Buttermilk Pie, Silly Carrots, Fudge

DEAR SOS: I have been searching for a buttermilk pie to serve for my holiday meal but I can’t seem to locate one. Can you help?

--KAREN

DEAR KAREN: It so happens that a colleague, Virginia Depew, shared her pie recipe after I tasted it at a Press Club luncheon. Depew reported that her cousin found the handwritten recipe among the personal effects of her grandmother, who died at the age of 85 in 1938. “She had come to Kentucky as a young girl, when her family left Virginia, crossing the Pine Ridge Mountains,” Depew said. “The Spradling women fed their menfolk sinfully rich desserts, resulting in costly dental problems in their later years.” One taste and we understood.

VIRGINIA DEPEW’S KENTUCKY BUTTERMILK PIE

3 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 teaspoon butter extract (if using margarine), optional

2 (8-inch) unbaked pie shells or 1 (10-inch) unbaked pie shell

Mix sugar, flour and salt in bowl. Add eggs, stirring just enough to break up eggs. Add buttermilk and vanilla. Stir until just blended. Do not overbeat. Add melted butter. Stir slightly and quickly. Pour into pie shells and bake at 350 degrees 45 to 50 minutes, or until center of pie is set when shaken slightly. Cool thoroughly before cutting. (Pies may be frozen weeks or months before using. Allow 1 full day for thawing in refrigerator.) Makes 2 (8-inch) pies or 1 (10-inch) pie.

Each serving contains about:

470 calories; 305 mg sodium; 111 mg cholesterol; 22 grams fat; 64 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0 fiber; 43% calories from fat.

DEAR SOS: Please help me. I’ve lost my friend’s recipe for Silly Carrots, which is great for the holidays.

--EULA

DEAR EULA: Here it is, for you and the dozens of others who have requested the recipe.

SILLY CARROTS

2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced

1 (10-ounce) can condensed tomato soup

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup wine vinegar

1/4 cup oil

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

1 large onion, diced

1 medium green pepper, diced

4 stalks celery, diced

Salt, pepper

Cook carrots in boiling water just until tender. Drain and set aside.

Combine tomato soup, sugar, wine vinegar, oil, mustard, onion, green pepper and celery.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat and stir to boiling. Simmer 10 minutes. Pour over drained carrots. Serve hot or refrigerate for salad. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

298 calories; 542 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 11 grams fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 3 grams fiber; 32% calories from fat.

DEAR SOS: Would you happen to have a recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge that will travel well?

--GAIL

DEAR GAIL: Certainly. It’s a great last-minute gift for the holiday too.

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup milk

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup marshmallow creme

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine sugar and milk in saucepan. Bring to boil and boil until mixture reaches soft-ball stage (234 to 240 degrees on candy thermometer) or until mixture forms soft ball when dropped in cold water. Add peanut butter, marshmallow creme and vanilla. Mix well.

Pour at once into buttered 8-inch-square pan. When firm, cut in squares. Makes 64 (1-inch) or 16 (2-inch) squares.

Each 1-inch square contains about:

53 calories; 21 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; .1 gram fiber; 36% calories from fat.