Georgia Magazine - September 2013 - (Page 61)

September 2013 Jessica Luna’s Coconut Cream Pie 1 (9-inch) pie shell, fully baked, cooled 3 cups half-and-half, plus more as needed 1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut (Luna likes Mounds brand the best) 6 egg yolks 4 tablespoons cornstarch 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Garnish 3 cups heavy whipping cream 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract 1 cup unsweetened flaked or shredded coconut, toasted chilled bowl and whip with chilled beaters until stiff peaks form. Reserve in refrigerator until ready to use. To toast coconut, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place coconut on a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake, stirring often, about 5 minutes, watching constantly. Stir midway through to ensure even browning. Remove when it begins to color and let cool, stirring from time to time to aid cooling. When ready to serve, top pie with whipped cream and toasted coconut. Yields 1 (9inch) pie. In 2-quart saucepan set over Jessica Luna serves medium heat, warm half-and-half, up her Coconut Cream keeping it just below the simmer. Pie—a favorite dessert Stir in coconut and set aside for at Big Tex Decatur in 1 hour. Strain liquid into a bowl Decatur and Fox and reserve coconut. If needed, Bros. Bar-B-Q add half-and-half to strained in Atlanta. liquid to make 3 cups. Return liquid to saucepan and reserve. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks, cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add to strained half-andhalf, whisking thoroughly. Cook over medium heat, whisking gently but constantly to prevent sticking, until custard comes to a gentle boil. When slow bubbles begin to eF .G AR break at the surface and custard is Ve Y very thick and satiny, remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla, followed by the reserved coconut. Pour coconut custard into baked pie shell and cover surface loosely with plastic wrap. Chill at least 3 hours or until custard is set. Make whipped cream: Place heavy cream sugar and vanilla in a N JA dinner pies also are available. The blueberry pie makes an extraordinary introduction to her pie-making skills, although it’s not inexpensive at $32 for a 9-inch pie, but it is a study in fresh blueberry flavors. In its distinctive box, and tied in a signature bow, any of her pies makes a fabulous dinner hostess gift. What led Bledsoe to her career in pies? “I wanted something challenging and nostalgic, and to work with my hands,” she explains. On her website she recalls having been inspired by a desire to fight against the loss of the “from-scratch” pie in the American food tradition. In Savannah at Back in the Day Bakery, Cheryl Day and her husband Griffith turn out classic desserts. “Pies are making a comeback,” she said when interviewed earlier this year on “Splendid Table,” a food-devoted public radio program. But they’ve never left the South, she observes. And in “The Back in the Day Cookbook” (Artisan, a division of Workman Publishing Co., 2012), written by the couple, an entire chapter is devoted to “Pies, Cobblers, Crisps and Tarts.” And the comebacks include many Southern classics such as the fine buttermilk pie from The Yesterday Café in Greensboro. Woodstock’s farmers market does an annual “Pie Day” devoted to choosing a top pie. In 2012, the winner based his pie on peanuts, while the 2013 winner is a variation on the classic banana cream pie. While many restaurants may have offered “homemade” pies, that term often applied only to the ingredients above the pie shell, which may have been commercial. That’s one of the fundamental changes that attends to pie making in today’s better restaurants. At Big Tex Decatur in Decatur, and Atlanta’s Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, Jessica Luna began waiting tables and now does the desserts for both establishments and the catering operation. Wows go to her coconut cream (Continued on page 62) Nicole Reale, of Woodstock, far right, was the 2013 winner of the Woodstock Pie Contest with her Banana Cream Pie With Salted Bourbon Caramel, right. See her recipe on page 65A in our online edition at www.georgia magazine.org. More online at www.georgiamagazine.org WoodS t ARke toCk FARMeRS M 61 http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - September 2013

Georgia Magazine - September 2013
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Liberty Notes
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar of Events
Currents
Georgia’s Energy Outlook
From Rural Georgia to the Governor’s Mansion
Buried Treasure
Celebrating 75 Years in the Community
Lessons for Learning
Around Georgia
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
Snapshot

Georgia Magazine - September 2013