Pie not Quilts

Our youngest son recently changed jobs to be a chef at a new restaurant near our house. One of his favorite desserts when he was growing up was buttermilk pie. A couple of weeks after the restaurant opened, Brendan asked me if I thought it possible to add goat cheese to the regular buttermilk pie recipe. I said I didn't see why not and the next day I bought a log of goat cheese to experiment. Well now, two months later, that goat cheese buttermilk pie is one of the favorite items on the menu. The restaurant, Avenues Proper, makes it with beet ice cream on the side but that's a little overboard for me. Fresh fruit, especially peaches, nectarines, and blueberries right now, are just the right touch.

Set oven at 425 F.

Whole Wheat Crust

1/2 cup whole wheat or graham flour
1/2 cup white flour
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons butter at room temperature
3 tablespoons ice cold water You can use ice cold vodka as well for a crisper crust. Since water activates gluten and the alcohol in vodka does not activate gluten, the crust does not get tough. The texture does change a little but not in a bad way.

Using a pastry cutter, blend the flours, butter, and salt together until the mixture looks like torn paper towels--all raggedy but layered. Add the ice cold water or vodka and using the fingers squeeze gently into a ball. Put in refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Roll the dough out on floured wax paper and fit into a 9 inch pie plate. Refrigerate again while you make the filling.

Goat Cheese Buttermilk Pie Filling
4 ounces plain goat cheese
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
3 large eggs well beaten
1/2 cup butter melted
1 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons citrus juice (lemon, orange, or lime)
grated zest of the citrus chosen (only grate organic fruit skin)

In the food processor, blend the goat cheese with the sugar until blended. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into the prepared crust and put in preheated oven (425 F). Cook for 15 minutes and then lower temperature to 350F. Cook for about another 30 minutes until a knife inserted in  middle of pie comes out clean. This pie is best at room temperature or even slightly warm. All ovens are different and I live above 4000 feet above sea level my times may not match your times.