The Forum: Recipes outlast crop of rhubarb

Actually, factually, we’re likely to run out of rhubarb long before we run through our supply of rhubarb custard pies to try.

But never mind, let’s go ahead and take a shot at the following version from various editions of “Better Homes &Gardens Cook Book” anyway.

A total of eight Forum folks rely on this basic recipe, albeit with changes reflecting the date of their cookbooks, not to mention their own individual tricks and twists.

First we’ll have the recipe, as copied straight from the cookbook by Bonnie Edwards of Snohomish, and then we’ll take a look-see at cooks’ personal variations.

1960s COOKBOOK RHUBARB CREAM PIE

11/2cups sugar

3tablespoons flour

1/2teaspoon nutmeg

1tablespoon butter

2well-beaten eggs

3cups cut rhubarb

Pastry for 9-inch, double-crust pie

Blend sugar, flour, nutmeg and butter. Add eggs; beat smooth; pour over rhubarb in 9-inch, pastry-lined pie pan. Top with pastry cut in fancy shapes.

Bake in hot oven (450 degrees) 10 minutes, then in moderate oven (350 degrees) about 30 minutes.

Makes one 9-inch pie.

Marysville pie person Florence J. McDaniel, who is 93 years old, mentions, “This is an old favorite of mine.”

Laurel M. Thomas of Everett says, “Put the rhubarb mixture in the pie shell and cover with a slotted crust. I put a cover around the edge of the crust when it gets to the right brownish color.”

Laurel adds, “I add a small package of strawberry sugar-free gelatin to the sugar and call it strawberry-rhubarb pie. Delicious.”

She also says, “I am a retired cook and baker with 22 years at the Everett School District, and am known as the ‘cookie lady.’ At last count, I have 110 cookbooks I have acquired over the past 50 years, and I use them still.”

Everett cook Terry Brundage pricks the top crust with a fork and bakes her pie at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

“The first time I had this pie was when I was dating my now-husband,” she says, “and his mom had prepared it. I didn’t want to be rude and tell her I didn’t like rhubarb, so I ate it and have enjoyed it ever since. It’s a great recipe — if you like rhubarb.”

Lila Brown of Arlington says, “I’ve made this recipe several times over the years and everyone likes it.” She increases the rhubarb to 4 cups of 1-inch slices, increases the flour to 1/4 cup, increases the eggs to 3, increases the nutmeg to 3/4 teaspoon, omits the butter from the filling, but dabs the filling with 2 tablespoons butter or margarine. She tops her pie with a lattice crust, flutes the edge and bakes it at 400 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.

Lola Musgrave of Everett tops her pie with the fancy pastry pieces and tells us, “This same filling can be put in a 9-inch square pan without the pie crust, atop a layer of graham crackers, topped with a light layer of graham cracker crumbs and baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I’ve fixed this either way and taken it to many potlucks and have been told by several that it was the best rhubarb pie they had ever eaten.”

When Connie Klein makes this pie in her Oso kitchen, she likes to cover the filling with a top crust.

Winn Schillberg is another Forum cook who always follows this same cookbook rhubarb pie recipe. As far as the pastry is concerned, she refers to recipes we’ve had in the past for oil-based pie crusts that were rolled out between two sheets of waxed paper and says, “Wesson Oil had a recipe in their book ‘Glorious Eating for Weight Watchers’ printed in 1961, and I have used it ever since. Since waxed paper has gotten so thin, I use sheets of plastic wrap.”

The Forum is always happy to receive your contributions and requests, so don’t hesitate to fire them off to Judyrae Kruse at the Forum, c/o The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.

Please remember that all letters and e-mail must include a name, complete address with ZIP code and telephone number with area code. No exceptions and sorry, but no response to e-mail by return e-mail; send to kruse@heraldnet.com.

The next Forum will appear in Wednesday’s Good Life section.