Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Daring Bakers Get Fresh!

Woops, sorry I'm late! My internet was down yesterday, of all days! I was so frustrated! But, it's ok, because now it's back up and working again and you can see how my trials went.

I was actually quite excited when I found out that we'd be making a Lemon Meringue Pie this month. I'm not a huge fan of pie, I think it's more hassle than it's worth, but I was also ready to be proven wrong. And I was!

I've been just dying to use Meyer Lemons, but can't seem to find them anywhere around here. I found some at Top Foods for an amount I won't disclose right now (outrageous is a fitting word), but picked some up anyway, knowing just the thing to use them for. That was justification enough for me.

For the recipe, visit Jen at the Canadian Baker here (http://canadianbaker.blogspot.com/2005/10/lemon-meringue-pie.html).


I was really worried about the lemon curd not setting up, because I'd read horror stories about it, but mine set up just fine. I accidentally left my trusty camera at our friend's house so I wasn't able to take photos until the day after I made it (d'oh!), so the meringue sort of separated and the curd got a little liquidy around the edges of the pie. Other than that, it was perfect. Nice and light and not too sweet. Even the crust stayed crispy, believe it or not. My friend Terry wolfed down a nice slice of it in about .45 seconds flat. I really had to improvise this time around, since I didn't have a lemon juicer, so I just pressed the lemon halves through a strainer, so I guess it's a good thing I chose Meyer Lemons, since they're a bit more tender and forgiving. I also didn't have pie weights or dried beans, so my crust shrank a bit (still tasty though) and I don't have a food processor, so I just used my fingers, which was... odd...


And thank goodness the sun came out to play the weekend I made this, so I could take halfway decent photos this time around. See, folks, there's light at the end of the tunnel! Head over to the Daring Bakers Blogroll to check out the (MANY) other Daring Bakers' LMPs. You won't be disappointed!

Welcome new DBers, and see you at next month's challenge!

~Mehgan~

15 comments:

creampuff said...

Glad you made it! That is one pretty pie!

Lunch Buckets said...

Curd success! Good work :)

Sheltie Girl said...

I'm so glad you were able to take photographs of your lovely pie.

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

breadchick said...

That is a very sunny pie on a sunny day. Great job on this month's challenge!

Deborah said...

Your pie turned out wonderful!

Astra Libris said...

Your pie is beautiful! I love the big slice of meyer lemon on top - such a lovely touch!

Unknown said...

Pie is beautiful! Good job!

Jen Yu said...

Looks like your lemon curd set up perfectly! Great job on the LMP and I'm impressed you went and got Meyers for it! wow :) Beautiful.

Dolores said...

Great job with the January challenge. I'm glad the Internets finally cooperated so that you could share your experience.

Cheryl said...

Well done. I love the lemon on top as garnishment.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Mehgan this baby shrank with or without pie weights. Still it was a lovely & well balanced pie.
Yours is lovely.

african vanielje said...

Mehgan, your tart looks perfect and despite your equipment defficiency too. Well done

David T. Macknet said...

Ahh, shared experience: pie weights didn't make any difference (although mine were beans). Also don't have a food processor (any more), so used two knives to cut through things - the tedious way, but works out just fine.

Good job despite the challenges: your pie looks great!

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Great looking pie! I love your garnish!

Anonymous said...

What a gorgeous entry! Well done!