Last night, I was fortunate enough to have dinner with my husband and a few of our good friends. The requested dessert… Lemon Meringue Pie, of course!
Of all the recipes I could’ve used, I stuck closely to my mother’s homemade version; but instead of using a double boiler, I took the risk of making “lemon filling” directly in the saucepan. Stirring constantly the ingredients combined beautifully, as my husband watched in amazement.
To this day, he is amused by the thickening agent, corn starch. I’ve used the product in many pies over the years, but it never ceases to amuse him. He also learned that egg yolks are the main cause of lemon filling’s color, not lemon juice. Lemon juice adds flavor mostly, while grated lemon peel provides flavor and texture. Once the pie crust was baked and the filling was finished, I poured the filling into the crust and began working on the meringue.
Much to my surprise, I had run out of Cream of Tartar, a necessary ingredient for making anything with the word, “meringue” in it. I immediately sent my husband to the nearest grocery store who shortly called and said, “Honey, they are out of it too.” he continues on to the next grocery store until finally he found the treasured little spice box. During this entire ordeal, he kept saying, “Cant you use Meringue Powder?” Please, please, please don’t make the mistake of thinking meringue powder could ever replace Cream of Tartar. It is simply a replacement for Egg Whites.Continue reading →
