The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie
Let’s start right out by saying that the Hoosier Mama is not in Hoosierland anymore. She did start out as a Hoosier (yes, she grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from Indiana University).
But Paula Haney (“The Hoosier Mama”) based her pie business in Chicago, Illinois — specifically, at 1618-1/2 Chicago Avenue (in the heart of the historic Ukrainian Village).
Once the pastry chef at Trio in Evanston (the first suburb north of Chicago), she struck out on her own a little less than 10 years ago, intent on establishing a place to get really good pie.
Ground central is a century-old building just 55 feet long with only 8-1/2 feet of storefront — yet, by their fourth anniversary in the shop she’d turned out more than 100,000 pies by hand.
Fortunately for the rest of us, Haney (with the help of Allison Scott) has also turned out a text that is a complete guidebook to pie-making. There’s no glossing over the fact that learning how to make a good crust takes practice, and that it’s tedious to slice all that fruit for the filling — but, in the end, you have something magnificent to serve family and friends.
If you aren’t close enough to the Hoosier Mama Pie Shop to buy one of hers, buy the book and make your own. Your Road Trips Foodie wants to try the blackberry and passion fruit chiffon meringue pie — oh, my!
The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie: Deluxe Recipes is published by Agate Midway ($29.95) is available in bookstores and on Amazon.com. (Can you say “Christmas present”?)
