Photo by Andrea Grablewski

Miss Mancini's Rice Pie

From Sweety Pies by Patty Pinner, The Taunton Press 2007

• One 9-inch single Flaky Pie Crust (see recipe below), rolled out, fitted into a pie plate, and edge trimmed and crimped
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup cooked white rice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon  
• Makes one 9-inch pie

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pie crust and set aside.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat until well blended. Beat in the sugar, then stir in the ricotta and lemon juice and rind until thoroughly incorporated. Add the cream and stir until smooth and creamy. Fold in the rice, then stir in the cinnamon. Pour the filling into the pie crust. Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is nicely browned, 45 to 60 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Flaky Pie Crust

From Sweety Pies by Patty Pinner, The Taunton Press 2007

For 9 or 10-inch single crust

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chilled vegetable shortening
• 3 tablespoons ice-cold heavy cream or evaporated milk, more or less as needed

For 9-inch double crust or 9-inch deep-dish single crust

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chilled vegetable shortening
• 5 to 6 tablespoons of ice-cold heavy cream or evaporated milk, more or less as needed

Sift the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium-size to large bowl. Using a pastry blender, a big serving fork, or the tips of your fingers, cut in or pinch or squeeze the shortening until the mixture resembles a bowl of sweet peas. Tossing the mixture quickly and lightly with a fork, sprinkle in the cream or milk 1 tablespoon at a time. (It's better to err on the side of not having enough liquid than to have too much; you don't want a soupy crust.) Continue tossing until the dough holds together when lightly pressed.

With lightly floured hands, loosely gather up the dough into a flat ball, place it in a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until you are ready to roll out the crust. I try to chill at least 30 minutes but not too much longer than overnight. 

Gather together your pie dish, rolling pin, flour canister, flour sifter, and a small, sharp knife. Prepare a clean surface for rolling out the dough. Sift enough flour over the surface to prevent the dough from sticking to it. Lightly flour your hands and the rolling pin. Place the chilled dough on the surface. If you are making a double-crust pie, divide the dough into two balls, one ball (it will be used as the bottom crust) slightly larger than the other (top crust). Keep the top crust covered and refrigerated while you roll out the bottom crust. Press it into a small, flat disk. Using the rolling pin, roll the dough into a circle, working from the center to the edges.

Starting at the center, roll straight up to the edge, turn the dough slightly, and roll straight up to the edge. Repeat the process - turning the dough and rolling - until the dough has formed a circle that's slightly larger than the pan. (Make a 12-inch circle for a 9-inch pan, or a 13-inch circle for a 10-inch pan, or a 12 x 16-inch rectangle for a 9 x 13-inch pan.) Be careful to keep the dough as even as you can, about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick.

Place the pie plate upside down on top of the rolled-out dough. Using a small knife, cut a circle around the plate, leaving a 1-inch border of dough around the plate. Set aside the scraps. Remove the pie plate. Gently fold the crust in half. Now, fold the crust into quarters. Gently pick up the crust and place it in the pie plate so the center point of the crust is positioned in the center of the plate. Unfold the dough and press it firmly into position in the plate. Trim all excess dough from the edge, except for a 1/2-inch flap of dough around the edge.

If you are making a single crust pie, crimp the edge first, then fill with the pie filling. If you are making a double-crust pie, fill the pie, then roll out the second crust the same way you rolled the bottom crust. Cut the top crust so it extends beyond that of the bottom crust. (Cut an 11-inch circle for a 9-inch pie, a 13-inch circle for a 10-inch pie, and a 10 x 14-inch rectangle for a 9 x 13-inch pie.) Place the top crust on top of the filled pie. Trim the overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold the top flap of dough under the edge of the bottom crust, until the edges are even with the rim of the pan. Using the tines of a fork, flatten the hem evenly against the rim of the pie plate, moving completely around the pie. To prevent sticking, dip the fork in flour, if needed. Cut a few slits on top of the crust to let out the steam, then bake as directed in your particular recipe.

About Sweety Pies

Women sharpen women. I'm convinced that you can learn a lot about a woman based on what she feeds herself and the people she loves; a woman's recipes--especially her prized recipes--are a revelation of who the woman is: what she thinks, how she behaves, what she values, and how she lives her life." Sweety Pies, is a collection of 70 such pie recipes, gathered from the women in author Patty Pinner's life--family, friends, women who are part of her own personal history. What distinguishes this book is its utterly beguiling storytelling--each recipe is accompanied by a story told on the woman known for making the pie, from Sister Baby's Buttermilk Pie to Miss Hatfield and Her Jelly Pies. It's also filled with the truths handed down by our mothers (or that we wish had been handed down by our mothers) like: "An unhappy husband will ask for toasted snow" and "You don't want a man who is jealous of nothing or everything." This is a cookbook that's about love, life, family, friendship, and community as much as it is about the recipes.