Rhubarb Custard Pie Recipe - A Midwestern Classic!

Of all the recipes in my grandmother Marjorie's ancient, handmade recipe box, this is the one my mother cherishes the most. If you've ever cooked in the kitchen with a midwestern veteran (like mom), you know that recipes aren't just recipes - they have stories, sometimes entailing entire family histories and sometimes linking you to Great Great Aunt So-and-So whose hutch is sitting right over there.

This is one of those recipes. Luckily, the story isn't that elaborate, so I'll just say this recipe comes from Deutschland. And it's my mom's classic specialty. And it's really, really good.

It's easy to turn this not-too-sweet pie into strawberry rhubarb pie - just add strawberries!

Here's the custard:
4 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb

(1 cup sliced strawberries)

1 3/4 cup sugar (substitute half w/ maple syrup!)

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup milk

4 Tblsp. flour (6 if frozen rhubarb)

5 Tblsp. butter

As usual, mix dry ingredients first, then eggs, vanilla and milk. Save the butter to pat on top at the last. Don't mix the rhubarb w/ the custard.

If you don't have a good pie dough recipe, this is the one to use for sweet pies:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 - 1/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup lemon juice

Mom thinks pie dough is the most troublesome substance in the world, and it can be. But this is really very easy. Salt goes into the flour, then the butter gets cut up into the flour until it "looks like breadcrumbs" (says Betty C.) - mine never looks like breadcrumbs, it just looks like clumpy flour.

Then lemon juice and start adding water - don't add it all, just keep mixing until it reaches a play-dough consistency w/ out sticking all over your fingers. Now it's ready.

Roll out a top and bottom crust, or do a lattice top if you're feeling frisky. Put rhubarb in the shell and spread even, then pour custard over, and last cut butter over top and put the lid on (don't forget to seal the tops with a little warm water - this pie likes to leak). Also, if you did a closed top, don't forget to sprinkle sugar and poke several vent holes in the top.

Bake at 400 f close to an hour, until light brown and bubbling in the middle. Start checking after 45 min.

Mmmm...now you can claim that Awesome Person of the Year award

I think next time I'll experiment by cutting down on the milk and 1 egg and adding 1/2 cup sour cream.

Enjoy!