Orange Pie

[cjs]

I was talking to my aunt yesterday and she was telling me about a pie that my Grandma used to make that the family just loved - Orange pie. Now, I'll back up a little here and tell a related story.

About a year ago, I had contacted my relatives to send me any recipes they had from when the were growing up - that's not too many relatives because my mother was an only child and my paternal aunt is the only one left of 7 children. Lots of cousins tho. Anyway, my aunt very nicely pkg'd up a stack of my grandma's recipes, passed them on to my sister to leave at my mother's for me to pick up. My mother, bless her heart, somehow, somehow, somehow threw them out with, I guess some newspapers!!!! All lost - can you imagine? My sister, aunt and I were all heartbroken and my mother would have been also if she were still coherent enough. AAArrrghhh.

The orange pie as she remembered it, had a meringue and was not the texture of a lemon pie nor a 'custard' - so I was all set to do a whale of a google search today to try and find some ideas to make for her to try.

So, back to the future - after we dropped her off, she started calling cousins and WHOOPEE!!! one of my cousins has the recipe! Isn't that fantastic? Plus she has some other that her Dad used to talk about a lot so I have some more inspriration...

I'll make it (the pie) as soon I get my grubby little hands on it and let you all know how it goes. Fingers crossed - it sounds so good.

[Lorraine]

Now that's a great stroke of luck! Looking forward to seeing the recipe.

[cjs]

I couldn't stand it - I googled anyway!! Think I might have found the original....from 1591???? Wow. Love the ideas of 'Sinamon' and/or ginger.

From A Book of Cookrye, London, 1591. The original reads:

How to bake Orenges.
Faire peele your Orenges, and pick away all the white that is under the peele, and so lay them in fine paste, and put into them Sugar, very little Sinamon or none at all, but a little Ginger and bake them very leisurely.

---

This one sounds like the most fun -

Key Orange Pie
• 1 cup Heavy cream
• 1/4 cup Cold water
• 1 package Unflavored gelatin
• 6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate, undiluted
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
• 9 to 10-inch graham cracker crust
• orange slices for garnish

Put the cream into a small saucepan over high heat. Just before it comes to a boil, put the cold water into a blender and sprinkle in the gelatin, where it should stand for a minute or so.

Add the boiling cream to the blender, process on low until all of the gelatin has dissolved (2-3 min.). Add the concentrated orange juice, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and Grand Marnier; process until it is all well blended.

Chill for 15 to 20 minutes; pour into the crust and chill until it firms up.

Garnish with orange slices or whole raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries and serve.
Serves 6
From The Travelin' Gourmet Cookbook

---

But then there are these, but I don't know when 'they' started canning mandarin oranges....

MANDARIN ORANGE PIE
________________________________________
1 pt. sour cream
1/3 c. sugar
1 can mandarin orange segments
1 graham pie crust

Pour off juice from can of mandarins. Put oranges on paper towel to dry off.

Mix all above 3 ingredients in bowl. Pour mixture in graham cracker pie crust (ready made). Put pie in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Let cool.

---
and lastly -

ORANGE MERINGUE PIE
1 (9") baked pie shell (I like a deep pie shell)
FILLING:
1/2 c. cornstarch
1/3 c. fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp. grated orange peel
2 tbsp. butter
1 c. sugar (substitute may be used)
1/4 tsp. salt (or salt substitute)
4 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small saucepan combine cornstarch, sugar and salt. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups water, stirring until smooth. Place over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Quickly stir in half of hot mix into egg yolks. Return to saucepan, mixing well. Over medium heat return to boiling, stirring, boil 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in orange juice, orange peel and butter.

Pour immediately into pie shell.

Make Meringue: In medium bowl, with portable mixer, medium speed, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks are formed when beater is lifted. Gradually beat in sugar, a little at a time, until stiff peaks are formed.

Spread meringue over hot filling, carefully sealing to edge of crust. Bake 7-9 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Remove from oven, place on cooling rack, away from drafts at least 1 hour before serving.

Note: This is basically the same recipe as lemon pie - however oranges tend to be sweeter and juicier than lemons, so I taste as I go for sweetness, and if when the first part of the cooking is done, and it still is runny, I make a separate mixture of cornstarch and water (cooked to make it thick). Also food coloring may be added for additional color, when orange juice and peel are added.

hmmm, my note - but I think I'd make a slurry of o.j. and cornstarch, not water.
----

this is going to be fun!!

[Mare749]

Jean, my mom used to make a lemon chiffon pie. Any chance it was like that?

Maryann

[farnfam]

How fun! It sounds so refreshing.....and caloric

Cis

[Gourmet_Mom]

Thank goodness your cousin saved her copies. What a shame the others were lost. I'll have to say, I don't think I've ever heard of this kind of pie...sounds interesting, though

[BarbaraS]

My Grandad - Pop-pop - was settled first generation in Wilkes Barre, PA. Not too many family recipes survived, but my one Aunt and her hubby had a thriving pizza biz for over 20 years. OMG, the crust was sooooo good and it was the only white pizza I ever had and always remembered it. Pizza places around Philly had no idea what I orderd, go figure.

The one recipe that we could all remember was when my other Aunt Nini made lasagna without cooking the noodles previously. She didn't even blanch them to my knowlegde. It was the best lasagna, ever!

I kinda took over this resurrection of the recipe, but it's not the same.

I will probably raid my Mom's recipe cabinet, but her family is all gone by now and now my Dad is the only family survivor.

Does anyone know of the Easter Italian treat, My Pie? It was made in a square dish, lined with a pie crust dough, then layered with salami, ham, cheese, then an egg layer (raw) with salt and pepper, and lined again and again until the dish was full. Then it was baked.

I had the recipe somehwere, but when I cleared out the "drawer" with all my recipe stuffings, I couldn't find it. It even had the settings the deli section people would have to set to cut the cold cuts. Oh yeah, I'm that OCD.

Cherish these holidays, folks.

Peace,

Barbara

[cjs]

Barbara, since you have your Dad with you still - I hope you sit down with him and the old recipes, he may have some great memories about them!

What was on the 'white pizza' your aunt and uncle made? I make one, but it's a clam pizza.

Can't help with your search for the 'pie' - hopefully someone can tho.

[Lorraine]

Jean, that first one sounds great. Looking forward to you getting back and making it!

OT I got as parcel in the mail. My Mom's hand written cookbook. She started it shortly after she got married. There are also clippings from the newspaper going back to to the 50's and 60's. It will be my mission in life next year to write out the recipes and give them to family. I'm thinking of going to live with Jean for a month so she can show me how to make a cookbook.

[cjs]

Oh my, Lorraine, couldn't we have fun going thru those dishes?? I want to try some of them with you.