Jayne Sherry
Kitchen Korner
Dear Readers,
Jayne here again! Hope you enjoyed my last column and had a chance to make my dad’s potato salad. If not, no worries! Grilling and BBQ season is just beginning and hopefully we will have a nice long hot summer ahead of us!
My parents were extremely active in our church and community. Dad was president of Vestry, president of the Men’s Club, ran our daycare and maintained the church’s building and grounds. Mom was on the Altar Guild and the Women’s Club. Ours was a small parish and everyone knew each other. Most families had not only a specific side of church they sat on, but their own particular pew. Our family always sat on the left side facing the altar, third pew from the front. Wow, strange the things you remember! My dad was quite vocal, loved to sing and read the lessons. On occasion, Father would run a little long with his sermon. When he would take a short breath or pause, my dad would say “AMEN” loudly as a signal for Father to “wrap it up!” Those who may have been slightly dozing would wake up knowing the sermon was indeed about to end!
After Sunday Mass in summer, many of the congregation would gather at our house for an afternoon BBQ and party. Everyone brought chips, a dish to pass, beer, liquor or dessert. There were tables and tables of food! We had a pool with a large deck, a horseshoe pit and a badminton court so parties happened naturally. Sometimes the men would go play golf, leaving just the moms and kids. When we kids weren’t in the pool, we were racing dirt bikes, riding mini-bikes (for the younger generation, these were actual small motorcycles). We also had a treehouse in the large willow tree in the back of our yard that we would climb. While I spent plenty of time with the kids outside, my love of cooking would inevitably lead me back to the kitchen. There I would watch, learn and help the ladies make the various salads and bake pies. The pies, oh my goodness, the pies! My mom made a sour cream rhubarb pie that was out of this world. The rhubarb came out of our backyard and I remember eating it raw right off the plant! I never did get the knack of making that perfect flaky pie crust like mom did, but not for lack of trying!
When the men returned, the BBQ was on and the festivities began! My dad always told me there is no better recipe for a successful party than great food and drink, fun activities and a loving, wonderful group of friends. We were truly blessed to have all of these.
I hope you enjoyed hearing a little more about my family and my background. Today I am sharing my mom’s recipe for sour cream rhubarb pie:
Ingredients:
Pie crust for a 9” pie (I use a frozen Pet Ritz deep dish pie shell, thawed)
4 cups diced fresh rhubarb
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup sour cream
½ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup butter, melted
½ cup quick cooking oatmeal
1 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Place diced rhubarb in pie shell. Mix the egg, sugar, sour cream and 1/3 cup of flour until smooth. Pour evenly over rhubarb. Mix the flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, cinnamon and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle the crumbs over the pie. If using a frozen pie shell, place it on a sheet tray.
Bake 12 minutes in a preheated 450-degree oven. Reduce heat to 350 and bake another 35-40 minutes. Center may be slightly jiggly. The rhubarb should be starting to bubble and the topping should be golden brown. Oven times may vary.
Hope you enjoy! See you next month in my Kitchen Korner! Until then, happy cooking!
