home recipes archives press reader raves about

In this Issue: Portuguese Sweet Bread, Butterscotch Meringue Pie, Alabama Ice Box Rolls Celebrity Citing Alfred Hitchcock's Quiche Lorraine, Al Capone's Favorite Minestrone Back from the Bar Trader Vic's Tonga Punch & Mai Tai Recipes Recipes Chefs Miss Most Chef Shaun Garcia's Crispy Fried Chicken Livers with Avery Island Ketchup Old Restaurant Favorites Shrimp Binyon, Binyon's Braised Ox Joints Jardiniere, DeMet's Cheese Puff Sandwich, Tam O'Shanter Inn's Mr. Mactavish Sandwich, Helen's Old Lantern Mushroom Barley Soup, Cantina Del Rio's Poblano Soup Tiki-Revival Recipes Lahala House Shellfish Polynesian, Don the Beachcomber's Hawaiian Chinese Spareribs Better Left Lost Salubrious Summer Salad Family Heirlooms Texas Lonnie's Lima Beans, Farmleigh Guinness Cake Department Store Recipes Hess Brothers' Strawberry Pie, Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins Recipes from Books to Buy Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale Beer Cheese, Chicago Style Italian Beef, Bourbon-Prune Bread Pudding Food Yarns Interview with Hal Binyon of Chicago's Binyon's

Hess Brothers' Fresh Strawberry Pie

This is reportedly the pie that once made Hess Brothers' department store of Allentown, Pa, famous. Miles-high, mounded with gel-sweetened fresh strawberries, and topped with whipped cream, Hess's pie was just plain legendary, says Michael Lisicky, who writes about department story history, and provided the recipe: "Hess's was always about retail theater, and this pie fit that." When the store closed in 1996, a long line of shoppers queued up to have their last piece. Thanks to Lisicky's aunt, who knew the person who used to make Hess's pies, you can now make your own at home.

print email
Makes 1 pie 9 - 11 inch pie
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 4 Tbsp corn starch
  • 1, 3-oz box strawberry-flavored gelatin
  • 1 1/2 quarts fresh strawberries
  • 1 baked pie crust (9 to 12-inch)
Instructions
  1. Whisk sugar, water and corn starch over medium heat until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.
  2. Stir in package of strawberry-flavored gelatin until incorporated.
  3. Chill mixture in refrigerator until cooled, but not hard-set
  4. While mixture is chilling, clean and hull strawberries. Fold into sweetened gel. Mound into baked crust. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour
  5. Top with whipped cream to your liking, and garnish with whole strawberries

Michael Lisicky wrote the book on U.S department store history Well, one of them anyway. Author of "Hutzler's: Where Baltimore Shops", Lisicky is also a department store restaurant buff and helped locate these two reader-requested recipes: Hess Brothers' Strawberry Pie, and, Jordan Marsh's Blueberry Muffins. Thanks Michael!

Recipes by Alphabet
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Recipes by Meal Part
Appetizers
Baked goods
Breakfast
Confections
Desserts
Drinks
Meat
Pasta
Poultry
Preserves and Pickles
Seafood
Salads
Sandwiches
Sauces and Salad dressings
Soups
Vegetables and side dishes