Question: While spending the day in Waxahachie, Texas, we lunched at the Dove's Nest. I had one of their specialties, Buttermilk Pie, for dessert. It was fabulous, and I would very much like the recipe.
- Shirley A. Hanson,Cottage Grove, Minn.
Answer: In the mid-1800s, the Tonkawa, Kickapoo, Bidai, Anadarko and Waco Indians who roved and hunted north Texas prairies made their home on the banks of a creek they named Waxahachie (pronounced Wawks-uh-hatchie and meaning "Buffalo Creek"). Once settlers discovered the beautiful area, they put down roots, built homes and began to ply their trade, paving the way for the cattle barons who had made their fortunes during the King Cotton era and who would enable the town to become a major trading center. Waxahachie's splendid homes and magnificent courthouse reflect the town's turn-of-the-century wealth.
Driving up and down the streets of Waxahachie today, one sees vintage America in mint condition. The Ellis County Courthouse, described by author James Michener as "a fairy-tale palace," is the town centerpiece, and its unusual facade is an important piece of Wa-xa-ha-chie history. Harry Hurley, the sculptor hired to carve the outside of the courthouse, fell in love with local beauty Mabel Frame. His initial carvings immortalized her beauty, but when she rejected him, his carvings became disfigured gargoyles with ugly, twisted and tortured grimaces that are part of the courthouse facade to this day.
An impressive 20 percent of the buildings listed in the Texas section of the National Register of Historic Places are in Waxahachie - the "Gingerbread City" just 20 miles from Dallas. The town's period architecture, which includes Gothic, Victorian, Gingerbread and Queen Anne, showcases the era's rage for curlicue cupolas, trellis work, gables, large porches and combination roof lines. Multicolored facades - owners, true to the rules of restoration, spruce up homes with original paint colors such as deep plum and lime green - have provided backdrops and sets for more than 30 motion pictures. Beginning with "Bonnie and Clyde" in 1967, Waxahachie's movie industry shifted into overdrive as Hollywood filmmakers returned to the "Best Little Hollywood in Texas" to film movies such as "Places in the Heart" (Sally Field), "Tender Mercies" (Robert Duvall), and "The Trip to Bountiful" (Geraldine Page).
From the Ellis County Courthouse on the town square, it's a pleasant stroll down the street to the Dove's Nest, a French country-style restaurant, where one of the top draws is a slice of heavenly Buttermilk Pie. The tang of the buttermilk disappears, leaving a rich, almost lemony, flavor.
BUTTERMILK PIE
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 nine-inch pie pastry
Place flour in large bowl of mixer. Add melted butter, buttermilk, sugar, vanilla and eggs and beat until well blended and smooth. Pour mixture into prepared pie plate. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 45 to 55 minutes or until center is firm.
Yields 8 servings: One 8-slice pie or 8 tart-sized pies.