My Nana and her blueberries…

My Nana isn’t your typical grandmother. She’s a towering 5’8” blonde bombshell. No joke! Not only is she gorgeous, but she has a stellar sense of humor. She’s not afraid to crack a sex joke every now and then (okay, more often than “now and then,” if I’m being honest). Her Long Island roots and depression era childhood combined to make her one tough cookie, but with a super soft heart of gold. Yep, she’s one of the best people I know.

Growing up, I would spend Friday nights at Nana’s house. We’d watch Dallas (kooky, right?) and savor peach ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. Man, peach ice cream never tasted so good. I swear, it doesn’t taste the same when I eat it by myself. Nana was the one who always picked me and my siblings up from elementary school while our parents were at work. She would bring us snacks and whisk us away to the arcade for the afternoon. It was fabulous! (Except for the part where I got a lecture on not eating m potato chips like a “rabbit.” Yes, I always left a trail of crumbs in Nana’s car.) Nana taught me how to make fudge, how to whack a backhand in tennis, and how to stand up for myself. In fact, she’s taught me more lessons than I could begin to post about on this blog.

Alas, the one thing Nana and I never agreed about? Well, fruit! I like fruit okay, but Nana is an avid fruit eater. I’m sure she could consumer her weight in fruit. She loves it all: any berry, any melon, bananas, apples, oranges, you name it, she’ll eat it and she’ll like it. I was always more of a chocolate-sugar, none-of-that-natural-fruit-stuff girl. Well, times have changed, and I now LOVE fruit. I feel like I’m getting away with something when I bite into the sweet freshness of a strawberry. How can something so delicious be so healthy? One of life’s great mysteries.

One of the first fruits that Nana convinced me to eat was the blueberry. Not plain, mind you. She would mix blueberries and sour cream with a bit of sugar. And, man, it was delicious! What a great way to convince a stubborn, sometimes ornery child to eat her fruit. It worked; I was sold. I still am. Hence, this blueberry sour cream custard pie. It’s the jazzed up version of Nana’s go-to blueberry treat.

The custard remains soft and tangy, but not runny. The blueberries burst in your mouth. And the crunch of the chocolate shortbread crust adds a nice hint of extra naughtiness to this fruity delight. Not only is this dessert delicious (and reminiscent of warmer times…ahem, summer), but it brings back great memories. (Nana, if you’re reading this, (1) I’m always impressed with your internet skills, and (2) I love you (and I’m sorry about all those times I was “fresh” to you!)

Blueberry Sour Cream Custard Pie
From Whole Foods

1 cup sour cream
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 pint (or approximately 2 overflowing cups) blueberries
1 chocolate shortbread crust (see recipe below)

Method:
(1) Make crust according to recipe below.
(2) Preheat oven to 350.
(3) Whisk together sour cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla, until mixture is smooth. Gently stir in blueberries. Pour mixture into crust, and bake for 45-50 minutes (mine took 50 minutes). You want the custard to be set (but it will still look soft).
(4) Allow pie to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until firm (I let mine sit overnight).

Chocolate Shortbread Crust
From Dorie’s Baking: My Home to Yours

1 ¼ cups AP flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup powdered sguar
¼ tsp salt
1 stick plus 1 TBS (9 TBS) very cold or frozen butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk

Method:
(1) Place flour, cocoa, powdered sugar, and salt in food processor and pulse until ingredients are combined.
(2) Scatter butter over the mixture and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in.
(3) Stir the yolk and then add it a little at a time to the mixture.
(4) Pulse the mixture for 10-second intervals until the dough forms big clumps (Dorie warns that the sound of the food processor will change when the clumps begin to form.)
(5) Gently knead the dough on a work surface, if you need to incorporate any leftover dry ingredients.
(6) Press the dough into a 9-in pie, tart, or spring form pan (I used spring form because it’s the only thing I had on hand).
(7) Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes prior to using with the recipe above.