Baked into Memory 1: When life hands you lemons, make lemon meringue pie

Cathy's Recipe for Lemon Meringue Pie

12 graham crackers crushed or about 2 cups of crumbs
1/2 cup of butter or 1 stick melted, plus 2 T butter, softened 
2 T of sugar 
salt 
5 large eggs, separated 
 1 1/4 cup water 
1/3 cup cornstarch 
1 3/4 cup sugar, divided (plus 2 T, save 1/2 cup for the meringue) 
1/2 cup lemon juice 
1 T lemon zest 
1/2 t cream of tartar 
1/4 vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 F. 

For the crust, you need 12 graham crackers crushed or about 2 cups of crumbs, a 1/2 cup of butter or 1 stick melted, 2 T of sugar, and a pinch of salt. Stir all of these together and press into a 9” pie dish, pack the crumbs firmly in the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Remove it from the oven, and turn the oven down to 325 F.

Now the lemon filling. You need 5 large eggs. Separate these and set the whites aside for the meringue. 1 1/4 cup water, 1/3 cornstarch, 1 1/4 sugar, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1 T lemon zest, 2 T butter slightly softened. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, whisk the water, cornstarch, sugar, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Bring this mixture to a simmer until it’s thickened. This will take about 5 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat.

Slowly add the lemon mixture to the whisked egg yolks. Add a little at a time, mix it together before adding more. You are tempering the eggs. If you add the hot mixture too fast, you’ll cook the eggs and end up with scrambled eggs rather than a creamy custard. Last whisk in the butter. Set this aside and now we’re going to make the meringue.

For the meringue, you’ll use the 5 egg whites that you separated earlier, 1/2 t cream of tartar, 1/2 c sugar, 1/4 vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. This will take a few minutes. And a quick note here, a handheld mixer is fine if you don’t have a stand mixer. Next add the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Continue whisking on high until stiff peaks form. This is going to take about 4 minutes.

Pour the warm lemon filling into the graham cracker crust. Then spread the meringue over the filling. Be sure to go all the way to the crust, making sure the meringue touches the crust or the pan all the way around. This prevents the meringue from shrinking while baking. Bake the pie in a preheated oven, 325 F for about 15 minutes. The peaks on the meringue will lightly brown on top. After 15 minutes, check the pie. After that, check the meringue every minute so it’s not over browned. Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.

Kirsten's Recipe for Pork Hand Pies

1 lb. cooked pork tenderloin
2 Tbsp. butter 
¼ tsp.salt 
¼ tsp. nutmeg 
1 tsp. pepper
1 medium yellow onion
4 large tart apples like Granny Smith, Macintosh, or Macoun (I like to use a combination) peeled, cored, and sliced
2 Tbsp. sugar 
½ cup Rhine wine, cider (alcoholic or non), even water will work. 
Pastry for a double-crust pie, divided into six rounds

Preheat the oven to 350°. 

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it stand until soft. 

Cube or dice about a pound of cooked pork loin. Peel, core, and slice four or so tart, firm cooking apples. Peel and dice the onion.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat; add onions and cook until soft abnd just starting to brown.
Add pork and apples, along with ¼ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, and a teaspoon of pepper. Add a ½ cup of water, sweet white wine, or even cider– hard or not– and bring to a simmer. You just want to soften up the apples, and get the flavors to combine.
Cook until apples are soft, liquid is largely dispersed, and the apples are softened.

Remove the pan from the heat.

Lightly flour your work surface. Roll out one of the dough balls (or more if you have space!)

Place a heaping tablespoon of filling– more like a ¼ cup, like a tablespoon you set the table with–in the center. Crimp the crust around the filling until you have a half dozen or so half-moon shaped pies.

Placed on a baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 30-45 minutes, depending on oven speed. The crust should golden and any visible filling will be steaming or bubbling.

Let cool, wrap in a cloth napkin, and enjoy!

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This program has been hosted by Kirsten Hammerstrom and Cathy Myers. Produced by UMBC Podcasting Essentials and Kirsten and Cat. 

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