A couple of weeks ago, my friend Fran invited me to help clean out a house in which friends of hers had grown up. Their mother passed away recently and they were in the process of clearing out to make way for the new owners. It was a large home that had been happily lived in for many years, and even after lots of work and multiple weekends of packing, sorting and trashing, there was still a whole lot left.

I was invited to come over because there was a substantial vintage cookbook collection, and Fran, knowing my interest in old food writing, figured I'd be happy to take a few boxes of books. I actually ended up with four grocery bags and two boxes of books (as well as half a dozen old canning jars).

The pamphlet you see above was tucked in among other location-based cookbooks (the previous owner was meticulous in her cookbook organization) and when I finally sat down at home to sort through the books, it grabbed my attention. First of all, I've never really thought of Maine as a state that produces a lot of potatoes, but apparently, at one point they did. Second, who knew that you could make desserts based on plain, old white potatoes? The recipe for the Potato Custard Pie is after the jump.
Potato Custard Pie
from the State of Maine Potato Cookbook

Note: The danger of a watery custard is eliminated by this recipe. The filling's texture and smoothness are improved byt the small quantity of potato in the pie but the dessert has no trace of potato flavor.

1 medium State of Maine potato
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 cup milk
Juice and grated rind of 1/2 lemon
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 pastry-lined pie plate (9-inch)

Pare potato, cook until tender and mash smooth. Add butter, or margarine and sugar; stir to a creamy consistency; cool Add egg yolks, milk, lemon juice and rind; blend well. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour into pastry shell and bake in moderately hot oven, 400 degrees, about 25 minutes or until crust is baked.