Now. . . or Later?

Happy Wednesday!

The sun is thawing that frozen fog and it's going to be a good day!

It's always fun having company for dinner and last night was no exception. . . I just wish it would happen more often.  There were times, back in my Bed and Breakfast days that I just didn't think I could make one more meal. . . but now I really miss the variety and the motivation of having frequent guests at the table.  I do NOT miss making all those beds.   Well, not really, anyway.  Great guests made up for all of that work.  Gosh!  That seems like so long ago.

Regardless, the meal went over grand!  The leftover chicken-veggie soup warmed beautifully and the delicious garlic-breadsticks helped get every last drop in the bowl. 

I had every intention of photographing the process of making breadsticks - from 'frozen doughball' to 'hot breadstick.'  Somehow, Hubster and I didn't communicate and he had the dough stretched, cut into strips, and was twisting the strips on the cookie sheet before I even knew it was happening.  There WILL be a next time.  We have just discovered these frozen dough balls and have made quite a few things with them - with more ideas popping up all the time.

That buttermilk custard pie came out perfect - I was so pleased.  The flavor is so subtle with sort of a 'burnt sugar' hint.  The texture is smooth and creamy.  And the pie crust was light and flaky.  This is such an easy recipe.  You could use, of course, a store-bought pie crust to make it even easier.  I was pleased I had just made several over the weekend and was able to just pull one already in the glass pie pan from the freezer.  But those don't last forever before it's time to make some more. . .

So, anyway, it's official - the recipe is a keeper and will find a place in my recipe binder!  I will have to rewrite it, however, as I did a few things differently from the original recipe.

Buttermilk Custard Pie

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted (about 45 seconds in the microwave)
1 cup buttermilk (no substitutions)
3 large eggs, beaten
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 unbaked 9" pie crust

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.
2.  Combine first six ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Sprinkle flour over mixture and continue mixing until filling is smooth.
3.  Pour into pie crust.  Cover crust for best results.  Bake 45 - 50 minutes until lightly golden-brown and a table knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
4.  Cool on rack.  Serve warm or cold.  Do refrigerate leftovers, or if not serving within a short time.

For a little added glitz - you could sift powder sugar on top of each slice and garnish with a sliced strawberry and mint leaf. . .

We didn't do that last night as, well, we just weren't into glitz!  We were into a good hot meal and conversation.  Boy oh boy!  We certainly got both!

Supper tonight?  I'm thinking some red beans and rice with some kielbasa sausage and garden salad on the side.  Of course, topping it off with another slice of that pie. 

So, I've got a question for you.  In our kitchen of (currently) two cooks - one of us cleans and puts away things as we cook, the other gets it out and leaves it all out until the meal is over.  How do you cook?  'As you go' or 'Leave it 'til later'?  Can you guess if I'm the 'now' or the 'later' cook?

Have a phenomenal day!