Pie Crust Promise

"That's a pie crust promise - easily made, easily broken." ~ Mary Poppins

So I made my resolution to post every Sunday. . . maybe every other Sunday?

I'm missing La Madeleine in this real winter that Nashville is having.

No, not a person, but a place with memories:

• Lunches with my high school boyfriend's mother over quiche and tomato basil soup.

• Catching up with Jodi when back in Bethesda over croissants and potato galettes.

• Grading papers on a school night by their fire and snacking on bread and jam.

For some reason, I was never self-conscious eating and sitting there alone for hours on end.

For some reason, I feel that way at a patisserie in Brooklyn too - where I always ordered a quiche and sat outside before I headed to Matt's brownstone.

Maybe the French believe food is too important not to miss a meal - solo or not. . .

I'm at a loss why we don't have one here; I've written them five times and begged - BEGGED.

So. . . as I planned to make a quiche for the week, I realized I have found a favorite crust recipe and haven't posted it here. Full credit goes to Baking Mischief.

This summer, I did a taste test of about four crust recipes for tomato tarts, plum tarts, and chicken pot pies.

Hers is the HANDS DOWN winner.

I would have been totally skeptical of the crumby mixture and squeeze together method if I hadn't seen Gesine do it on Baked in Vermont one day (my eyes bulging and head shaking as I watched.)

But they are both right: it works. And I love rolling the dough out after chilling and still seeing flecks of butter in the dough - it means the pockets will steam and crisp the crust.

The below is for two 9 inch crusts:

• 2 1/2 cups flour

• 1 T sugar

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of frozen butter

• 2/3 cup buttermilk

~ Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt in food processor.

~ Chop the frozen butter into cubes.

~ Add butter to flour mixture and pulse until flour has pea-sized crumbles.

~ Through the pour tube, slowly add the buttermilk while processing.

~ When the dough JUST forms (I wait till it tumbles once) STOP.

~ The dough will still SEEM dry and crumbly.

~ Divide dough on two long sheets of plastic wrap.

~ Press crumbs together using the plastic wrap to guard your hands.

(Warm hands mean melting the butter!)

~ Chill for thirty minutes before rolling out OR freeze and take out the night before you want to use.

I never have buttermilk in the house. Who does?

I've made it with milk and lemon juice, but so often I don't have lemons either.

So when I DO have buttermilk - I make several crusts and put several in the freezer.

We pulled six out at Christmas for pies!

A little gallery of how I've used it this year:

A plum galette, chicken pot pie and chicken pot hand pie, tomato pie, and cheeseburger pie.