February 18, 2008

Meyer Lemon Pie ............YUM!


I have a Meyer Lemon bush in my yard. I always said when I came to CA. I was going to have one. For some reason I just didn't in my first house.........then when I moved to this town I planted one at the old house my ex kept. It was slow to produce but in a couple yrs it did. The day I left one of the movers who moved me asked if he could have some. Since it was now my ex's house and I really didn't care I said sure help yourself to as many as you want. The man picked a case of lemons! There were still some left on the bush too.

Then I moved here....I started doing some landscaping when I moved here 7yrs ago. I decided to plant another Meyer Lemon bush. Again it took a couple of yrs and I was just dying to have my own again. Finally about the 3rd yr. it took off. What you see up there is whats on it right now. Ive been using them all winter too. I kept promising my bf a lemon pie and yesterday I finally decided to do it. What you see below is my results.


MEYER LEMON MERINGUE PIE 8 servings

1 c. white sugar
2 tb. all purpose flour
3 tb.. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. water
2 lemons, juiced and zested, finely mince the zest
2 tb. butter

4 egg yolks, beaten
1 (9in.) pie shell baked
4 egg whites
6 tb. white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


To make filling: In a med. saucepan, whisk together 1 c. sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and zest. Cook over med. high heat, stirring frequently, till mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Take off heat and stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small mixing bowl and gradually add about a 1/2c. of the hot sugar mixture. Whisk briskly into egg yolks otherwise eggs may scramble. This is to temper the eggs so they don't cook immediately when added back. Slowly whisk egg yolk mixture back into sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly till thick. Remove from heat and pour filling into baked shell.


To make Meringue: In a lg. glass bowl, whip egg whites till foamy. Slowly add remaining 6tb. sugar and continue to whip till still peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust. Bake in preheated oven for 10 min. or till meringue is golden.


I was feeling lazy tho and didn't want to make pie crust and had no store bought in the house. (Yes I use them alot, they are good and save time). but I did have some frozen puff pastry in the freezer so I took it out to thaw while making the other stuff. One sheet wouldn't cover the pie plate so I took a chance and doubled them and rolled them together. When I placed it in the pie pan I just tucked any overhanging edges under. I wont do it this way again. It was too thick and while the pastry tastes ok.....its really hard to cut with a fork! Me and the man were laughing at that last nite.... so if you use puff pastry, use one roll it well and h
ope for the best. It was an experiment for me. Otherwise the pie was just delicious!


This was what that pie shell looked like before filling. It puffed up so much I thought the filling might not fit but it was ok.



Adding the butter to the cooked and thickened sugar mixture.

Ingredients to finish filling.......beat those yolks, add a bit of that hot stuff to it and beat well again then pour and whisk back into that pan and finish cooking.


Pie shelled filled with finished lemon filling.


Ready for the oven, topped with meringue.


TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA .........FINISHED PIE.

Pie filling nice and firm not running when sliced , totally YUMMY!

ABOUT MEYER LEMONS

If you like the tang of lemons, but not the pucker, Meyer lemons are for you. They are not nearly as tart as conventional lemons, and their peel is slightly sweet. Like a regular lemon perfected, the color and juice are amped up and the peel is thinned down.

Like so much citrus fruit, the Meyer lemon was originally found in China. In 1905 the US Department of Agriculture hired Frank Meyer as a plant hunter and in 1908 he "discovered" the Meyer lemon in Peking (now Beijing). It is believed that the Meyer lemon is a hybrid between Citrus limon, the lemon, and Citrus reticulata, the mandarin orange. It is a very hardy plant and bears fruit from November through April.

Meyer lemons are great in many recipes where you would normally use regular lemons like souffle, lemon curd and with seafood, but you can also do so much more with them. The easiest way to use them might be in salad dressing. Because they aren't as tart as regular lemons they make a fruitier more complex vinaigrette. The peel is also very desirable so I recommend using it in recipes like marmalade or candied peel. If you end up with more than you can use, consider making Moroccan preserved lemons or freezing the juice in ice cube trays to use later.

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