Friday, December 28, 2007

Last pie of the year

So I finally ran into a pie from Ken Haedrich's super-fantastic cook book Pie about which I have ambiguous feelings. The Ivy House Sugar Cream Pie is strange. First it looks odd, as it is as white as snow. Then the taste is strange, sweet of course, as it is just sugar, butter and milk, but not overly so. It tastes like some form of 1970s candy which I can't identify. Of the five people I have given a slice, a few liked it, but most didn't, agreeing with a commenter on this site which called it yucky. I ended up with positive feelings overall, but it isn't nearly as good as the buttermilk or maple cream pies and as such will probably not get made again.

On the sugar cream front I tried Necco's Old Fashioned Cream Drops. Imagine ten times the creamy center from Goetze's Caramel Creams covered in drug store chocolate. Although it is of the class of circus peanuts, I found it oddly appealing, but I also think Cow Tales are fabulous.

6 comments:

joanna said...

I'm intrigued. It it like brown sugar pie, only white? Does it taste like White Rabbit candies? Or maybe like the vanilla dipping stick from Lik-em-Aid?

I've often been curious about those Necco Old Fashioned Cream Drops, but have never wanted to buy an entire bag. And maybe I read the ingredients, which I shouldn't have done if I didn't want to gross myself out. Someday I'll try one.

Somebody recently gave me a box of "retro 70's" candy for my bday - from one of those candy websites. It's chock-full of Lemonheads, Appleheads, Necco Wafers, Abba Zabba, Zots, Fruitstripe Gum, Sugar Daddies, Runts, Razzles, Smarties, Now and Laters, etc. etc. I wish they would've given me the 1940's or 1950's box because it actually has stuff you can't just buy at Walgreen's, like Walnettos and Squirrel Nut Zippers. I'm up to my neck in candy - ranging from crap to homemade salt caramels and head-spinningly delicious English Toffee, two fingers thick.

Save me from myself!

Tripp said...

Ok, you are on to something. Close to the White Rabbit or the Vanilla Tootsie Midgies. It is not as yummy as brown sugar pie, in the same way that white sugar is not as yummy as brown.

Yeah, I read the ingredients as well but gamely pressed on.

Appleheads? What are they like? Otherwise, yeah I would want to go with the hard to find stuff.

I can save you if you me the toffee.

joanna said...

Oh yeah - I haven't tried the Appleheads, but they look exactly like Lemonheads. I'm assuming they taste like an apple Jolly Rancher, or somthing. I hate apple-flavored candy. It tastes NOTHING like apples. What gives? They're yours if you want 'em.

Ferrara Pan needs to make Grapefruit Heads. That would be my dream come true. They could call them Tetes du Pamplemousse. Oui?

Tripp said...

I'll save you one or two of the Necco treats. I am interested to hear your take.

The pie is a bit too old to share at this point, and you aren't missing that much. Next pie party maybe I will try a similar recipe.

Grapefruit would be awesome, but rather than the French name, I suspect Fererra Dan would go for a play on words like Alexander the Grape. I can't think of one, sadly.

joanna said...

Well, I'm afraid you are correct about Ferrara Pan's lack of creativity in naming. They changed all the cleverly named "heads" like Alexander the Grapes and Cherry Chans to, simply, Grapeheads and Cherryheads.

Given this pattern, I'm going out on a limb and guessing that the grapefruit version would be called...Grapefruitheads.

Limeheads would also be good, if they actually tasted like tart limeade and not lime Jell-O or a lime popsicle. Ditto Tamarindheads - they could def sell those in Asian and Mexican groceries.

Oh, the unrealized Head possibilities. So much missed opportunity.

Tripp said...

Offbeat flavors are the way to go. I am thinking of Rombutan, a fruit you can get in dried form at Trader Joe's . Among the people I have given pieces,the reactions range from love to great hate. No one is on the middle on it.