Husband's Pie

My husband is a carnivore, a mountain man, a lone wolf.  He does not have a sweet tooth and rarely eats dessert.  Oh, he'll eat ice cream, but that's about it.  This presents a problem.  One of favorite all time things, well besides King Crab, artichokes in butter, steamed clams, Josh's barbecued ribs, shrimp prepared any way, is pie.  To be more precise, pie crust.  I absolutely love the stuff.  It makes me dream of lovely afternoons helping my grandmother make mincemeat and peeling apples for my mom.  It makes me warm and comfortable.  I can smell it now as I write this.  I love pie crust and I make a pretty good one.  I blogged about it for days already, see November 6 "All for the love of pie crust, installment 1" and November 8 "All for the love of pie crust, installment 2" for the recipe and the Zen of Pie.

I suppose it's for the best, that Husband does eat much pie.  We'd both be as big as a house.  But there is one pie that he asks for.  A very simple thing.  Not really even a recipe.  This is Husband's pie (Or Lemon Meringue).

It starts with a baked pie crust.  See my previous pie posts for the recipe.  Just the bottom crust for this one.  Crimp it and poke holes with a knife in the bottom. 

I love kitchen gadgets, but there are many which are unnecessary in my opinion.  Do what you like.  There are weights you can buy to put in the buttom of the pie crust while baking. The fear is the very high heat that this cooks at will cause the bottom to puff up.  I've been doing this all my life and never really had a problem. 

Bake the pie crust at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden.  Allow to cool. 

And here is my favorite helper.  She is the perfect child and the subject of my December 5 post.  I hope she will think of me as she cooks after I am gone.  She has the same desire to taste and touch.  She is curious and courageous.  Today, she has a new card game.  Unlike me, she doesn't really care what the instructions say and she is teaching me the game by her rules.

Next, the filling.  One 4.3 oz box of Jello cook & serve lemon pudding.  Yes, I know.  I never cook with powder and I never cook with something if I don't understand the ingredient list, but this is an exception.  My helper wants a taste, a little goes on her plate.  "Yum," she says.  The rest, well after the spoonfuls I eat, go into the prepared pie crust.  It's a wonder I'm not huge. 

Now meringue.  A touchy subject for some.  For me also, until I decided it didn't have to be perfect.  For years, I've said about pie crust, "A messy pie crust is better than no pie crust."  As it is with meringue. 

Beat 3 egg whites in a large bowl on high speed until foamy.  Gradually add 1/3 c. sugar until stiff peaks form.  I'm not a cream of tartar person.  Someone out there may think I'm wrong about that, but oh well.  Spread meringue over filling with a spatula, sealling the edges.  I always try to make the curly-q in the merinugue on top.  It never turns out the way I want.  Oh well.  Old habits die hard.

Cool the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the meringue is browned.  Cool to just warm or to room temp.

Anything that looks imperfect about this was intended.

  

And remember.  If life throws you lemon, well, make lemon pie.