We’ve all had that experience – where the matriarch of the family creates a meal so delicious it blows our minds, and we “just have to get that recipe.” My family is no exception. “Grandma from the farm” (as my four sisters and I called her) was our go-to person for the most delectable lemon meringue pie I have ever eaten. Della Modic was a five-foot-nothing old German lady with an attitude like a firecracker, and I always liked to think this pie was a reflection of her demeanor. My life out at the farm, in little Turner, Mont., would not have been the same without this lemon pie and my crazy grandmother. The meringue was mile-high and light as a feather, and the lemon had an exact amount of sharpness to it.
Not wanting to deprive the world of this pie’s lemony goodness, I’m inclined to give you the recipe now. But I must warn you that I have yet to make it as perfectly as she once did. Sure, I give it my best try, especially as a culinary arts student, but she gave it a little something extra to knock it out of this world. A cliché, I know, but I believe that it was her love for me, my sisters, and her husband Louis that put this pie right over the top. So, now I’m on a never-ending quest to bring back the same slice of pie I got from Grandma, and I can’t help but think that one day, when I have a family of my own, the love will flow from me into this pie as it once did for her.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1-1/2 cup cold water
- 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
- Grated lemon peel
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 prebaked pie crust
- 3 egg whites
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
To Prepare:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and corn starch in medium saucepan. Gradually stir in water, until smooth. Stir in egg yolks.
- Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in lemon peel, lemon juice and butter. (You may need to add more lemon flavor depending on your taste, but Grandma made this pretty tart as it is.) Spoon mixture into pie crust.
- Beat egg whites in small bowl until foamy. Mix sugar and corn starch together and gradually beat into eggs. Beat until stiff peaks form.
- Spread mixture evenly over hot filling to the edge of the crust.
- Bake 20 minutes. Cool at room temperature, and refrigerate before serving.
- Enjoy!
Hallie is a student of The Culinary Institute of Montana at Flathead Valley Community College. FVCC is currently accepting applications for the fall 2012 program. For more information, visit www.culinaryinstituteofmt.com or call Instructor Hillary Ginepra at 756-3862.