Picasso & Pie

I love the kismet of blogging. Case in point. I recently picked up this odd little cookbook. I liked the title. It seems that there was "The Ladies Social Library of Blue Hill" in Blue Hill, Maine. The ladies formed a library in 1796. In the 1950's they held fundraisers for the Library. One particular fundraiser involved rather "avant-garde" paintings. They entitled their fundraiser "Picasso & Pie." The "pie" was so popular that the Blue hill Buffet was established. A collection of recipes was gathered and later put into a nice hardback format. Just like the one I bought.

So, because I procrastinate extensively, I put the book into my pile of cookbooks to blog about. You can imaging my surprise when I was reading one of my favorite blogs, The Down East Dilettante. He had a quiz which included the following questions:

How are this unknown lost mid-century building...

Robert Motherwell...

Blueberry Pie...

Quincy Marketplace...

and my local library, all connected?

The answer was in an article in the New York Social Diary. When I clicked on the article I found EVERYTHING I would ever need to know about Picasso & Pie by Lynne Thompson and so much more.

Here is their signature dish from Lynne, The Down East Dilettante and Cookbook Of The Day:

Blueberry Ambrosia

2 1/2 quarts of water
thin cut peel of one lemon
small amount of tangerine rind (if possible)
small stick cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Simmer the blueberries, lemon rind (and tangerine rind) in the 2 1/2 quarts of water until the berries are soft.

Strain and put the berries through a sieve or puree them finely in ta blender. Return to strainer juice. Mix the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in about 1/2 cup water and add to mixture.

Simmer 5 minutes.

Chill to iciness and serve with whipped cream which has been sweetened to taste. Dust the cream lightly with cinnamon.

Enjoy the recipe but not without The Down East Dilettante.

SEE VIDEO TUTORIAL >>