Grandma Flaugh's Butterscotch Pie

When I was in college I flew out during a break to be with my Aunt Grace's family in Creamery, Pennsylvania. My Grandma Flaugh was there, too. One day my uncle Bill requested that grandma make her famous Butterscotch pie. I came into the kitchen and with paper in hand, wrote down observational notes and asked questions as I watched her make this recipe from memory and scratch! I loved it!!! Today, I was reading through a recipe book my Aunt Grace and her son, my cousin Tom, had compiled for the extended family this year for Christmas. Grace had the recipe in there and mentioned it was my mother's favorite, and that neither Grace or mother had been successful at making this pie. I have made this recipe for my own family and I too love it. So, I quickly found my recipe card and discovered that I had details Grace did not. This recipe includes the crust, a filling, and the meringe topping. So, here I post grandma's recipe, as I wrote it down.

9 Inch Pie Crust Ingredients:
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/3 Cup+ 1 Tablespoon Crisco
2-3 Tablespoons water

9 Inch Pie Crust Directions:
Mix flour and salt. Add crisco and cut into flour mixture. Add in water one tablespoon at a time. Gather into a ball and roll out on a floured surface. Place in pie plate, do edges (I pinch mine). Poke pie bottom with a fork, all over the surface, so air can escape and not dome up the pie while it is cooking. Bake for 12 minutes in a 450 degree oven.

Pie Filling Ingredients:
2 Cups Whole Milk
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
2 Heaping Tablespoons Flour
2 Egg Yolks
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Pie Filling Directions:
Mix sugar and flour, set aside. Heat butter and milk, add dry ingredients and eggs. Cook and stir until thick. Do not boil. Add vanilla. Cool. Pour into baked pie shell and top with meringue.

Meringue Ingredients:
3 Egg Whites (I use large or extra large eggs)
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tarter
7 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

Meringue Directions:
Place egg whites in bowl, add vanilla, and cream of tarter. Mix until egg whites form tall fluffy peaks. Add sugar gradually while beating. Spread over pie filling. Cover pie filling to the edge of the crust. The meringue must be pushed up to the crust, if not it will pull away while baking. Use the back of a spoon to make lovely peaks in the meringue. Bake at 350 degrees until brown.

When mixed and cooked properly, this pie filling gels and is not runny.

Serve and enjoy!

Martha's Mini Gingerbread House Kit

We have made different recipes over the years. This recipe from Martha Stewart makes five mini Gingerbread House kits. This link has both video demos of mixing and building, templates for the house and the recipe. This recipe made firm gingerbread and was great architecturally. This is perfect for a Christmas luncheon with girls and their moms. Each can then take their creation home!

Teri Beef King

I grew up on Oahu. I can remember going to Kenny's Burger House in the Kam Shopping Center in Kalihi. Kenny's was there for almost a decade before McDonalds got to Hawaii, and in 2002 was replaced with a McDonalds. One dish Kenny's served was a Teri Beef King sandwich. This is my rendition. I know some people had other things on theirs, but I was a kid and a purist. I had the meat, onion, and bun.

Ingredients:
Thin sliced raw beef roast, marinated in my Teriyaki sauce marinade over night.
(I have the butcher shave or thin slice a roast)
Fresh thin sliced yellow onion
Hamburger Buns
Butter

Directions:
Cook marinated meat and onions together, in a skillet. This caramelizes the onions. in teriyaki sauce. Butter bun face and place face down in a hot skillet to toast and crisp the bun surface. Assemble and enjoy. Serve hot.

Donna's Pot Pie

This is great for taking meat leftovers (turkey, chicken, roast beef, stew, or even a thick soup) and converting into a meal. This can be made into individual pies or a large deep dish pie. Pot pies can be made with a double crust; a circle of pie dough can be filled, folded over and sealed; or topped with mash potatoes.

Ingredients:
Donna's pie shells

Filling:
Gravy or cream soup
Mixed vegetables
Diced meat
Seasoning

Directions:

Make pie crust(s). Mix ingredients in a bowl to your desired proportions. Add desired seasonings. Pour into pie crust, top with crust or potatoes. Bake for 1 hour at 400.