Lemon Meringue Pie (with tips)

Probably the most difficult pie to make out of my three family favorites is the lemon meringue pie. If you miss a step, do a step wrong, or fudge it, the whole pie will flop. For instance, trying to skimp on sugar, or using something other than honest-to-goodness sugar (Splenda is a definite no-no), you will end up with soup. If you are not careful when getting the lemon zest and you get some of the pith (the white stuff), even a little bit will make your pie bitter and give you stomach aches. I HIGHLY recommend that you read this recipe thoroughly and be prepared before you begin. On the other hand, if you perfect this pie, you will have a mouth-watering, deliciously tangy pie that beats the pants off of any pathetic lemon-pie-impostor. So here we go!
Lemon Meringue Pie

Pie Shell

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoon shortening

4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Procedure

1. In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl.

2. Gather pastry into a ball and divide into two parts, and shape into two flattened rounds on a lightly floured surface. Wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

3. Roll pastry on lightly floured surface, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate or 3 inches larger than a 10- or 11- inch tart pan. Fold pastry into fourths and place in pie plate; or roll pastry loosely around rolling pin and transfer to pie plate. Unfold or unroll pastry and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side and being careful not to stretch pastry, which will cause it to shrink when baked.

4. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate; flute. 5. Bake pie shell at 475 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.

6. Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees and proceed to the filling.

*Crust recipe and directions courtesy of Betty Crocker Cookbook, 10th Edition.

Pie Filling
Ingredients
For two pies, use the doubled measurements in red.
1 1/2 cup white granulated sugar (3 cups)
1/3 cup plus 1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch (2/3 cup plus 2 heaping tablespoons)
     Note: Don't skimp or you will end up with soup.
1/2 cup water (1 cup)
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten (6 egg yolks)
3 tablespoons butter (6 tablespoons)
about 2 tsp grated lemon peel (4 tsp)
     Note: You must have this for the right flavor. Use a microplane zester for best results, and finely zest the lemon before you squeeze it. Will probably take about three (six) lemons, which is about how many you will need for the juice.
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 cup)
     Note: Approx. 3 (6) lemons. Must be fresh.

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a 1 1/2 quart saucepan, mix--NOT over heat--sugar and cornstarch first, then gradually stir in water.
3. Cook mixture over medium heat (not high), stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils, turning translucent. Takes about a half hour. Be careful, as it will be hot and popping.
4. Boil mixture for 1 minute while stirring.
5. For this next part, you need two people. Stir half of the hot mixture into your lightly beaten egg yolks. Spoon it in SLOWLY while stirring constantly. Keep the pot on the stove and KEEP STIRRING!
6. Take your new egg yolk mixture and spoon it all into the pot, slowly.
7. Boil and stir for 1 minute, then remove from stove.
8. QUICKLY, stir in the butter.
9. Add lemon zest and lemon juice, and keep stirring. Mixture will start to harden if you do this all too slowly and it won't be smooth, so stir, stir, STIR!
10. Pour mixture into prepared pie shells.

Meringue
Your meringue ingredients and tools should be measured out and ready before you even begin the filling.

Ingredients
For a 9-inch meringue. For two pies, use the doubled measurements in red.
4 egg whites (8 egg whites)
     Note: Egg whites must be at room temperature. If you get any yolk in the white at all, it won't work at all.
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (1/2 tsp)
6 tablespoon white sugar (12 tablespoons)
1/2 tsp vanilla (1 tsp)

Procedure
1. Beat egg and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy.
2. Beat in sugar, one tablespoon at a time (meringue will be gritty if you don't).
3. Add vanilla, then beat until mixture is thick and glossy. Don't overdo it as it will be dry, but don't underdo it either. Peaks must be stiff, but able to curl over a bit.
4. Spoon meringue onto pie, putting meringue up against the crust to seal the pie so that the meringue doesn't pull away from the crust when it cools.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. Cool away from drafts or else the meringue will shrink, pulling away from the crust.

After all this work, enjoy your masterpiece! Or, if you didn't get it right the first time, try, try again. My mom spent an entire summer making pies til they were coming out of her ears so that she could become a master at making this pie.

Pan Fried Trout

Trout is probably the most often-caught freshwater fish in the western United States. Many of us have fond memories of going camping and fishing in the summer and eating these tasty fish. They have a fantastic flavor that does best with a simple recipe. If you do happen to buy your fish, make sure that it is fresh. Fresh fish will have bright, clear eyes, firm flesh, and will NOT smell fishy at all. If it has any smell, it will be a wet, semi-musty smell, but definitely not fishy. A fishy fish is a spoiled fish.

Simple Pan Fried Trout

Ingredients

Trout, freshly caught
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Butter
Lemon wedges or slices

Procedure

1. Clean the trout by slitting the belly lengthwise and scooping out the innards. Discard. Remove the vein that runs along the spine. If it is a larger trout, you can cut the head and tail off to fit it in your pan. Pull the head backwards until the spine snaps and then cut it off.
2. If the trout is from a clean water source you trust, you can eat the skin. If this is the case, wash off the slime and remove the scales by scraping the back of a knife against the grain of the scales. Otherwise, just wash the slime off. On smaller fish with smaller scales, you might not even care to remove the scales.
3. Set fish aside on a paper towel or brown paper bag. Do not dry.
3. Heat skillet to medium-high heat.
4. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge whole fish in mixture.
5. Add butter to skillet and swirl around to coat bottom of skillet. Add fish. Cook until fish is browned and releases from pan. Flip.
6. Trout is done when the flesh is a milky opaque color but still deliciously juicy.
7. Serve hot with lemon wedges or slices.

Grilled Lobster Tails

My dad loves food, and he loves grilled food even more. So one year, my mom, my sister, and I decided that we'd grill lobster tails for my dad on Father's Day. That was by far the most memorable Father's Day meal that we've ever done! Make sure that you leave the lobster tails alone and let them be until they release themselves from the grill before turning so you don't under cook them and make a mess.

Grilled Lobster Tails

Ingredients

4 7-ounce lobster tails
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
1 tablespoon tarragon leaves, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash hot sauce, your choice
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
Lemon wedges
Chive sprigs, for garnish

Procedure

1. Preheat your grill to direct medium-high heat.
2. In a small bowl blend butter, chives, tarragon, minced garlic, hot sauce, and black pepper. Blend thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
3. Using kitchen shears, butterfly the lobster tails straight down the middle of the softer underside of the shell. Cut the meat down the center without cutting all the way through. Brush the tails with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Grill lobsters cut side down over medium high heat about 5 minutes, until the shells are bright in color and lobster releases from the grill.
5. Turn the tails over and spoon a generous tablespoon of herb butter onto the butterflied meat. Grill for another 4 minutes, or until the lobster meat is an opaque white color.
6. Remove lobster tails from the grill and serve with more herb butter and lemon wedges. Garnish with chive sprigs.

Ideas for a meal:
Roast some red potatoes at the same time as the lobster tails, and spread herb butter on them. Serve with a walnut-apple green salad.

Orzo Pasta Salad

My sister Sarah makes this fantastic salad whenever we have a party or family get-together. Even though I usually despise olives of any kind, I absolutely love how they lend this salad a great zesty flavor.

Orzo Pasta Salad

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta

1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 cup boiling water

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 lemon, juiced and zested

1/2 cup kalamata olives

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1. Fill a pot with lightly salted water and bring to a roiling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the orzo, and return to a boil.Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.

2. Place the sun-dried tomatoes into the boiling water in a bowl, and let stand for 10 minutes to plump up. Drain off excess water.

3. Toss the cooked orzo, sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, olives, parsley, and feta cheese together in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lemon or Lime Curd

A fun and tangy alternative to butter or jam, lemon or lime curd is absolutely delicious on scones.

Ingredients

Zest and juice from 2 lemons

     Note: For Lime Curd, substitute equal amount of lime zest and juice.

1 scant cup sugar

¾ cup butter

2 eggs, beaten

Procedure

1. Grate lemon zest, squeeze lemon juice into glass or metal  bowl, stir in sugar.

2. Cut butter into small pieces and add to bowl.

3. Set bowl over a saucepan ¼ filled with simmering water, stir until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Add eggs.

4. Cook gently, stirring 10-15 minutes, until mixture is thick and creamy.

5. Pour into clean warm jars and seal while hot. Keep in the refrigerator.

Grandma Peterson's Lemon Cake

This is my dad's mom's cake, but my mom has made this cake for us a zillion times. I love how it's a traditional lemon cake, but the sauce that goes on top definitely makes this cake amazing. The sauce seeps down into the top layer of the cake, enfusing it with a beautiful, sugary zing. I suppose you could frost it, but I've never seen the need to corrupt this cake with frosting. It offers a refreshing lemony flavor in a world bombarded by chocolate.

Ingredients

Cake
1 package Duncan Hines lemon cake
1 package small lemon Jell-o
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
2/3 cup oil


Sauce
2 lemons
2 cups powdered sugar

Procedure

1. Mix lemon cake, jello, eggs and water. Beat for 4 minutes.
2. Add oil. Beat 4 minutes.
3. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, juice and zest lemons, and beat in powdered sugar.
5. Poke hole in hot cake with a skewer or fork. Pour lemon sauce over warm cake and serve.