White Potato Pie

Our local newspaper has an annual cooking contest in the spring. The three times I have entered it I have won first place in my category, but never the grand prize or reserve grand prize. I did not enter it the last two years because I was employed by said paper during contest time, but did get to taste all of the final entries (well worth the exile).

This year, however, I intend to win, all in the spirit of fun, of course. Well, yeah, I could use the money too.

I'm entering in two categories; desserts and main dishes. While browsing through my data base of recipes and all of my old cookbooks, I tried to find something out of the ordinary, but still simple and delicious. One requirement of the contest is to make a dish that the average cook can prepare in her own kitchen without having to buy too many exotic ingredients. Pooh! I really was up for a challenge. However, I did find a recipe for White Potato Pie in one of my cookbooks, Sweety Pies, by Patty Pinner.

At first I thought, well that sounds pale and stale. But the recipe is quite nice, easy to make, and actually turned out to be just as good, if not more interesting, than her sister,
Sweet Potato Pie. Let me know your thoughts!

WHITE POTATO PIE

One 9-inch single pie crust (fitted into a plate, edged and crimped)
2 medium-sized white potatoes (I chose Yukon Gold)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 large eggs, beaten
Makes one 9-inch pie

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the crust and set aside.

Peel the potatoes, cut into chunks, and cook in boiling water until tender; drain. In a medium-size bowl, mash the potatoes and combine with the butter, sugar, baking powder and salt until well mixed. Stir in the milk and cream, stirring until well blended.
Stir in the extracts, then the nutmeg. Add the eggs and mix well. Pour the filling into the pie crust, place in the oven, and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Top each slice with a scoop of lemon-flavored ice cream for added flair and extra flavor. The illustration in the cookbook showed the pie garnished with thin lemon slices.