Mother's day recipes from Connie Fairbanks
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Last October we had a bunch of recipes from ESU alumna Connie Fairbanks, who is now rich and famous and living in Chicago!
Well, she’s coming back to the Town Crier, so you’ve got another chance to get an autographed copy of her wonderful cookbook “Scratch That!”
Connie will be at The Town Crier May 10 along with authors Mike Halleran and Dennis McCay. Signing will be held from 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Becky Smith at the Town Crier said, “It’s a beautiful book, and the recipes are wonderful for everyone.”
I asked Connie for some favorite stories about her mom. She said, “I am not sure how she did it with five kids, and four of them were girls. We were ‘stair steps’ in age. Fondly, I remember how we all dressed alike in our lilac and white gingham dresses for Easter. It was the only dress we had so we wore them every Sunday to church.”
Connie grew up in Wheaton, population 90, in northeastern Kansas. Her family had a small farm, with a milking cow, a Shetland pony, and a garden. She says, “I was one of five kids that milked cows, churned butter, worked in the garden, attended 4-H meetings, etc. I graduated from ESU with a major in business, and minors in Home Economics, Art, and Piano.” While at ESU, Connie worked at the Freeman’s Department Store about 30 hours a week, and was a member of the Chi Omega sorority.
Connie writes in her book: ‘My mother [Marcella Fairbanks] made this pie when rhubarb was plentiful in the garden. Today, rhubarb is available much of the year and you can make it anytime. I have adapted this recipe slightly to make it less sweet. It is more like a custard pie, than the usual rhubarb pie.”
MOM’S RHUBARB-MERINGUE CREAM PIE
Pie crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
2 -3 Tbsp. ice water
Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. finely grated nutmeg
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups diced rhubarb (about 2 1/2 lbs.)
Meringue:
3 egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
6 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
To make the crust: In the bowl of a large food processor, pulse the flour and salt for a few seconds. Add the shortening, and process for about 15 seconds until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, pulse, and keep adding the water until the dough comes together. Remove the dough from the processor bowl, and form it into a disk about 6 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
With a lightly floured rolling pin and board, roll out the dough in a circle about 2 inches larger than a 9-inch pie pan. Place the dough in the pan, and flute the edges with the overhanging dough. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
To make the filling: Stir together the sugar, flour, nutmeg and butter in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs, and beat until smooth. Stir in the rhubarb. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Place the pie on a cookie sheet to catch possible drips. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 35 minutes, or until the center doesn’t jiggle. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees for the meringue.
While the pie is baking, make the meringue. Bring the eggs to room temperature by setting them out first thing in the morning. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together in a very clean glass or metal bowl (free of oil or residue) until foamy.
Beat in the sugar one tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy, about four or five minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Remove the baked pie from the oven, cool for a few minutes. Heap the meringue onto the hot pie filling and crust. Spread the meringue over the filling. Carefully seal the meringue to the edge of the pie crust to prevent weeping or shrinking.
Bake for approximately 10 minutes at 400 degrees, until the meringue is golden brown (watch carefully). Remove the pie from the oven and cool to room temperature. Then cover the pie and refrigerate it for several hours or overnight (preferable) to help the pie set up properly. Serves six to eight.
Connie’s book has so many wonderful things in it, but I asked her to focus on “mom things” for this column. She said “I remember my mom painting her fingernails as we were going out the door to church. How did she do it?! She was always home for us after school with cookies and milk. I didn’t realize what a luxury that was then.”
Connie mentioned that her mom was always there for all the children growing up, and they learned to cook everything from scratch: no cake mixes. She said, “Mother still sends all of us birthday cards, calls us, tells us what pretty babies we were, and what time of day we were born.” That’s a great mom for you!
Here are two delightful salads to make for your mom.
Connie writes: “Avec Restaurant in Chicago was the inspiration for this recipe. An unusual salad for any time of year, it is so simple, yet so good. Because the almonds are salted, no extra salt is necessary. Marcona (mar-coe-na) almonds are very flavorful almonds from Spain. They have a richer, more intense flavor than regular almonds. Marcona almonds can be found in the gourmet section of your grocery store, or online.”
GRAPE-ALMOND SALAD
1 cup seeded green grapes, cut in half
1 cup seeded red grapes, cut in half
1 cup Marcona almonds
1 cup flat-leaf parsley sprigs
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Lightly combine all of the ingredients in a pretty bowl and serve at room temperature. Serves 4.
Connie loves old-fashioned wonderful food that has been modernized, such as Carrot-Jello Salad. She says to use fresh orange juice instead of water and serve it in a martini glass.
CARROT-PINEAPPLE
GELATIN SALAD
1 (10-oz.) can pineapple tidbits
1 pkg. orange-flavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup coarsely shredded carrots (1 1/2 medium carrots)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Lettuce for garnish
Drain the pineapple well, reserving 1/2 cup of the juice. Empty the gelatin into a large bowl. Add the boiling water, and stir thoroughly. Add the pineapple, celery, carrots, orange and pineapple juices and stir. Place in individual molds or in a square 4-cup baking dish. Refrigerate for several hours until firm or overnight.
Unmold the individual molds or cut the gelatin into large squares. Serve in martini glasses garnished with lettuce. Serves 4 to 6.
Connie is also doing a signing in Kansas City. She will be at that fabulous K.C.-area store, Prydes Old Westport, on Saturday, May 17. There’s a pie store called The Upper Crust in the basement of Prydes that will be featuring Connie’s mom’s Rhubarb Pie on May 16 and 17. As if that weren’t enough, Connie will also be speaking at the Kansas City Literary Festival on May 17.
As Connie says: “To make your food taste better overnight, use the best, the freshest, and the most seasonal ingredients you can find, taste as you go, and use fresh herbs. And don’t forget to experiment, keep learning, and most of all, have fun in the kitchen! Bon Appetit.”
Next week it’s sensational soy, and the week after that is another spécialité de maison. So, as I say: “Let’s get cooking!”