Lemon Meringue Pie

So here's what you do: you make a lemon meringue pie.

I've been dreaming about this for several days. Except in my head I kept calling it a "lemon cream pie."

I had a gorgeous time making this pie. I listened to Audra McDonald, who is now on top of my Music God Pyramid and took deep breaths and daydreamed.

It has been a very lovely afternoon.

Make this pie. It will make your afternoon gorgeous too.

Lemon Meringue Pie

from The Gourmet Cookbook

For Filling

4 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

4 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

For Meringue

6 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

Make the Pie Shell: Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13 inch round. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2 inch overhang, and crimp decoratively. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Put rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375 F.

Lighly prick shell in several places with a fork. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights, raw rice, or dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake shell until golden, 12 to 15 minutes more. Transfer to a rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F.

Make the Filling: After you remove the foil and weights, whisk together egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Gradually add water and milk, whisking until cornstarch is dissolbed. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking until mixture begins to thicken. Gradualy whisk about 1 cup milk mixture into yolks, then whisk yolk mixture into milk mixture. Simmer, whisking, for 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, zest, and juice until butter is melted and filling is smooth. Cover witha round of wax paper to keep warm.

Make the Meringue: If pie shell has cooled, place it in oven just until warm. Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until whites hold soft peaks. At high speed, beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat until meringue just holds stiff peaks.

Assemble and Bake the Pie: Pour filling into warm shell. Spread meringue on top to very edge of pastry, covering filling completely. Draw meringue up into peaks witha spatula. Bake until meringue is golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer pie to rack to coll to room temperature, about 2 hours, then refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours more. Eat.