To supplement all the pie advice, I purchased a pible, a word I coined for a pie bible. The author of the pible, Ken Haedrich, is a pie master extraordinaire. His 640 page tome, succinctly titled "Pie", is a pie novice's salvation. Like the wise men of the bible, he too is a Magi, but a Magi of Pie, bearing gifts of foolproof recipes and sage words of pie baking wisdom. He includes several different pastry recipes in his book, most of which I will valiantly attempt throughout my yearlong wanderings in the vast land of pie making. But for starters I settled on his basic flaky pie pastry. I paired this crust recipe with his recipe for classic lemon meringue pie. Basic and classic. Those are reassuring words for a pie disciple like me.
Haedrich states that lemon meringue pie "is the measure of excellence among home bakers across the country." How will I, a pie-challenged northerner, measure up? Following his recipe to a tee, I immediately got sidetracked by spending the first half hour trying to find my never used pastry blender, an odd looking gadget that looks like a backwards second cousin to a whisk. After I unearthed it from the deep bowels of my utensil drawer, I got overwhelmed with the multi-step recipe: combine, toss, mix, scatter, cut in, sprinkle, toss some more, press, pack, chill, knead, flatten, roll, invert, freeze, pre-bake, cool. Whew! All that for one basic pastry crust, and my two hour effort yielded a misshapen crust slumped on one side. This was evolving into a classic disaster.
Fortunately, I had more success with my lemon filling. The recipe was similar to the previous pies I recently made. The meringue, however, proved to be more challenging. For some reason, my meringue lacked volume and didn't quite form that lovely dome shape atop the pie. And word to the wise, when the Magi of Pie says to not walk away while the meringue is browning in a broiling hot oven, DO NOT WALK AWAY! I did for just a couple of minutes and returned to an overbrowned meringue . And after chilling the whole pie, the meringue shrunk a bit and then began to weep as did I as I flashbacked to my 1985 pie fiasco, or pie-asco, if you will, since I like to make up hybrid words. My 2011 lemon meringue wasn't a pretty pie but it did have a nice sweet-tart flavor thanks to the yummy filling. And the pie angels must have spared my pie crust which thankfully wasn't of hockey puck consistency. But it wasn't a heavenly, light flaky crust either.
Not to worry. Armed with my pible, I'll have 45 more opportunities this year to redeem myself.
LEMON MERINGUE PIE
Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/4 cup cold water
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Toss well by hand to mix. Scatter the butter over the dry ingredients and toss to mix. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut or rub the butter into the flour until it is broken into pieces the size of small peas. Add the shortening and continue to cut until all of the fat is cut into small pieces. Sprinkle half of the water over the mixture. Toss well with a fork to dampen the mixture. Add the remaining water, 1 1/2-2 tablespoons at a time, and continue to toss and mix, pulling the mixture up from the bottom of the bowl on the upstroke and gently pressing down on the downstroke. Dough made my hand often needs a bit more water. If necessary, add water 1-2 tablespoons at a time until the pastry can be packed.
Using your hands, pack the pastry into a ball as you would pack a snowball. Knead the ball once or twice, then flatten the ball into a 3/4-inch-thick disk on a floured work surface. Wrap the disk in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight before rolling.
On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the pastry into a 13-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert the pastry over a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie pan, center, and peel off the paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan, without stretching it, and sculpt the edge so it is just slightly higher than the rim. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove and line pastry shell with foil and place dried beans or pie weights into foil to prevent pastry from puffing up during baking. Pre-bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove foil, beans or pie weights and then prick the pastry all over the bottom with a fork. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake the pie shell for 10-12 minutes. Watch carefully. If the pie shell starts to puff up, prick the problem spot with a fork. Remove from oven and cool. Pie shell can be frozen for later use.
Filling:
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium-size saucepan, whisking to mix. Add the water, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Add the egg yolks, whisking the mixture well. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking virtually nonstop, until the mixture comes to a boil, 5-7 minutes. Reduce the heat slightly and continue to cook, whisking nonstop, for about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, one piece at a time. Immediately pour the filling into the cooled pie shell, jiggling the pan to settle it. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly over the filling, taking care not to leave any gaps or air pockets, to prevent a skin from forming. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for up to 1 day if you're not adding the meringue right away.
Meringue:
4 large egg whites at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Big pinch of salt
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Just before serving, preheat the broiler and make the meringue. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. Beat in the cream of tartar and salt. Gradually add the superfine sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until the whites are thick and glossy though not dry. Add the vanilla and beat briefly. Mound the meringue over the filling, spreading it so it is domed in the center and touching the crust all around the edge.
Place the pie on the center oven rack and briefly brown the meringue under the broiler. It will just take a very short time, so don't walk away from the oven. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and serve right away. Or cover with loosely tented aluminum foil, making sure the meringue doesn't come in contact with the foil, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
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