During the first week of VB's new show, "VB In The Middle", he had a guest on, Mary Finnegan, from Gross, Nebraska who is one of two occupants that live in that town. Ancestry.com reached out to her because they were researching the ancesters who founded that town and all that were related to the current occupants, the Finnegans. Gross is the tiniest town in the United States of America and so Ancestry took on this project to reunite the ancesters and host a Thanksgiving gathering. This is a video of the encounter/reunion that was organized for Thanksgiving:
After hearing this story, VB was intrigued and so we invited Mary on the program to discuss the events that transpired and to tell us about her town, Gross, the tiniest town in America! In conversation she discussed how she operates the only inn in town and sells/serves about 10 pies every Tuesday that gets sold out fairly quickly from patrons that visit from out of town just to come to the inn and buy her pies! VB asked Mary what her most popular or demanded pie was and she said it was a toss up between peach pie or sour cream and raisin. Now us producers gasped at the notion of "sour cream/raisin pie". On the one hand we never heard of it (probably because we are not from the midwest) and on the other hand it didn't sound too appealing...
With that being said we looked it up and found the recipe for you all to try at home if it tickles your fancy! Here are the ingredients:
- 2 cups dairy sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 cup raisins
- 3 egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 baked 9-inch pie shell
Directions:
- In a heavy medium saucepan stir together the sour cream, 1-1/2 cups sugar, flour, egg yolks, and raisins. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Keep warm.
- For meringue, place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed about 4 minute more or until mixture forms stiff glossy peaks (tips stand straight).
- Pour warm filling into baked pie shell. Spread meringue over filling. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 15 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Chill 3 to 6 hours before serving; cover for longer storage.
If you make the Sour Cream/Raisin pie, we want to know about it and hear about how it tasted!! Send us your pictures and maybe even bring us a slice of pie! We're intrigued!
-Producer Lightning