“It’s empty,” Hannah said, staring down at the red and white checked napkin that lined the bread basket. “I guess we’d better ask Dot to bring us another basket of bread before Mother and . . .”

“It’s here,” Dot interrupted her, setting a full basket on the table and whisking away the empty basket to hand to her busboy. “And so are your mother and Doc Knight. Sally’s bringing them over right now. And here’s the wine. Your mother called ahead to order it. She said something about the fact that they’d need it.”

Hannah glanced at Norman, who looked every bit as clueless as she was. “I wonder what that means,” she said.

“I don’t know, but I think we’re about to find out. Here they come and they don’t look happy.”

GRANDMA’S BUTTERMILK PIE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the center position.

Before you start, prepare one of the following:

Graham cracker crust (either make your own, or buy one at the store)

Shortbread cookie crust (either make your own, or buy one at the store)

9-inch deep-dish pie shell baked according to package directions

Hannah’s 1^st Note: Sally said her chef’s grandmother preferred this pie in a graham cracker crust. Personally, I like it in any of the above crusts.

6 Tablespoons (¾ stick, 3 ounces) salted butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

2 large eggs, separated (the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another)

¼ cup all-purpose flour (pack it down when you measure it)

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice (Sally says her chef’s grandmother used lemon juice in the winter and lime juice in the summer—she doesn’t know why)

¼ teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated is so much better!)

¼ teaspoon cardamom (if you don’t have it, use more nutmeg instead)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature (if you don’t want to wait for your buttermilk to warm up to room temperature, pour it into a microwave-safe measuring cup and heat it for 20 seconds on HIGH in the microwave.)

Use a medium-size mixing bowl to combine the butter and the sugar. Beat them until the sugar is completely incorporated and the mixture is light and fluffy.

Hannah’s 2^nd Note: Sally uses an electric mixer when she does this. You can also do it by hand, but it takes a bit of muscle.

If you haven’t done so already, separate the whites of the eggs from the yolks. Add only the egg yolks to the mixture and beat well.

Add the flour, lemon or lime juice, nutmeg, cardamom, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix them in thoroughly. The resulting mixture should be smooth with no lumps.

With the mixer running, add the buttermilk a bit at a time, pouring slowly and mixing it in until it is incorporated.

Use another bowl to whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. (Soft peaks droop at the tips when you stop mixing and raise the whisk or beaters.)

When the egg whites have formed soft peaks, it’s time to “temper” them with the heavier mixture. You do this by pouring a small amount of buttermilk pie batter into the bowl of whipped egg whites and folding it in gently, just until it’s incorporated.

Hannah’s 3^rd Note: I use a rubber spatula to do this. The object is to incorporate the buttermilk batter, but to leave as much air as possible in the whipped egg whites.

Now it’s time to reverse directions. Pick up the bowl with the tempered egg whites and fold them gently into the buttermilk mixture. Fold only until the egg whites have been incorporated. Again, your goal is to preserve as much air as possible in the mixture.

Pour the final mixture into the baked pie shell, smoothing the top if needed.

Bake the Buttermilk Pie at 350 degrees F. for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling is lightly browned and barely moves when the pie is jiggled (with potholders, of course).

Cool your pie on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack until it reaches room temperature.

This pie can be served warm, or at room temperature.

Refrigerate any leftovers.

Hannah’s 4^th Note: When Sally serves this pie at the Lake Eden Inn, she centers the wedges on pie plates and decorates the rim of the pie plate with raspberry sauce and lemon or lime sauce. She also brings a bowl with sweetened, whipped cream to the table. When I serve it at home, I don’t get that fancy. I simply place a mint leaf on top of each slice, and I double the recipe when I serve it to Mother. Even though it’s not chocolate, she’s crazy about it! Perhaps it’s because she’s always wanted to be a Southern Belle. And PLEASE don’t tell her I said that!