Sheila's Rhubarb Pie

For the past couple of weeks, my real life got in the way of my blog life. Somehow between running and traveling I didn't seem to have the time to make anything new or blog worthy. Before going on this three week pre-summer hiatus I considered putting together a Memorial Day menu using some of my favorite holiday cook-out friendly recipes already posted to the blog. You know, like in the spirit of those mid-season reruns we either love or hate. However, I didn't even have the time to put that together. So I am hoping you will love this idea when I put together a Fourth of July holiday weekend posting later this month.

Thomas Wolfe once wrote 'you can't go back home to places in the country....back home to the old forms and systems of things...back home to the escapes to Time and Memory'. Apparently he never spent any time in the east coast town I had the good fortune to call home for a couple of years. A place I feel more connected to than any other place I have lived or visited (the mountains of Colorado are a close second). For five 'moving way too fast' days I tried to savor and take in as much of this 'so bucolic you almost want to cry town' as I could. From walking the beach at the ocean, to running on two lane highways, to hiking in the woods, to spending time with friends, to making s'mores over a crackling fire, to capturing as many of my favorite views with my camera, my body and soul transcended to a place of pure bliss.

Like many towns out east, handcrafted, standing the test of time stone fences form the boundaries between properties. Sheila and her family lived on the west side of 'my' stone fence. More than a neighbor, she become one of my most endeared friends. And unbeknownst to her, I often felt as if was/am an extended member of their family. Maybe that's because Sheila has a way of making you feel incredibly welcomed and at ease in her home. As luck would have it, when I had stopped by to drop off some cookies and ice cream for her children she was making a Rhubarb Pie. Having never made or even tasted a rhubarb pie before (which is crazy), I was beside myself when she offered to cut some of the rhubarb out of her garden for me before I returned back to the midwest. Her rhubarb and the fresh eggs I picked up on the roadside were the 'best ever' souvenirs I brought back this time. And they both traveled well. Although I can't help but wonder if the bundle of cellophane wrapped rhubarb was why the TSA decided to inspect my luggage this time. 

Rhubarb season here in the midwest seems to be nearing its' end, but out east it was just coming into season. Between seeing the landscape filled with the most glorious Rhododendrons and having access to a garden of rhubarb, I timed my 'back home' trip perfectly.

The rhubarb is cut into one inch pieces. Sheila's handwritten family recipe called for 4 cups of rhubarb but I could have swore Sheila cut 8 cups of rhubarb for the pie I watched her make. So my first attempt at Sheila's Rhubarb Pie was made with 8 cups of rhubarb. If she reads this post, she will know whether or not I was really paying attention or was just being a rhubarb glutton making this pie.

The batter for the pie is made with three large eggs, 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar, 3 (but I used 4) tablespoons of all-purpose flour, freshly grated nutmeg, and a pinch of kosher salt. Some rhubarb pie recipes call for the use of cinnamon, however, the grated nutmeg compliments the sweetness-tartness of the baked rhubarb perfectly.

Once the batter ingredients are mixed together, the cut rhubarb is added. That's it. The assembly of this pie could not be easier.

If you don't want to make your own all-butter pie crust (I did because, well, just because), the boxed Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts work perfectly. After lining a nine inch pie dish with dough, the rhubarb filling is poured in.

Before topping the pie with the lattice crust style of your choice, dot the top of the batter with two tablespoons of butter. This pie is meant to look 'refined rustic', however, feel free to fancy finish the edge of the pie!

Finish the pie crust with an egg wash. Normally I use a small egg and some milk to make the wash, but I learned a new egg wash trick from Sheila. She made the egg wash in the bowl used to mix together the pie filling! So don't be quick to put that bowl in the dishwasher or sink! Or you can do what I did and just scrape any of that remaining pie filling into your egg and milk mixture.

In a preheated 450 degree (F) oven the pie bakes for 15 minutes. Without removing the pie from the oven, oven temperature is reduced to 350 degrees (F). My baking time at that temperature was somewhere between 60 and 70 minutes. And it varied significantly from recommended 30 minutes on the handwritten recipe. Whether this was because I used a ceramic pie dish instead of a glass pie dish or whether it was because the amount of rhubarb increased from 4 to 8 cups or whether it was a combination of both, the increased baking time resulted in the most tender rhubarb and a perfectly set filling.

To ensure the crust did not burn, I covered the pie with aluminum foil once the crust browned. Testing a rhubarb pie for doneness is a little tricky, but not difficult (certainly not a rhubarb pie deal breaker). Using a toothpick or cake tester, insert into a piece of rhubarb. You want it to feel tender. To check the filling consistency, dip the end of a spoon into the pie. It should adhere to the spoon versus run off. However, the pie filling will continue to firm up further as the pie cools.

Honestly I never knew how incredibly delicious a Rhubarb Pie was. It is so delicious I think I too need to figure out a way to plant rhubarb somewhere in my more shady than sunny yard. But, as they say, if there is a will, there will be a way. Or maybe I have yet another reason to go back to this magical town next June!

The balanced sweet tart flavor of Sheila's Rhubarb Pie is addictive. Next to a Blueberry Pie, I am thinking this Rhubarb Pie may be my close second favorite. If you have never had or made one before, you have been missing out! Seriously. And if by chance you have never had a great Rhubarb Pie, well now you have the recipe for one.

It is really, really, really important that you allow the pie to cool completely before cutting it as the filling needs some time to set up. While the pie all on its' own is over the top insanely good, served with some vanilla ice cream (my personal favorite), half and half or cream will send you to a state of pie bliss.

There is still time left to find fresh rhubarb at the farmer's markets or grocery store. And probably still time to harvest from the gardens of those of you who are already in the know about rhubarb's sweet-tart deliciousness. If you are lucky enough to have a friend with rhubarb in their garden, maybe they will generously part with some of their harvest.

Fortunately for me, I came back to this home with more than memories from my trip out east. It is somehow reassuring to know that there are still more 'firsts' left to experience in this lifetime.

Sheila's Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients
Dough (Recipe for the All-Butter Pie Crust adapted from Yossy Arefi's Sweeter off the Vine: Fruit Desserts for Every Season cookbook)
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter
8 Tablespoons ice cold water
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

NOTE: In lieu of making a homemade pie crust, recommend using the boxed Pillsbury pie crusts found in the refrigerator section of most grocery stores.

Pie
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (or could use quick cooking tapioca)
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 cups of rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
pinch of kosher salt
Egg wash (One small egg and mixed with water, milk or cream and any of the remaining filling adhering to the mixing bowl)
Sanding sugar for finishing, optional
Vanilla Ice Cream for serving

Directions
Dough
1. In a food processor, add flour and salt. Pulse several times to blend.
2. Add butter and process until coarse crumbs form, approximately 10-15 seconds.
3. Mix together ice cold water and apple cider vinegar.
4. With food processor running, slow add water/vinegar mixture in a steady stream through the feed tube. Pulse until the dough holds together. If still too crumbly, add an additional tablespoon of ice water. Dough should not be wet or sticky. Test finished dough by squeezing a small amount of dough together to see if it holds shape.
5. Divide dough in half. Shape into a disk and wrap dough in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
6. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface.

Pie
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F).
2. Line a 9 inch pie pan with dough. Add filling. Top filling with the 2 Tablespoons of butter. 
3. Use remaining dough to make a lattice top for the pie. Using a fork, crimp edge of pie to seal. 
4. Brush pie crust with egg wash. Sprinkle with sanding sugar (optional).
5. Place pie on a sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees (F).
6. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees (F) and continue baking for 60-70 minutes or until juices appear thickened and rhubarb is tender. If crust is getting too browned cover with aluminum foil. Remove from oven. Allow to cool several hours before serving. Note: As pie cools to room temperature, the filling will further thicken.
7. Serve at room temperature with vanilla ice cream. (Leftover Rhubarb Pie can be covered and stored in the refrigerator. Warm cut slices in the microwave before serving.)

Notes: I made the following baking time changes to Sheila's Rhubarb Pie recipe: (1) Increased baking time at 450 degrees (F) from 10 minutes to 15 minutes and increased baking time at 350 degrees (F) from 50 to 60 minutes. (2) Other than adding a pinch of salt in the pie batter and increasing the amount of flour in the pie batter from 3 T to 4 T and increasing the amount of rhubarb from 4 cups to 8 cups, all other ingredient amounts remained the same.

Roaming and relaxing farm animals at Harmony Home Farm, Little Compton, Rhode Island