Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Lemon Meringue Pie

Soon after my husband and I were married some 45 years ago, we decided to have some friends over for dinner one Saturday evening.  As a new bride and considering that it was our first chance to entertain in our own home, I carefully planned the menu. As part of that menu I decided to make a lemon meringue pie for dessert.  After all, how difficult could it be?

Now my mother was the pie baker at my childhood home.  I don't ever remember actually baking a pie, but I had certainly watched her often enough. Of course she made pie crusts without a recipe and by just knowing when it "felt" right.  So I dutifully pulled out my cookbooks, found a recipe for lemon meringue pie and for the pie crust that would be needed and set to work.  I carefully measured the flour and Crisco, added the water a little at a time - all the things the recipe said I needed to do.  But alas, that's when things failed.  I couldn't get that pie crust to hold together, couldn't roll it out, couldn't get anything to look right.  I was in literal tears over that pie.  My poor newly married husband didn't know how to respond and though he cooks quite well, he didn't have much experience with baking.  He was not about to give advice on pie-baking to his crying wife! Pretty wise, don't you think?  Instead he tried to console me and tell me it didn't matter.  I don't remember what we ended up having for dessert at that first dinner party, but I am pretty sure it wasn't lemon meringue pie.

Over the years I have tried every "no fail" pie crust that friends and family suggested, but still to no avail.  Finally I got smart.  If I wanted to make a pie, I discovered that Mrs. Smith had good ready to fill and bake crusts in the freezer section of the grocery store or Pillsbury roll out and bake in the refrigerator section (and the store brand equivalents are just as good), so I have quit trying to make my own crusts and use theirs instead.  

I don't make many pies and often the ones I do make are fresh fruit pies with a graham cracker or shortbread crust.  But last week when hubby brought home a nice bagful of beautiful lemons from our local Costco, I said, "I think I will make a lemon meringue pie with some of these lemons."  My husband and I had fun reminiscing about that first failed attempt and I have made a few over the years but it was fun remembering that first pie as well.

So this morning I looked through Pinterest and the internet and found a recipe by Alton Brown that I thought I would try.  A recipe by Alton Brown - he should know what he is doing.  And so I baked a lemon meringue pie.



Looks pretty good, doesn't it.  I guess the proof will be in the tasting at dinner tonight!

Update:  I still have not conquered the  lemon meringue pie. Apparently I did not cook the lemon pudding long enough as it did not set up. Even though it is "soupy" it does have a delicious flavor!

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