Yuzu Got Big Hair Pie (You want pies with that?)

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Yuzu Citrus Curd Meringue Pie
Yuzu Citrus Meringue Pie
(aka Yuzu Got Big Hair Pie)

I've joined a fun monthly baking group, You Want Pies With That? We don't work on one recipe, but one theme for the month. This month: FASHION!

I'm no fashion diva so I spent a lot of time thinking about this one! I went through all the Project Runway seasons and was pulling my hair out when it came to me! Hair Fashion!

You may not have the money to buy a new wardrobe, but armed with a curling iron, hairdryer, ozone depleting hairspray and a scrunchy, you can change your look every day!
Captain and President of the Big Hair Club.
Inspiration from Sherry Yard and Rod Stewart!

I was inspired by an absolutely beautiful pie in Sherry Yard's book, Desserts by the Yard. Sherry is the pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck's Spago restaurant. She made a stunning "Yuzu Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie". Her pie has a pre-baked shell, Yuzu saboyan and brown sugar Italian meringue. Her pie is served warm, and since I was going to bring it into work, I opted for different technique.

Yuzu Citrus Curd Meringue Pie
Spiky Hair. A favorite of teenage boys with lots of hair product and some librarians.

Yuzu Citrus Curd Meringue Pie
What's Yuzu fruit? Yuzu is a specialized Japanese lemon-lime citrus fruit. I haven't seen it in markets, but Sherry says she gets it at Farmer's Markets (probably the Wednesday Santa Monica market where all the top chefs go). I picked up bottled yuzu at the Japanese market. Sherry says the Yuzu fruit is expensive, and the small bottle was $8!

Yuzu Citrus Curd Meringue Pie Yuzu Citrus Curd Meringue Pie
I made Dorie Greenspan's tart shell recipe, adapted Martha Stewart's lemon curd using 1/2 c of Yuzu juice plus 2 T of fresh Meyer lemon juice, and finally, I made Martha Stewart's Swiss Meringue topping to create my "hair."

Yuzu Citrus Curd Meringue Pie
This is my dreadlock pie.
Yeah, man.
(Actually, my meringue got weird and came out a bit strange. I mixed it up some more and the other one came out more like Sherry Yard's inspiration.)

Yuzu Citrus Curd Meringue Pie
And my favorite "appliance" in the kitchen is the blow torch. I torched the meringue to give the "hair" some highlights!

Yuzu Citrus Curd Meringue Pie
As Rod Stewart says, "Do Yuzu Think I'm Sexy?"

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32 comments:

Snooky doodle said... [Reply to comment]

Ha it looks like Rod steward s hair :) !! Your pies look yummy and great. I like the way you decorated them :)

Lauren said... [Reply to comment]

Yuzu- great addition! I'd love to try this one!

Maria said... [Reply to comment]

Love this post!! The pie looks like his hair...too good!! Way to go on that pie...it is a work of art!

Carrie said... [Reply to comment]

hehe, I love that you did a big hair pie! How fun is that?!!!

Mary Ann said... [Reply to comment]

Love it, love it, love it!
I am laughing so hard!
It looks great and really tasty too. Funny though, how much it resembles Rod Stewart's mop!

Stephanie said... [Reply to comment]

Amazing!

kat said... [Reply to comment]

Those are just awesome! & I love the flavor of Yuzu

The Blonde Duck said... [Reply to comment]

That is so cute! It seriously looks like dreadlocks! Love it!

Anne said... [Reply to comment]

Those look awesome! I love it!

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

I so wanted to do an ode to the 80s but couldn't figure out how to do big hair. You are too creative!

Aggie said... [Reply to comment]

I love your pies! Even more b/c they look like hair - too cute!

Shari said... [Reply to comment]

I LOVE the Rod Stewart hair! And the adaptations of the recipes sound perfect. I'll have to go look for some bottled Yuzu too.

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said... [Reply to comment]

great post! cute title too!

Liz said... [Reply to comment]

This is hilarious and awesome. The big question is, how did Rod Stewart taste?

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Love the idea of using Yuzu!! If you've ever read the Pastry Queen cookbook, she has her own big hair lemon meringue tarts in their too! I think yours just pip hers to the post though for big-hairdness!!

Jamie said... [Reply to comment]

Yum! I love lemon curd, this post cracked me up! BTW...you can find the clear vanilla extract in the Wilton area of Michaels.

Laura said... [Reply to comment]

Dreads on your pies look fabulous!! Too funny with the Rod Stewart analogy!

I've got a blog award I want to pass on to you. Just come by mine to pick it up :-)

alexandra's kitchen said... [Reply to comment]

that is awesome! great job. what a spectacular recipe to entertain with. stunning!

Irene said... [Reply to comment]

Two words: totally awesome!!!

Alpineberry Mary said... [Reply to comment]

Yuzu and meyer lemons all in one tart must have been delicious. Love that you were inspired by Rod Stewart's hair!

Esi said... [Reply to comment]

Haha, this totally looks like Rod's hair. You have some really awesome decorating skills!

Mary said... [Reply to comment]

I bumped into Rod Stewart a few years ago when I lived in Boston. I am five feet eight and he was at least four or five inches shorter than I am. I love this dessert..you are so creative...good job! I hope it tasted as good as it looks.

Steph said... [Reply to comment]

The pie looks amazing! I've wanted to attempt lemon curd for a long time, but ever since I found out it was all butter and egg yolks, I decided to hold off until I can bring it to a party or something. I should've known it couldn't have tasted that creamy and rich with just lemon!

Steph said... [Reply to comment]

I'm sure you probably got the excellent award, since you have such an amazing blog, but I would still like to pass it to you!

Susie Homemaker said... [Reply to comment]

I love this. So much. Great job!

Judy said... [Reply to comment]

What a great looking pie! I'd love to try some.

Jacque said... [Reply to comment]

How funny! (I did hair fashion pie too - we rock, LOL)

That pie looks and sounds wonderful. I think Sherry would be proud.

Pamela said... [Reply to comment]

This is fantastic! Great post, and amazing pies. ;o)

Linda said... [Reply to comment]

LOL...too funny and very creative! I bet your delicious yuzu pie gave many people 80's flashbacks (some good, some really bad!).

Gabi said... [Reply to comment]

Yes I think your (tarts) are sexy...
Love the hair spikes on the yuzu!
xo

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

This is so awesome! I love the blonde tips. I think yuzu is such a great idea for meringue pie. I can't wait to see more of your fab pie creations.

Coco Cake Land said... [Reply to comment]

holy muther. amazing looking ! i adore citrus,it's among my fave flavours... funny post too!! :)

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