Citrus Meringue Pie

Does that meringue look awesome or what?

The idea for this pie was born from the fact that I had 5 egg whites and a zested lemon in the fridge from other cooking projects (I don't remember what those projects were, actually, which scares me a bit as I've made  all the egg white ones in the past week...), a dying orange, lime, and four tangerines in the pantry, and an undeniable craving for something tart in my pie roundup. 

As usual when my bookmarks fail me, I googled a recipe and found one that was, conveniently, fairly healthy!  Of course, I had to substitute.  That's just the way it goes around here.

Citrus Meringue Pie
Adapted from fitness magazine

1 pre-baked pie crust

Citrus curd:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (or substitute part lime juice, maybe a bit of tangerine or grapefruit, or store-bought lemon juice)
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (NOT the canned pre-sweetened kind; you can use tangerine, or grapefruit if you add a little bit more sugar)
3 whole eggs
3 egg whites
Zest of 1/2 each: lemon, lime, orange (or use about 2 tsp. total of any citrus zest)
Pinch of salt

Meringue:
4 egg whites (MAKE SURE no water gets into these, or they won't whip up like they're supposed to!)
Pinch of cream of tartar
2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract


For the curd:
First, configure your pots and bowls.  You will need a heat-safe bowl (usually metal) that fits on top of a pot with boiling water in it.  The bowl should not touch the boiling water.  See this picture.  Start with the bowl separate and begin boiling your water.


Whisk juices, sugar, eggs, and egg whites in your heat-safe bowl until the sugar is dissolved.  Place over the boiling pot and whisk constantly until very thick, approx. 10 minutes.  (Use your own judgment on this one)  Don't let it bubble up, or the eggs will curdle.  Yuck.  Strain mixture if it has lumps, and stir in zests and vanilla.  Pour into crust.

For meringue:
Heat oven to 400.  Whip egg whites and cream of tartar, using a clean and dry hand whisk or whisk attachment on a stand mixer.  Beat until soft peaks form; add sugar gradually and continue beating until stiff peaks form. 

Spoon onto the citrus curd, and spread to edges so it doesn't shrink while baking.  Put the pie in the oven for 6-8 minutes, until the meringue is beautifully light brown.  Remove and let cool on counter for at least 10 minutes.  Place pie in fridge* until serving (at least an hour is best, or it will be runny.)  Enjoy!


*You can use foil, but do not cover the pie with plastic wrap if you want your meringue to be pretty.

Served too soon after baking.  Still delicious.

Pumpkin Cream Pie

Which one is it?

Another pie!  I don't know about the rest of you, but I think that traditional pumpkin pie is a little bit overrated.  Yes, it's good, but it gets a little bit.... monotonous.  Don't shoot me, please.  I still appreciate it, and I've made and eaten it many, many times.  But this year, when I saw several variations of a pumpkin cream pie floating around the web, I bit.

The pumpkin cream pie is an entirely different beast from the old pumpkin pie.  To put it quite simply, it's a pudding pie, with a graham cracker crust and some pumpkin thrown in.  Don't worry, though; it's quite heavenly.  It's also very quick and easy.  The recipe was just like the butternut squash pudding I posted the other day.  You could probably even make the pie healthier by using regular milk in place of some or all of the heavy cream and half-and-half in the first part of the recipe (Not the additional cream.  That would be bad).  If you try it, let me know how it turns out!

It was the first one of my five pies gone.  And there's a reason.  Graham cracker deliciousness, a creamy texture, light spices, and a pumpkin base?  I'm so there.  It's almost like a cheesecake flavor, with a different texture.  It's perfectly balanced, and I really like it.  You should make it.  I know, I say that about everything.  But really.


Pumpkin Cream Pie
Adapted from Pioneer woman

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 sleeves of graham crackers (14-15 of the individual cookies)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Smash graham crackers, using either a food processor or a rolling pin with crackers in a plastic bag.  Stir/process in the sugar and butter until well-combined.

Press crumb mixture into the bottom and sides of a pie pan.  You won't need all of the crumbs, so start off with about 2/3 of them, press down, and then add more as needed.  Bake 8-10 minutes, until the crust is fairly cohesive.  Remove and cool.

Filling:
1 box (3 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup heavy cream
Generous pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves (a bit less than 1/8 teaspoon of each)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup additional heavy cream
2 Tbs. brown sugar

Combine pudding mix, half-and-half, cream, spices, and pumpkin puree in a bowl.  Whisk according to the box's directions.

Whip the other 1/2 cup of cream and the brown sugar in a bowl until it forms soft peaks.  Gently fold into the pudding mixture until combined.  Pour into cooled graham cracker crust.  Cool for several hours or overnight.  Before serving, top with leftover graham cracker crumbs from the crust.

I know, the lighting is awful.  Sorry.  It's still delicious :)

Pear and Cranberry Pie with Caramel Sauce

 A few years ago, at around this time of year, I was reading from our family's Better Homes and Gardens magazine.  A recipe caught my eye - and held it.  I ran to mom, begging her to let me make this fabulous-looking pie.  We went to the store, got the cranberries and caramel sauce, and bought red pears, because they were the ones showed in the recipe in the magazine, and were definitely the prettiest option.

I went home, made the pie, and then we took it to the family get-together.  Because we're a fairly pie-centric family, there were tons of pies.  Probably at least eight or nine varieties, and multiples of all the classics.  My poor little pie, beautiful though it was, got overlooked in favor of apple, pumpkin, and chocolate.

I persuaded some of the adults to try my pie, and they would.  They liked it, but then they would have a piece of lemon meringue and move on.  For a while, this was disheartening to me.  But at the end of the evening, as we were packing everything away, including more than 2/3 of my pie, something happened that cheered me up.  My dad mentioned pie for breakfast.

Pie for breakfast (and lunch and dinner and dessert) following Thanksgiving is another tradition of my family's.  And since I'd loved my pie, I would get to eat it all by myself, as long as I could keep others from finding out about its awesomeness.  I stashed it in the back of the fridge.

For the next week, I ate pear-cranberry pie for breakfast and snacks, bringing it out only when I was alone in the kitchen and hiding it in the back of a jam-packed refrigerator the rest of the time.  It was fabulous.

The next year, I couldn't find the recipe.  The next, I was at college and didn't even consider pear-cranberry pie-making within the abilities of a college student (I also thought that college students had to eat ramen, so I bought about ten packages of that.  They're still in my pantry, untouched.)  This year, however, I was determined to make pie.  Our roommate Thanksgiving gave me the perfect opportunity, and this was the pie I was most excited about.

I picked up the pears almost a week in advance; they were still a little unripe when I cut them, but it worked.  The cranberries were more bitter than I had been expecting - no big.  I didn't cook the caramel sauce all the way; oh well.  It came together beautifully, and I was excited to share.

The pie was a smashing success.  We invited some guys from our ward over to help us eat the five pies I'd made, and this was one of the favorites.  That was a bit disappointing for me, but I was glad that other people were finally acknowledging how delicious this pie recipe really is.  You should too!  I highly encourage you to go make this pie, and eat it, right now.  YUM.


Pear and Cranberry Pie
From Better Homes and Gardens

1 recipe unbaked pie crust
8 cups sliced red or green pears (6-8 pears, 3-3.5 lbs total)
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbs cornstarch
2 Tbs water
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs. caramel topping or ice cream syrup (recipe below), plus additional for drizzling

Preheat oven to 375.  Prepare pie crust in a deep-dish pie dish.

Arrange half of the pears (4 cups) in pie dish.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cranberries.  Arrange remaining pears on top.

Stir together 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, water, and nutmeg in a small bowl/measuring cup.  Drizzle over pears and cover pie with foil.

Bake 40 minutes.  Remove foil and sprinkle with 1 Tbs. sugar.  Bake, uncovered, an additional 30-35 minutes, or until pears are tender.  Remove from oven.

In a (very) small saucepan, combine remaining 1/2 cup of cranberries and 2 T caramel sauce.  Bring to boil and cook 1-2 minutes.  Spoon over pie.

Drizzle with additional caramel, and enjoy!




Easy Caramel Sauce
Also from Better Homes and Gardens
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbs. cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup half-and-half or light cream
2 Tbs. corn syrup
1 Tbs. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Stir everything but the butter and vanilla together in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Cook and stir until boiling.  Cook 2 minutes more.*  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter.

Store in refrigerator for up to a week.

*The recipe is unclear here.  I would just cook it until it's the texture you want for your caramel sauce.

Grandma's Pie Crust

The pie selection from roommate Thanksgiving.  Perhaps not as impressive as the spread at home, but I'd say that's pretty good for one person in one day.

For as long as I can remember, my family has made pies for Thanksgiving.  LOTS of pies.  We're talking 2-3 per person.  And, for as long as I can remember, we've used the same pie crust recipe, passed down from Grandma Kemper.

My dad usually made the pie crust, while my mom focused on the fillings and other parts of the Thanksgiving dinner.  We kids helped (or hindered, depending on the day), rolling out the pie crust, shaping it, cutting it, and eating it.  That was my favorite part.

"The" pie crust always got compliments.  I just took this for granted.  When I became a food-blog addict, I realized that there was a lot of controversy on the issue of pie crusts.  One day, I may experiment with other kinds.  But for right now, I'm perfectly content with my all-shortening, easy-to-handle, simple and delicious pie crust.

And just for the record, we don't judge people who measure flour by filling the measuring cup, shaking it around to settle, and then dumping it in.  It's cool.


Grandma's Pie Crust
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoons salt
3-4 Tablespoons ice water

In a mixing bowl stir together flour and salt.  Cut in shortening or lard (using a pastry cutter or fork) til pieces are the size of small peas.  Sprinkle 1 T of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork.  Push to side of bowl.  Repeat til all is moistened.

Form  dough into a ball.  On a lightly floured surface flatten dough with hands.  Roll dough from center to edge, forming a circle about 12 inches in diameter.  Wrap pastry around rolling pin.  Unroll onto a 9-inch pie plate.  Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry.  

Trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate; fold under extra pastry.  Make a fluted, rope-shaped, or scalloped edge.  Do not prick pastry.  Bake as directed in individual recipe.

For a prebaked pie shell:

Prepare Pastry for Single-Crust Pie as above, except prick bottom and sides with the tines of a fork.  Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or till golden.  Cool on a wire rack.

P.S. This crust also freezes very well, whether baked or unbaked.  Just put some plastic wrap around it, maybe some foil or a gallon-sized bag if you have those (I don't, at college, but it still works), and freeze it up.  Give it maybe a few minutes to thaw before you fill it, so it's not soggy when it bakes, and then it's perfect!  

Pomegranate-Cranberry Sauce

Yesterday we had roommate Thanksgiving.  It was glorious.  There were only four of us there, one who was an old friend of Kristin and Megan's (and Stacey was sick, so she wasn't there, sad!), but we still had a blast and a half.

Kristin made rolls, peas, delicious mashed potatoes, and turkey meatballs.  She also brought Martinelli's.  It's really not a celebration unless there's Martinelli's.

I made five pies (covered in later posts, I promise!) and cranberry sauce.

The dinner spread was quite tasty.  It was a nice change from the regular Thanksgiving carb- and fat-fest (not that I don't like that, too!), with turkey meatballs and warm cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes sans gravy, rolls brushed with butter beforehand, and peas for the vegetable.  I kind of missed the stuffing and other side dishes, but as I often make side dishes for my meals, I figure I can make up for it later, not to mention on the actual day of Thanksgiving.  And the absence of those side dishes helped the meal to feel more like an actual meal, rather than a stuff-your-face-type event. 


One of the pies I made involved cranberries (later, later), and after I'd made that, I had 2/3 a bag of cranberries left over.  Since the turkey meatballs by themselves would have been rather plain, I decided to make a sauce, also using the 1/3 of a pomegranate I had in the fridge.

There were 40 minutes left until we had guests coming over to help us eat pie, and we were still hustling trying to make the dinner portion of the show.  I googled recipes for pomegranate-cranberry sauce, but they were all extremely elaborate, taking hours to cool or simmer, or calling for long lists of unlikely ingredients.  They did, however, have two things in common: they called for cloves and cinnamon, and they recommended adding the pomegranate arils (seeds) toward the end of cooking.

Armed with this information, I went googling again.  This time I was searching for fast and easy cranberry sauce recipes.  The first link I clicked was perfect.  It called for cooking, over medium heat, 2 parts cranberry + 1 part brown sugar + 1 part water until all the cranberries were popped open and the sauce was the consistency you wanted.  I adapted it, and it was wonderful.

It had a perfect balance of spice and sweet, and it was tangy with a great consistency.  Also, it was delicious over turkey meatballs. 

It even looks like there are little jewels!

Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce
2 cups cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup packed brown sugar
approx. 1/3 pomegranate's worth of seeds*
Dash of lemon juice
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves

Add cranberries, water, and brown sugar to a saucepan over medium or medium-low heat.  Cook, stirring regularly to avoid inconsistent caramelization of the brown sugar.

When most of the cranberries are popped open, approximately 10-15 minutes, add your pomegranate seeds, lemon juice, and spices.  Continue to cook, approximately 5-10 minutes, until the pomegranate seeds are as soft as you want them (mine still looked like pomegranate, but they had some give to them).  Adjust seasonings, lemon juice, and water to taste.

For a thicker consistency, continue cooking until more of the water has boiled off.  For thinner, add more water.

Take off the heat and enjoy!