I stumbled up a great quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby the other day. I always loved the novel (and the recent film adaptation), in part because I grew up on Long Island where the story takes place. I know firsthand that the dichotomy of ‘old’ money versus ‘new’ that is so adeptly depicted is neither fictitious nor limited to the 1920s era. In fact, the residents of an elite beach community demonstrated a less than subtle show of snobbery this past Summer by displaying bumper stickers to protest the Kardashian family’s arrival there. Writing this makes me realize I know entirely too much trivia about the Kardashians. Nevertheless, I had forgotten the quote, ‘Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the Fall’ but seeing it in print made me realize what a perfect metaphor it was for this time of year.
We all find ways to ‘begin again’ in Fall, don’t we? New crayons, new school shoes and outfits, new home improvement projects and for me, specifically, a new flower garden because my husband decided to ‘help me’ by completely mowing mine down so that I could be rid of its weeds and start over again. The onset of chilly evenings (coupled with the decimated view and the fact that our grill is ready to implode), has made me apathetic to the idea of barbequing and, likewise, cooking sweet corn.
Given that my husband grows sweet corn for a living we eat a considerable amount and a massive aluminum lobster pot sits readily available on top of our stove all season. Despite the fact that it’s now technically Fall, there’s still PLENTY of sweet corn available (and will be until there’s a hard frost), so the end of sweet corn arriving home nightly is nowhere in sight. Since pie crust is also readily available in our household and turning on an oven seems like a good idea to warm the house, Corn Pie was the logical choice.
I had never eaten Corn Pie prior to living in Pennsylvania. I assumed it was similar to what non-Pennsylvanians refer to as ‘Chicken Pot Pie.’ To the rest of the world, ‘Chicken Pot Pie’ isn’t a combination of chicken and gravy with fat egg noodles but it is a compilation of chicken, creamed soup and mixed vegetables baked in a pie shell with a top crust. When I started surveying people as to what they put in their Corn Pie I received the most interesting responses with milk, parsley, sausage, potatoes and hard boiled eggs being some of the more popular ingredients. I wanted to create something that would take advantage of some of the other vegetables I had at my disposal (especially the red peppers I routinely regret not freezing when I’m buying them in the grocery store all Winter). Here it is…
Fisher’s Sweet Corn PieIngredients: This recipe makes a 9′ Pie
Double Pie Crust (You’re on your own there – that recipe I’m not revealing. Deep dish works best);
11/2 cups of sweet corn cut off of the cob;
2 tablespoons butter;2 eggs;2 tablespoons flour;
1/4 cup cooked sausage, chopped up;
1/4 cup chopped red pepper;1/4 cup chopped onion;
11/2 cup milk;1/4 teaspoon pepper;1/4 teaspoon salt;
1/2 teaspoon Franks’ Red Hot hot sauce (optional)
Instructions:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter, 1 cup of the milk, corn and salt and pepper in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 3 minutes. In a separate bowl add flour and remaining 1/2 cup of milk together and make a paste and add the mixture into the saucepan. Beat the eggs and then add them into the saucepan and keep stirring approximately 2 minutes until the mixture gets thick. Stir in the red pepper, onion and sausage. Pour mixture into the pie crust. Place top crust over it. Pinch the edges. Take a fork and prick some holes in the top crust to allow the steam to escape. Place on a foil lined cookie sheet in case there’s some spillage. Bake for 25 minutes. Slice, eat, enjoy!
For the record, I think Leonardo DiCaprio was robbed of an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Jay Gatsby and that the headline-grabbing Kardashian sisters should have asked for charitable donations in lieu of wedding gifts. As for my garden…it may never resemble something from a manicured Long Island estate, but I guaranty that the tulips I just planted outside our kitchen window will be sprouting this Spring in a pattern of colorful…language.
Felicia Fisher is the founder of the Black Buggy Baking Company and lives in Oley, Pa. with her husband and three children who are all willing taste-testers.
For more information on what Felicia’s baking up visit her web page www.blackbuggybakingcompany.com or e-mail her at blackbuggybakingcompany@yahoo.com.
