I'm on a roll strawberry pie

For many years, a German restaurant called Haussner's flourished in Baltimore. The male owner died and the business was continued by his widow until she retired and reluctantly closed.

That restaurant will be forever missed. (Any Baltimoreans here?). It was a combination of great food and an art gallery - the art was often good, often bad, but it was Haussner's hallmark, along with the food. Among other dishes, it was famous for its strawberry pie, recreated here:

* Exported from MasterCook *

Haussner's Strawberry Pie

FOR PIE: 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon strawberry flavoring 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring 1 1/2 cups boiling water 3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup water 1 cup Pastry Cream (recipe follows) 1 9 inch flaky pie shell -- prebaked 1 1/2 pints strawberries -- washed and hulled whipped cream for decoration 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds PASTRY CREAM: 1 cup milk 3 egg yolks 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 tbsp butter -- softened

To make a glaze, add sugar, strawberry flavoring and food coloring to boiling water. Add dissolved cornstarch and stir over medium-high heat until mixture thickens. Remove from stove and set aside.

Prepare Pastry Cream and let it cool, then spread in bottom of baked pie shell. Pour in 1/2 pint of strawberries (if large berries, cut in half lengthwise), cover with half the water-sugar glaze and add remaining strawberries. Cover with remaining glaze. Decorate the edge with a circle of whipped cream and sprinkle with slivered almonds. Chill and serve.

Pastry Cream: Scald milk in a saucepan and set aside. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until light in color and very thick, then beat in the flour. Pour the warm milk slowly into egg mixture and blend well. Pour mixture into saucepan and cook, stirring with a whisk, over low heat until mixture comes to a boil. It will appear lumpy at first; keep whisking. Make sure mixture does not stick to bottom of pan and burn.

Remove from heat. Add vanilla and butter. Cover surface with buttered waxed paper so it does not form a skin. Allow to cool.

Dora