Following in the footsteps of the Clark cooks before me, I was encouraged to take up a manuscript and bake a pie for this year’s Pi Day celebration. Our manuscript and cookery collection at the Clark afforded me many options to choose from, but rather than bake an apple or cherry pie and make it easier on myself, I chose to tackle a potato pie with bone marrow. The process of making this pie, assisted greatly by fellow MLIS student and Reading Room Clerk, Colette Calegari, was curious but rewarding. The first hurdle began even before I entered the kitchen. Ikumi Crocoll—Instruction and Engagement Librarian—was kind enough to procure the ingredients but that proved no easy task. As it turns out, barberries and marrow bones are not as easy to come upon as they were in 1688. Some adjustments had to be made. Beef tallow was substituted for bone marrow and a gluten free crust was used so I could enjoy the fruits of a day of cooking. The process in the kitchen went off with very little resistance. The caudle topping was a feature of great interest to the library staff. It appealed to some (myself included), while Derek Quezada Meneses—Head Librarian—notably likened it to melted packing plastic. The finished pie was similar to your usual sweet potato pie, except for its persistent fatty texture (owing to the beef tallow and two sticks of butter), and strong mace flavor.
If you are interested in watching the process, there is a video up on the Clark Instagram and if you are interested in viewing the recipes yourself, they can be found at the following call numbers: MS.1950.023, RS87 .K37 1671 * . I hope you all had a marvelous Pi Day!
-Bailey Hart, Instruction and Engagement Fellow, UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library