 |
|
|
When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Dessert Sue Cummings, owner of Wellsboro’s Native Bagel, LEMON BARS Base: Filling: Frosting: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine base ingredients at low speed until crumbly. Press mixture evenly into bottom of un-greased 9 by 13-inch pan. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Elizabeth’s LEMON COTTAGE CHEESE PIE Okay, let’s get this one thing straight before we go any further: There are no “chunks” in this pie. Think silky, smooth, sensuous. Do not think chunky. You simply have to get a lemon/cheesecake lover to try one scrumptious bite, and this pie will hook them, no matter what their prejudices—and you would be astonished at the number of people whose blood curdles at the mere mention of cottage cheese. But that is indeed the homey base of this high-style pie, uncovered on the Internet when a call went out for a rustic—read chunky—cottage cheese pie recipe. Included in the recipe was the warning from its maker, Elizabeth: “This pie sounds awful but tastes wonderful.” But our recipe box is all the richer for the discovery, and we offer it here with slight modifications. The crust, from Anna Thomas’s The Vegetarian Epicure, a cookbook standard in the Age of Aquarius, is our house standard, and we recommend it for any pie filling that needs a place to rest. 1 pint small-curd creamed Put all filling ingredients in a blender and blend on medium speed until smooth. You may have to start with the liquidy stuff and then gradually add the other ingredients. PASTRY BRISÉE SWEET Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until it has the texture of coarse sand. Continue working it with your hands until you can pat the dough into a ball. Put it away to chill for an hour or two. Press it into a 10-inch pie pan with your fingers until it is even and fairly smooth. Finish the edges as usual. Prick the bottom with a fork for steam-escape holes. For a pre-baked crust, put a layer of foil in the bottom and fill it with some dry beans. Bake at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 15 to 20 minutes. If the edges get too dark, cover them with a little foil. CORRECTION: Last month we published the Wellsboro Steak House’s luxurious English Walnut Pie recipe. Several readers have responded that the baking time is turning the pie into a blackened lump. Chris Coffee, architect of this epicurean splendor, says the restaurant ovens may run a little cooler than the standard electric home oven, and recommends reducing the temperature by 25 degrees, and cutting the initial baking time by 20 minutes. After the second 25-degree temperature reduction, bake until the pie is set and not jiggly. |
|
has made her reputation on her eponymous bagel sandwiches, a cornerstone of the Wellsboro lunch hour. But in the shiny glass case beside the register lie the jewels of the crown: cakes and cookies and pastries that can weaken the strongest will. A rare vision in that glittering box are Sue’s lemon bars, which most often make their appearance at the holidays (and which are on the most-wanted list of many of Native Bagel’s catering appearances). Sue has parted with the coveted recipe just in time for the holidays. 
