins. I only had a deep dish pie shell in the freezer and the filling was exactly right for the deeper shell. (Makes me wonder why it didn't call for the deep dish shell in the first place.) I added an extra 5 or 6 minutes baking to accommodate the deeper filling.

When I make this again (and I will) I might use an electric mixer to make sure the eggs and milk are mixed thoroughly. Does it taste like Morrison's? It's been so very long, that I don't honestly remember. But this one is good and it's easy. And it does not have as much sugar as many desserts. Three reasons to make it again.