Dear A. M.,
Today I offer you a Breakfast Pie. The Fannie Farmer Baking Book, by the charming Marion Cunningham, says that Breakfast Pie used to be very common among the early rising agriculturalists of our nation. Around here, much more recently, a prominent Dodo-ist remarked: "Breakfast Pie! What a great country this once was!"
Make it and bake it and decide for yourself what you think about our country and breakfast pie.
Creamed Oatmeal-Walnut Pie
(Adapted from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book, by Marion Cunningham, 1984, Alfred A. Knopf, NY.)
Oatmeal pie crust:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening or butter
2 - 3 tablespoons water
Mix the dry ingredients and cut in the shortening, or toss everything but the water into the food processor. Add the water slowly. Roll it out, and patch it, because the oats make it very fragile, so it will break frequently as you fit it into a 9 or 8 inch pie pan. Prick it with a fork.
Blind bake the crust partially- use pie weights, or another pie tin, or beans on parchment to prevent the crust from rising in the oven. Bake it for 6 minutes at 425 degrees, then take out the weights and bake it for another 4 or 5 minutes.
Filling:
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup raisins
3 tablespoons butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Combine the first 6 ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until it begins to bubble and thicken. Remove pan from heat and temper the beaten eggs a bit before adding them, by mixing half a cup of the hot porridge into the eggs, then stir the eggs into the pan of porridge. Add the walnuts, fill the pie shell, and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. The center will be shiny, while the edges will look dry. Let your breakfast pie set for 30 minutes and then eat it warm, with heavy cream, if you have a cow, or even if you just have a pint of it from the store!
