Lemon Chess Pie

I'm sure you're all tired of me whining that pie is not in my DNA. I'm still not all that good at the whole crust thing. But at least I've found a crust recipe that my dearly beloved adores, and his opinion matters the most, and I've learned that at least with one crust pies, it doesn't matter quite as much how the crust looks. Which is a good thing, because mine look clumsy, inept and downright stupid.

But I digress. The Blond Duck, a talented purveyor of whimsy, pointed out last week that Saturday was National Pie Day. After Chan wrote about Peppermint Pie and Louise gave us an entire day devoted to pie, I had no real choice except to make pie on Saturday. But what kind?

The cookbook my eldest son's girlfriend gave me for Thanksgiving yielded an answer: Lemon Chess Pie. I'd seen a couple of other recipes, which looked rather complex to me, but this one had fewer ingredients, so I gave it a whirl. My husband declared this the very best pie ever, and ordered me to produce it again SOON. There you have it: Make This Pie Soon!

LEMON CHESS PIE

1 Pie crust, unbaked
4 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp cornmeal
3 tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp lemon or orange zest

Lightly beat the eggs, then add the butter and buttermilk. Stir together the dry ingredients, and beat them into the egg mixture with the lemon juice and vanilla. Stir in the orange zest, pour into the unbaked pie shell, and bake at 375F for 40 to 50 minutes. Cool to room temperature and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

I don't know why this is called a chess pie. I do know that it's very filling. I also believe that you could substitute cornstarch for the flour, put in a ground nut crust (similar to a crumb crust), and it would be gluten free for people like my friend Paula's baby. And, as I said, this is really easy!

I hope you all had a wonderful National Pie Day, with or without pie.