Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies by Mollie Cox Bryan, Mrs Rowe's Family Restaurant: 9781580089807 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books (2024)

Writer and poet Bryan follows up 2006’s Mrs. Rowe’s Restaurant Cookbook by zeroing in on the Virginia establishment’s highly lauded desserts. Bryan’s compilation of 65 recipes hits all the sweet spots, offering reliable standards like peach, blueberry, coconut cream and sweet potato pies, as well as caramel coconut, german chocolate and watermelon variations. Though most of the recipes are basic, achieving the perfect crust isn’t; Bryan offers patient tutelage and step-by-step photos, but acknowledges that Mrs. Rowe’s technique took years to master. Even experienced pie makers should pick up a trick or two; Virginia’s Almost Impossible Coconut Pie, for instance, has no crust–the custard filling creates a firm outer layer when baked. Those looking to tweak their crust might want to consider cream cheese, which makes a tangier product than butter and flour alone. Bakers stymied by weeping meringues, meanwhile, will be comforted by the restaurant’s "weepless" version, bolstered with salt and cornstarch. Seasoned pie pros and newbies will both find this ode to southern desserts a helpful and lasting resource. (July)
–Publishers Weekly, 6/8/09

"Those pies! Man, oh, man. Like no other. She made a butterscotch pie that we would buy whole and take up to my granny’s in Bluefield, West Virginia. I can taste it now." –Kendra Bailey Morris, "Accidental Chef" columnist, Richmond Times Dispatch

Contents

Acknowledgments • viii

Introduction • 1

Chapter 1 • 14
Crusts and Toppings
17 Plain Pie Pastry
19 Vinegar Pie Crust
20 Cream Cheese Crust
21 Chocolate Cookie Crust
22 Gingersnap Crust
23 Graham Cracker Crust
24 Mrs. Rowe’s Meringue
25 Weepless Meringue
26 Sweetened Whipped Cream
27 Caramel Sauce
28 Chocolate Sauce

Chapter 2 • 29
Fruit, Berry, and Nut Pies
31 Apple-Dapple Pie
33 French Apple Pie
35 Caramel Apple Nut Pie
36 Crabapple Pie
37 Granny Smith Apple Pie
38 Fresh Peach Pie
40 Mrs. Brown’s Grape Pie
41 Damson Plum Pie
42 Blueberry Pie
43 Strawberry Pie
45 Blackberry Pie
46 Gooseberry Pie
47 Simple Cherry Pie
48 Spicy Pumpkin Pie
49 Sweet Potato Pie
50 Butternut Squash Pie
52 Mrs. Brown’s Winter Squash Pie
53 Chestnut Pie
55 Hickory Nut Pie
56 Mincemeat Pie
58 Green Tomato Mincemeat Pie

Chapter 3 • 60
Cream and Custard Pies
63 Virginia’s Almost Impossible Coconut Pie
64 Original Coconut Cream Pie
66 Coconut Custard Pie
67 White Christmas Pie
68 Susan’s Banana Cream Pie
70 Classic Banana Cream Pie
71 Sour Cream and Raisin Pie
72 Strawberry Sour Cream Pie
73 Never-Fail Lemon Pie
75 Key Lime (or Not) Pie
76 Chocolate Chess Pie
77 Tar Heel Pie
79 German Chocolate Pie
80 Willard’s Chocolate Pie
81 Chocolate Meringue Pie
82 Smoothest Ever Peanut Butter Pie
83 Peanut Butter Custard Pie
84 Cinnamon Sugar Pie

Chapter 4 • 85
Frozen and Icebox Pies
89 Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri Pie
90 Frozen Strawberry Margarita Pie
91 Watermelon Pie
92 Peanut Pie
93 Mudd Pie
94 Grasshopper Pie
96 Layered Ice Cream Pie
98 Caramel Coconut Pie
99 Make-Your-Own-Flavor Chiffon Pie

Chapter 5 • 100
Pies for the Cupboard
102 Brown Sugar Pie
103 Brown Sugar Pie from the Attic
105 Shoofly Pie
107 Brownie Pie
108 Pecan Fudge Pie
109 Raisin Pie
110 Lemon Chess Pie
112 Old-Fashioned Monterey Maple Syrup Pie

Index • 113