Thursday, April 28, 2011

Mayberry CB Review/Strawberry Pie

My Husband took me for another Texas adventure last night; we ate at Prairie House in Roanoke. What a historic town with a great knack for preserving historic buildings and promoting local businesses! With several locally-owned eateries, they are proud to call themselves a, "restaurant capitol". Having grown up in a small town, I have a warm, fuzzy feeling when I drive through Roanoke. There are little cottages, older stick-built homes and even a couple of Victorian "painted ladies". On Oak Street, there's a line of quaint restaurants and a book store/coffee shop. You can try to get into Babe's (there are often people waiting) if you want to eat fried chicken and watch the wait staff line-dance. On down the street, there's a variety of cowboy grub and authentic Mexican fare, too. What made me especially curious about Prairie House was the rustic look of the building and the name of the restaurant. I had to go in to see if Marshall Dillon or any of the Ingalls family were sitting at a table! It was unique and rustic inside, as well. The food was so good that midway through the meal, I looked across the table at my sweetie and said, "I am just in hog heaven!" I had smoked meat BBQ, homemade onion rings, cole slaw and a mason jar of brewed iced tea. Oh....and jalapeno corn muffins! Ronoake reminds me of a TV town called Mayberry and my favorite small town...Paden City. All of this is leading up to my book for review today; Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook.
If ever there was a famous small town in the collective memory of baby boomers, it is Mayberry. And if ever there was an iconic cook it is Aunt Bee...you know, Bee Taylor, Sheriff Andy's auntie who toted him homemade food in a basket, just for lunch! Barnie, the deputy, always waited for that fried chicken and apple pie to show up at the jailhouse. I loved that show and still do! If you enjoyed it, you might want to look for this wire-bound cookbook from 1991. Ken Beck and Jim Clarck put it together with the editing done by Julia M. Pitkin. The publisher was Rutledge Hill Press from Nashville, Tennessee and its ISBN is 1-55853-098-3. I like the fact that a cookbook is dedicated to the memory of Frances Bavier (the actress who played Aunt Bee). I didn't buy my copy there, but I saw this cookbook being sold in gift shops when we visited the town that the TV show was based on. That famous little place is the town where Andy Griffith grew up-Mount Airy, N.C. If you loved the show, it's fun to visit Mount Airy.
This book is really full of good down-home recipes that you would typically find in a community or church group's cookbook, but it has names of characters from the show attached to the recipes. There's Barney's Salt and Pepper Steak; Goober's Secret Spaghetti Sauce and Opie's Oreo Ice Cream. Tidbits about the show, pictures of scenes from the show and character bios of Mayberry's well-known citizens are included. It's a fun read, especially if you're a fan! Here's a sample recipe from page 198:

***Cookbook hunter's alert: I saw 2 copies of this book at Antiques Mall in Keller, TX this past weekend. One copy was $10.00 and the other was $6.50!***

Mayberry Strawberry Pie
(Mary Ellis-Albuquerque, N.M.)

2 pints fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
1 C sugar
4 TBSP flour
1 C water
1 9-inch baked pie shell
whipping cream

In a saucepan, mash about 5 or 6 ripe strawberries, and combine with the sugar, flour and water. Cook until thick and refrigerate until cold.
Just before serving, place the strawberries in the pie shell, reserving a few for garnish. Pour the glaze over the berries. Cover with whipped cream and garnish with reserved berries. Slice and serve. Serves 6-8.

17 comments:

  1. love strawberry pie another great one is strawberry rhubarg

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  2. I love anything with strawberries and this is perfect timing since here in Mayberry Country where I live, next weekend is Mayfest in Pilot Mountain and you can buy gallons of strawberries from some of the vendors :)

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  3. Strawberry pie reminds me of my Grandma. She made it all summer long. I am following your blog now. I hope you'll visit our blog soon!

    Lori

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  4. I certainly can't get enough strawberry pie in the good ole summertime! Thanks for sharing your adventures.

    Be sure to check out my blog post today...YOU won something...blessings to you! =)

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  5. Marcia, I see your links every week at various blog hops! I had to stop in and say hi. I can't wait to try this. We love strawberries at our house and fortunately for us, they're available all year round now. Come take a look at some of my recipes when you have a chance. Thanks for such a great story! http://homesandbabies.blogspot.com

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  6. I have some strawberries that have to be used almost immediately. This sounds like a good way to do just that.

    Thanks for linking this up to My Meatless Mondays and for all the great recipes, you have shared.

    My Sweet and Savory using another address

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  7. This sounds simple and delicious - we're going strawberry picking next month for the very first time in Wisconsin. I've been looking for great recipes to try and this will surely be one! Thanks!!

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  8. Came by way of Brambleberry Cottage Time Travel Thursday. This was a step back into time, huh? Mayberry. And I enjoyed you description of your trip to and in the restaurant. Thanks, Jenn

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  9. This sounds so terrific. Thanks for posting it to What's On the Menu Wednesday:)

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  10. A friend of mine drove over to Roanoke the other day to eat. He took lots of pictures and I am pretty sure he ate there too. Now, I must get my honey to take me on a date. I love towns like that. Have you tried Granbury or Glen Rose?

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  11. Strawberry pie is a favorite--it's a pretty looking dish on the table too. You described your trip so lovely--wish I lived closer to visit!

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  12. Hi Marcia,
    Don't you just love Ronoake it is such a fun place to visit. The Strawberry Pie Recipe from the Mayberry Cookbook looks really good. That sounds like a really fun cookbook. Thank you so much for sharing your adventure and recipes with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you next week!

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  13. I love strawberry pie, and your post about Mayberry really brought back memories! Sounds like a great cookbook you found! Prairie House sounds like a wonderful restaurant too. Thank you for sharing this post with the Hearth and Soul blog hop :)

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  14. we love the andy griffith show so much around here that our parrot can whistle the opening tune! what a fun recipe book and delicious pie. i will have to surprise my hubs with a slice of this soon! thank you for sharing with tuesday night supper club.

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  15. Strawberry pie is an old favorite. There is a little spot called Hank's Place (tiny and always packed) that lies on rt 1 in the Brandywine Valley, PA. This recipe sounds similar to their amazing strawberry pie! Can't wait to give this a try! Thanks for sharing.

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