Thursday, December 1, 2011

lemon meringue pie


By the time I got to the signup sheet for my son Matthew's preschool Thanksgiving party, the only things left were things like napkins, plates, (boring!) and ... lemon meringue pie.  Really?  For Thanksgiving?  In any case, I have never made lemon meringue pie, so of course I instantly put my name down!  I wouldn't have ever thought to associate lemon meringue pie with Thanksgiving, but at least this year I didn't have to make an entire turkey for the party like I did last year!


For the crust I used my favorite all-butter crust recipe - I've used this crust for everything from rhubarb piechicken pot pie, pocket pies, savory tarts, and fruit tarts, and it always comes out great.


For the lemon curd filling, I chose this recipe from Gourmet on Epicurious, except I increased the lemon zest to one tablespoon (instead of 2 teaspoons), for more of a lemony flavor.
I also used the recipe's meringue topping, but instead of just spreading all the meringue on top of the pie, I used a piping bag fitted with a large star tip to pipe the meringue in decorative swirls.


Once assembled, the pie went back into the oven for the meringue brown nicely.


When it came out of the oven, I was so excited to try it since I had never made one before!  And Matthew was so excited to bring it to school the next day!


Later on after the party, I asked Matthew how he liked the pie.  He said he loved it, except ... he didn't like the yellow part!!!  But, that's the "lemon" in "lemon meringue", I explained!  Alas, he thought it was too sour.  On the other hand, my husband and I both thought the filling was a perfect balance of tart, sweet, and creamy.  And especially delicious when combined with flaky crust and soft clouds of meringue!  Maybe one day when Matthew grows up, he too will learn to love the "lemon" in "lemon meringue"...


13 comments:

  1. Lemon pie is one of my favorites, of course I have to make with your key-lime as here in Peru we do not have the yellow lemon you use. But at the end it's quite the same, a sweet citric flavor all together.

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  2. Hehe I think kids often have astronger sweet tooth. This sounds perfect for my taste!

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  3. looks lovely i adore lemon meringue pie. Your son is do cute!

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  4. I'd recommend a condensed milk version of the filling. It works really well and kids definitely love it

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  5. I laughed when you said your son did not like the yellow part. It reminded me of my kids when they were little. I am always looking for a good lemon custard or curd to go in the pie. Martha's crust is the best ever. I always get complements so now this is all I use.

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  6. I love my yellowey part to be sour :) Good move with the extra zest! I bet your pie was a huge hit!

    Buzzed

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  7. This looks delicious. Would love for you to share this with us over at foodepix.com.

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  8. Sounds delicious. I love the pretty yellow color of the curd.

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  9. This sounds so good!!!! Yum!

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