Kumquat Pie

Cowboys & Kumquats

You may think these two have nothing in common, rightly so in judgment, but I'm here to tell you otherwise. You see, normally I spend Saturdays rounding up Mexican recipes to feature here and today is pretty much a Mexican night in our house. It's a ritual thing we do. Just like as a kid, I spent many Saturdays at the theater watching, what else, double matinées of cowboy movies. Yippie ky-yay! So, in a way, today is also a western kind of day and that leads me to kumquats.

Still no correlation, you say. Well, you see, over the last several months I have received several cookbooks forwarded from publishers all wanting approval, some words written up about the authors and maybe an extensive review. So far, all I have managed to do is look at the pictures. One cookbook that caught my attention as soon as I opened the package. Yep, it's about cowboy cooking. While the book is a fine tabletop addition with its beautiful photography of life from a cowboy's perspective, it also contains many fine recipes that I can't wait to try. Cooking the Cowboy Way, by Grady Spears focuses on different regions of the country, from ranches in Texas, Arizona, Missouri, even Canada and one down in Florida.

Now Grady knows a thing or two about cooking. Restaurants in Fort Worth and Granbury Texas, Beverly Hills California each have menus credited to this chef's knowledge of preparing western foods. Not to mention his own restaurant in Fort Worth, Grady's. In the coming months, I will explore deeper into the recipes and I will most definitely post about them. In the meantime, it's back to kumquats.

In Darby, a short inland drive from Tampa, are the coastal prairies of Florida. Lining the edges of pastures are, what else, citrus orchards. Bellamy Brothers Ranch goes back to 1870 and is home to the country music stars, Howard and David Bellamy. This section in the book contains many recipes I am familiar with like oysters, fish, steaks and citrus salads, even a delicious sounding ambrosia. It's the pie that caught my eye ... and without any more rambling - here it is. Enjoy!

 Sylvia's Kumquat Refrigerator Pie
recipe by Sylvia Young, who won first prize at the Kumquat Festival and from the book, Cooking the Cowboy Way, by Grady Spears

Crust:
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup pureed kumquat rinds
1 -14 oz can condensed milk
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1 -8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir the sour cream and butter together in a bowl, then mix in the flour. (Don’t over mix or the texture will be tough.) Form a dough ball and refrigerate for just a few minutes. Lightly flour a work surface, and roll the dough into a medium thick crust. Place the piecrust dough in a 9-inch pie plate and prick the bottom of the crust with a fork. Bake the crust for about 20 minutes or until just golden brown. Remove from the oven to cool.

With an electric mixer, beat the cream and sugar until the mixture is light, fluffy and holds its shape when the beaters are removed. Add the kumquat rinds, condensed milk, juices and cream cheese beating until well combined and thickened. Scoop the mixture into the cooled pie shell and refrigerate, lightly covered with foil or plastic, until set, 2 to 3 hours.

Note from the cookbook – Kumquat rinds are sweet, while the kumquat flesh is very sour. You can use the whole kumquat if you like.