Sour cream raisin pie — the way to at least one man's heart.

Friendly Competition

Jul 19, 2012

By Laura Johnson

So I’ve been asked to be a judge for the Family Heirloom Recipe Competition at the South Dakota State Fair on September 2. It’ll be the first year for the contest in South Dakota, although the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance has held similar events in other Midwestern states.

To compete, cooks share treasured family recipes that date back to before 1950. Full details are available on pages 38-39 of the state fair’s exhibit premium book. The contest is designed to teach us more about South Dakota food culture and traditions, so the history of the recipe is nearly as important as its taste. If you want to get an edge on the competition, this judge very jokingly recommends you bring pie — that’s my favorite.

It’s my grandpa’s favorite too, and the women of the family know it. In fact, the Mark ladies have been using pie to vie for the affections of Grandpa Donald for well over 60 years now. It’s been a very tasty squabble.

It all started when my grandparents were first married. My grandmother was just 19. Being relatively inexperienced in the kitchen, Maridell’s cooking could not hold a candle to her mother-in-law’s — and her new husband wasn’t afraid to tell her so. Donald’s mother was of the “a pinch of this, a handful of that” school, a naturally gifted cook with years of practice feeding her family of hungry Danes. It was a major victory when Grandma Maridell finally found something she could make better — sour cream raisin pie, her husband’s favorite dessert.

Alas, her victory was short-lived. Once her daughters came of pie-making age, they too mastered the secrets of sour cream raisin, and have been competing ever since to win their father’s heart through dessert. My mother thinks she is the champion, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Donald bestowed the ultimate compliment on whoever had most recently supplied him with pie. He’s wily that way.

Sadly, I have never made this popular recipe, so it is impossible for me offer up any advice or to elaborate on the admittedly brief instructions. I have been barred from the Mark family competition, as I am already dangerously close to being Grandpa’s favorite. It doesn't bother me, though. Sometimes you don’t have to play to win.

Sour Cream Raisin Pie

From Maridell Mark

2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup raisins

Combine and cook in heavy pan until thick. Add to baked pie crust. Top with meringue and brown in oven.