Dan's Raisin Pie

Lately there's been a lot of "pie talk" at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. We just held a homemade pie sale to benefit the Wednesday Community Meal and in planning for that, we "talked pie" with a lot of people, asking "what's your favorite kind?"

Cherry, Apple, Chocolate Cream and Strawberry-Rhubarb definitely led the pack, but in asking, I discovered there's quite a few old-fashioned pies I'd never made before like Chess Pie, Shoo-Fly Pie and Raisin Pie.

The latter is a pie that my friend Dan told me he loves but hasn't tasted in 60-years! ... That is until yesterday, when I presented him with one at the Wednesday Community Meal where he volunteers.

You see, Dan, who is in his 70's, told me that his grandmother made the most delicious Raisin Pie and he sure would love to taste one again. It was a fond 60-year-old taste memory that he hadn't forgotten and I knew I had to make him one.

So I researched Raisin Pies online and devised a recipe. I have to admit that I was skeptical about how Raisin Pie would taste but it's very good. You boil the raisins in water so that they soften and break down and the texture becomes more jam-like. And, the filling wasn't too sweet. It is rich though and a small slice is enough to satisfy.

The best part though is that Dan loved his pie. For him, that Raisin Pie was a taste-time-machine.

And, as an added surprise, I found out that Dean, who serves coffee alongside Dan on Wednesdays, also loves Raisin Pie and he got to have a slice. They are both dear to me and it was a joy to see them so happy.

Raisin Pie fans Dean and Dan serving coffee at the Wednesday Community Meal.

Here's the recipe:

Raisin Pie
(makes one 9-inch pie)

2 1/4 cups raisins
2 cups water
1/3 cup dark-brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
1 recipe pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a saucepan, combine the raisins and the water and heat until boiling. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring and keeping and eye on them. Reduce the heat to low.

Blend together the dark-brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt and add to the hot raisins. Increase the heat to medium and cook and stir until the syrup is clear.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar and butter.

Adding the butter and apple cider vinegar to the cooked raisin filling.

Cool slightly and pour into a pastry lined 9-inch pan. Cover with the top crust and seal the edges and cut slits in the top crust. Or, top with a lattice crust.

Cutting strips for a lattice top-crust.

A Raisin Pie ready for the oven.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the crust is done and golden brown. Let the pie cool before slicing and serving.

A just-baked Raisin Pie.

A slice of Raisin Pie.

Chess Pie

My friend Gardner reminisced to me recently about much he loves Chess Pie but said he hasn't had it since college. That was a few decades ago so that must have been a darn good pie.

Gardner attended college in the South and would get to enjoy Chess Pie when he would go home from school with a friend on weekends.

 "His mom made the best Chess Pie," said Gardner who added that there was a bit of cornmeal in it, buttermilk, eggs and lemon, "but just a touch of lemon juice, not enough to make it a lemon pie." I told Gardner I was going to attempt to recreate the pie for him.

I've never eaten or made Chess Pie so I researched it on the internet and discovered that there are a lot of variations. Some had cornmeal and some didn't. Some used buttermilk and some used plain milk. Some used lemon juice and some used vinegar. Some used all white sugar and some used a combination of white and brown.

I was confused by all the recipes and decided I should just go for it and create one with cornmeal, buttermilk and a bit of lemon since that's what Gardner remembered.

There are also a variety of stories as to how Chess Pie got its name. The pie originated in England (my friend Teri told me she's bought mini Chess Pies at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival) and some say the word "Chess" is an "Americanization" of the English word "Cheese," because it is essentially a "Curd" pie.

My favorite story though is this one: Because the ingredients are so basic, Southern makers of it would say it's "Jes Pie," to those inquiring what it was and over time it became "Chess Pie".

So I got to work and made my first Chess Pie and I do have to say it is one of the easiest pies to put together and delicious. I liked it and so did my family. The texture was nice because of the contrast of the crisp browned-sugared top against the custard center.

The next day I delivered a big slice to Gardner and he tasted it and kindly gave me thumbs-up. When I pressed him for more details as to whether it was what he remembered he said it was "very close".

Oh how I wish I could get my hands on that original recipe. In the meantime, here's mine:


Chess Pie

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornmeal
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 9-inch unbaked deep-dish pie crust.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the sugar and cornmeal. Add the eggs and buttermilk and mix well. Finally add the lemon juice, vanilla and sea salt. Whisk until well-blended.

Pour the mixture into the unbaked pie crust.

A Chess Pie ready to bake.

Bake for 3 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 8 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes or until the center of the pie is set and the top is golden brown.

Turn off the oven and leave the pie to cool in the oven for 30 minutes.

The baked pie cooling in the oven.

Remove and let the pie cool completely before serving. Enjoy a slice with a cup of hot coffee.