Heffa-ed up Buttermilk Love Pie

it maybe not be a good pic, but I took 3 and this was the best... now accepting cameraperson applications, will pay in food...

So this began with the need to use up buttermilk (I spotted some on sale for $2.50/gal, and did well to control myself in only buying one gallon… truth to be told though I had no major plans to use it… LOL Enter the phone call home, as my dad is an endless source of brainstorming ideas (and he loves helping me toy with and tease out ideas regarding food so I often use him as a sounding board even when I have a plan) and after thinking on it I only had plans for a couple of cups worth… My papa did give me great ideas but I ended up freezing 3.5 qts of the milk for future use (and this begins their use) so I’ll start with one of his ideas…

Well, my daddy says that Buttermilk Pie was one of the desserts my Grandmother Tiney (my namesake) used to make Granddaddy Red and I’m always a sucker for a sentimental dessert… but throw in there that granddaddy was one of my favorite people ever in life, and this becomes pretty close to one of my top 5 perfect desserts before I even get the recipe from him (plus you know I’m a custard freak, so again bonus points!!). So now recipe in hand I shall prepare this pie, but being who I am I can never leave well enough alone… so I’m adding a turtle-ish, pecan caramel and chocolate topping… Now, for the recipe courtesy of the Pops (bearing a slight renaming by me in honor of the sentimental value)…

I had to put the foil around the edges...as it was browning up too much...

Buttermilk Love Pie (as per my Pops)
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 pinch salt
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 deep dish pie shell (either your own recipe or storebought)

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 400°F.
2 Beat the butter and sugar together until light.
3 Add the eggs and beat.
4 Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the batter alternatively with the buttermilk; beat until smooth.
5 Pour into a deep dish pie shell and bake at 400F for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350F and bake for 50-60 additional minutes.
6 Pie should turn a nice golden brown and a knife inserted should come out clean.

And with my tweeking and toothsome topping (which I had to make mind you, since it cracked while I was scrambling to find a second oven mitt… nevermind that I planned the topping before that happened, that is insignificant as it became necessity)… it becomes:

this may be too dark for you to make out... I hope not...

Heffalicious Buttermilk Love Pie
1 buttermilk pie (see above for ingredients, but whipped together in blender… to check for doneness give it the jello jiggle to make sure it quivers but doesn’t slosh… oh and if you are particular, blind bake your crust first…)
Turtle-style topping:
1 sm batch chocolate ganche thinned with 1 T buttermilk (cheat = melt yourself some milk chocolate chips or part of a hershey bar for drizzling…)
1 batch of caramel sauce (cheat = boil a can of sweetened condensed milk, until thick and darkened…)
1 c broken/chopped praline pecans (cheat = umm, buy them already sugared or just use plain…)

After making all of the above, sprinkle the nuts on the pie… cover with the caramel, and use a spatula to adjust the nuts if needed… drizzle the top with the chocolate… and allow the whole pie to cool (this will of course be the really hard part of the whole process)…

Now truth be told this version would be a ‘self-love’ pie I suppose as I have the sweet tooth in this house not my spouse… In fact, the desserts go down like this in our house… Round 1: the family all tries the cake/pie/etc and uses about half (if it is something for only me and the hubs I may end up with 3/4 of the thing)… Rounds 2-needed: I eat the remaining half (sometimes even having some for breakfast) or if we possess too many desserts at once I will send hubby to work with some… But not as often as you might think as I have a mean sweet tooth and tend to demolish some things either the same day or the next day… And while I could wax nostalgic about how I came to be the size I am now–pretty much the same amt as before the baby (but key point, this would be before the amt he was born not before I was pregnant… aka, at the height of pregnancy…)–let’s go ahead and wrap this up so I can get it posted and sent. Yes, sent… Because in further honor of my heffa ways and my love of pie, due to this wicked topping that takes nice simple lowfat buttermilk and eggs to this level (but if you make it with both lowfat buttermilk and egg whites/egg substitute only wouldn’t that make it heffa-light? *bats lashes*) I am also submitting this to Eat to the Beat with the song, “Girls Love Pie” by Nasty (a parody of Boys Don’t Cry by The Cure):

I would say I’m hungry
If I thought it meant that I could dine.
But I know that this time
I ate too much,
With no exercise.

I tried the Atkins diet,
“Cause carbohydrates make you die!
I tried to look like Jared,
Hiding my pizza supplies
But girls love pie!
Girls love pie.

I would give up bread and meat,
And beg for thinness;
Dreams come true!
But those trans fats
We should hate
Are that which always make me drool!

I try not to think about it,
As I order my plate full of fries.
I’m trying to work at it,
Hiding the fat in my thighs!
“Cause, girls love pie!
Girls love pie.

I would stay true,
And eat junk food,
If my weight could stay the same.
But my diet, I still abuse.
My weight’s not steady.
It’s gone astray.

Misread my measurements,
Sucked in my tummy too far,
Took food for granted,
Until I couldn’t eat anymore!

Well, now, I would do most anything
To get back to my normal pants size.
But I just keep on eating,
Like Krispy Kreme is my high!
“Cause girls love pie.
Girls love pie!
Girls love pie.

PS. I’m working on sweet talking a friend to record a quick mp3 of this, so I can give you an audio–as she’s got a nicer voice than I–but she’s not yet bitten so that shall come later (and unfortunately I may not even be successful, stubborn woman… cross your fingers for me…)… But this pie can be enjoyed now… and should be, I mean come on everyone deserves a little love, right?