Meyer Lemon Sponge Pie or Lemon Cake Pie

Meyer Lemon Sponge Pie

I've never heard of the Lemon Sponge Pie (sometimes referred to as a Lemon Cake Pie). It is attributed to the Pennsylvania Dutch. Where have you been all my life?

Fellow Trader Joe enthusiast, Leah of Wine Imbiber is having a Lemon LoveFest! And of course I'm going to join in! I've been a Meyer Lemon Fairy, leaving my dad's Meyer Lemons around town. Please check out her Lemon LoveFest and submit your favorite lemon recipe(s)!

And be sure to check out the Lemon LoveFest Library that is filled with many absolutely yummy lemon dishes!!! My to-do list just got a lot longer!

The pie is magic! :) A layer of lemon appears on the bottom and a nice light topping floats to the top.

Since my pie class at the New School of Cooking, I've been making pie crusts from scratch. Whoo hoo.

It's Lemon Season. Pick up a few and make a Lemon Sponge Pie!

Lemon Sponge Pie / Lemon Cake Pie
Click here for a printable recipe

Recipe: Adapted from Bunny's Warm Oven (5/21/2008) who adapted it from Betty Crocker Baking Classics (appears to be out of print)

One 9" unbaked pie crust

3 large eggs, separated
2 T grated lemon peel (I used a microplane to zest the lemons)
2/3 cup Meyer lemon juice (Recipe calls for regular lemon juice, but I used Meyer Lemons)
1 cup milk (I used whole milk)
1 1/2 cups sugar (According to Bunny's Warm Oven, the original recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup sugar...so you should decide based on how tart you want your pie. I used 1 1/2 cups in mine)
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare pastry and line pie pan with crust. Leave unbaked.

Beat egg whites in a large mixer bowl until stiff peaks form, reserve.

Beat egg yolks; beat in lemon peel, lemon juice and milk. Add sugar, flour and salt; beat until smooth. Fold lemon mixture into egg whites. Pour into pastry-lined pie plate. Bake until golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. (A layer of lemon will settle to the bottom and a soft meringue-like topping to float to the top.) Serve with sweetened whipped cream if desired. (I served it plain and that was fine).

My notes: I found the lemon mixture was very very liquid, and that made folding the egg whites into the mixture difficult. I mixed the lemon mixture by hand with a whisk...perhaps I should have whisked it on the KitchenAid to get the yolks into ribbons.

You may also be interested in this vintage recipe that adds butter to the batter.

Flaky Apple Turnovers - Tuesdays with Dorie

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Julie or Jules of Someone’s in the Kitchen picked Flaky Apple Turnovers on page 316 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Ah, my life filled with procrastination knows no bounds. I started way late on Monday night, baked them this morning, and came home from work to post it! Each time the schedule of recipes comes out on the Tuesdays with Dorie website, I plan to make everything early. Yeah. Maybe next time! :)

I read the directions. A couple times. Really.

But I was also super duper tired, and completely misread the part about the size of the circle. It is about 4 inches and I used a small biscuit cutter instead! Oops. Therefore, I couldn't fold over my turnover to save my life. Unless I wanted to have one piece of apple in each one...which would turn these into just half moons of pie dough. So, at 4:30 this morning, I made the executive decision to put a circle of dough on top!

I used Gala apples and skipped adding butter to the apples...I figure there was enough in the dough.

I didn't eat them, but the dough was quite flaky. I put sanding sugar on top of an egg wash.

Thanks for this cute selection, Julie!
Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Recipe:
Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours, page 316
Jule's blog post here

Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie - Tuesdays with Dorie

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Linda of Tender Crumb decided on Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie on page 337 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Have you checked out my friend Linda's blog, Tender Crumb? She's well on her way to being a superstar pastry chef! Everything she makes is yummy and pretty. And, as I learned after a trip with JustJenn, two food bloggers should not shop at Surfas together...it is simply an exercise in enabling. Linda is a UCLA Bruin too (Sproul Hall rocks!) Awesomeness!

I had some issues with the cream. You need to get it to 180 degrees....but I was using "new math" or something and only got it to 150 degrees.

First, my digital thermometer didn't work (hum, digital thermometers need batteries...duly noted). Then, I tried to use a candy thermometer and "manual/non-digital" thermometer. But I couldn't get it up to 180. Sure, I got thickness. Dorie says the filling "will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks." Dude, I had more tracks than Sid & Nancy. But I only had 145-150 degrees.

As I was trying to hold the metal pan over a double boiler with a potholder as well as the thermometer with the left hand, and whisk with my right hand, the pan kept moving around...letting out some of the steam. I was getting such a facial. Who knew the spa qualities of this dessert?!

Finally, after 12 minutes, I had a thick cream that tasted good and gave up on the temperature. It was cooked and wouldn't kill anyone, I decided! :)

I found that I wanted to make just a small dessert so I deconstructed it and laid some graham crackers on the bottom, the cream and a little meringue that I piped out and broiled a bit.

Thanks Linda for a fun pick! I'm going to try it again and make the full size dessert!

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Recipe:
Dorie's book, page 337, Baking: From My Home to Yours.
Linda's blog, Tender Crumb: Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie

Mad Men Premiere...Broiled Nectarine Halves from 1963 Sunset Magazine

Do you watch Mad Men on AMC?
No?

[Just a second. Let me regroup. I'm kinda off-balance right now because today my doctor took me off dairy for a few weeks. No butter. No brain.]

What?!!! You don't watch Mad Men?

Honey, clear your schedule. Grab a cocktail and the remote. Heat up a TV dinner and pop yourself in front of the TV this Sunday night for the season premiere of Mad Men's 3rd Season.

Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet and I will be. Along with a love of food, baking, and Dorie Greenspan, I discovered that we share a freaking awesome name and a love of Mad Men (and Jon Hamm)!

Jon Hamm. Swoon.
He's so Tiger Beat terrific.
Well, sans the excessive drinking, cigarettes, and countless affairs. But damn, he's so hot.

So Mary and I decided to make something in honor of one of our favorite shows! Mary made a cocktail...and I, being a LIBRARIAN and all...went researching!

I went straight to the library's collection of 1963 issues of Sunset Magazine (Mad Men is heading into 1963 this season). After laughing at some of the advertisements, my eyes fell onto this headline:

The Peach with No Fuzz

The nectarine is a fuzzless form of the peach...

Ha ha ha ha. Those were the years...1963. Before the nectarine was on every corner.

I doubt Jon Hamm's character Don Draper would eat these...because there is no alcohol or cigarettes in them. But perhaps Betty and her friends might make these at the end of a special dinner...and at least the West Coast advertising agency of Food & Librarian enjoyed them! ;)

Cut unpeeled, medium-sized nectarines in halves. Remove pits. Dip in melted butter or margarine (I skipped this). Arrange cut-side-up on broiler tray. Sprinkle each half with about 1 teaspoon sugar and dash nutmeg. Broil 6 inches below heat until fruit is heated and butter bubbles - about 6 minutes. (Yeah, perhaps a sheet of parchment paper wasn't the best idea. Stick with foil instead).

With a dollop of the vanilla ice cream. It's like eating pie a la mode without the crust!

Be sure to check out Mary's Mad Men inspired Cocktail in her post. And she is coming up with another cocktail too!

Coming up later...a treat from the New York Times 1963 newspaper (yes, I went researching there too. Oh, stop. Please don't judge my librarian mind. Just set your DVR.)

Mad Men, Season Premiere, AMC, Sunday, August 16, 2009

Donut Peach Galette for You Want Pies with That?

For this month's You Want Pies with That? challenge, Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake and Mary of Alpineberry came up with this month's theme: Taste of Summer Pie!

Summer to me is all about stone fruit. I love stone fruit. I grew up eating peaches from my parent's backyard. The house always had apricots, plums and nectarines from the store. I remember when I discovered the goodness that is the white peach and nectarine. And I jump for joy when I first see the mango-flavored nectarine at the Farmer's Market at the beginning of summer. And don't get me started about my special relationship with the pluot...

Have you tried the Donut or Saturn peach? It's a sweet, squat white peach that, well, looks like a donut or the rings of Saturn. (Yes, I bet that one was hard to figure out! :)

By the way, I've used this green platter in a few posts. It is a piece of Mary Law Pottery. She has a great studio in Berkeley, CA. I bought it when I got my bread platter by Gary Holt (see this post), and I forgot to showcase this one! Check out Mary Law's website...and visit her studio if you ever visit Northern California.

For this one, I wanted to keep the donut shape so I just rinsed it off and plopped the lovely fruit (with pit) on my completely misshapen pie crust. I had some frozen ginger spice cookies I made last week so I crumbed some of them underneath. And I dropped some butter and sugar on top. Bake and eat. Yum.

Be sure to check out the other You Want Pies with That? pies and delights!

Recipe:
Pie Crust: 1 1/4 c flour, dash of salt, 1 stick butter, 2 1/2 T ice water (a variation of Martha Stewart's Pie Crust)
Saturn or Donut Peach
Ginger Spice Cookie crumbs

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie (or my mom's not-so-original recipe) - You Want Pie with That?

Libby's Famous (and good enough for my family) Pumpkin Pie

Okay, my brain synapses aren't snapping. For this month's You Want Pie with That? theme, Natalie of Oven Love decided on Family Favorite Pies. Here are the full directions:

Everyone's family has traditions, including favorite desserts. What's your family favorite? Is it your mom's brownies, your grandmother's banana pudding, your brother's famous chocolate chip cookies? Whatever that favorite dessert is, take it and turn it into a pie! If it already is a pie, make the recipe with your own special twist. If you're feeling extra energized and willing to divulge family secrets, include the original recipe!

Dude, I only saw the logo and thought I needed to bake a family recipe, not use one as a base for a creative pie! Okay, so...please play along with the voices in my head and pretend the theme is an actual family pie recipe.

This is where we have some problems. My family doesn't make pie! My mom came from Okinawa, Japan in 1964 and didn't grow up with pie. What she did do was plant rice (as she told me over and over again). She said, "I used to be so good at planting rice. One by one. One stalk at a time. You have to be very patient..." Then she looks at me with the thought, "My impatient daughter could never plant rice. Good thing I came to America."

So, I may not be able to squat for hours in a muddy field, but I still got the rice planting short legs with thunder thighs...Oh, generations of peasant ancestors give me my 5'2" frame! :)

I'm in the red dress and my mom is holding me. We're in the West Adams area of Los Angeles at my paternal grandparent's house (1972).

Back to my mom. I only remember her making one pie. It was pumpkin pie...and it was from the Libby Pumpkin Pie can.

Nothing like a pie made from the freezer (the crust), two cans (pumpkin and evaporated milk), sugar, spices and eggs! (Find the recipe on the back of the can or here.)

There is one memory I have though...one Thanksgiving or Christmas she made the filling and popped it into the frozen crust. I totally remember her saying, "Oh no! I forgot the eggs!" Not one to waste anything (that would be mottainai), she yanked open the oven, poured the filling back into her green Tupperware bowl (yes, that above bowl is an original) and mixed in the eggs.

Just like mom used to make..

Recipe: Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie
Be sure to check out the other You Want Pie with That? bakers!!

Real Housewives of Orange County Pie for You Want Pies with That?

Real Housewives of Orange County Orange Jello Pie

First, let's all have a moment of silence for my oven. It finally died. Unfortunately, it died with a half baked Hummingbird cake inside it that I needed to bring to work. [You know those meltdowns that happen on reality TV competition shows (a la Project Runway) when the contestants are completely sleep-deprived and just crazy? Well, that happened.] I ended up buying some cakes instead. Sigh.

So, I bought a new range/oven today...it should be delivered on Friday. Very plain Maytag. But it has a window in the door so I'll be sitting in front of it for hours I'm sure.

Okay...to the pie! For this month's You Want Pies with That? challenge, the theme is: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous Pie. If I had an oven, I was going to go for the Halle raspBerry Pie, but since I had to go with no bake...I went fake bake (with heavy emphasis on the FAKE)!

Presenting the Real Housewives of Orange County Orange Jello Pie. It's fake pie for all those fake boobs! (although the new one with the sick boyfriend 3x her age says hers are real)

The fake bake ingredients:

Keebler graham cracker crust.
Store brand gelatin box of lemon stuff.
"Whipped topping" (store brand Cool Whip stuff) - yes, full of oil and other chemicals.
Artificially flavored Orange gelatin cut into little squares.

I think Michael Pollan would agree that this is totally fake food! And it is perfect for the all the girls with their multiple collagen, botox and silicone injections!

By the way, I may mock but I can't turn away! I promised my friend's daughter that when she goes off to college, we are going to skype about it all the time (if I can figure out how to skype...) So I give you a reality TV salute to the Lifestyles of the Rich and Semi-Famous Housewives of the OC!

*** Edited to Add: OH MY GOSH! I brought this into work and my co-worker asked me about the orange circle on top. I said, "Yeah, It's an Orange for Orange County!" (I'm so clever, I think). But then she said it looked like a nipple!!!! Oh my gosh! That was NOT the intention at all! I'm horrified and feel like Elaine on that Seinfeld episode. So, take your mind out of the gutter, it's an orange piece of jello meant to represent the Orange in Orange County! ***

Check out the other creative pies from the You Want Pies with That? crew! And join in the fun!

Banana Cream Pie (Tuesdays with Dorie)

Banana Cream "Pie"

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Oh. Sorry.
That was my head hitting the keyboard as I struggle to stay awake. It is 8:15 pm.

I'm so tired today. I yawned so much at work my co-workers are starting to think my life isn't as boring as it really is. I don't know what it is, but I'm going to go to bed in a few minutes.

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Amy of Sing for Your Supper chose Banana Creme Pie, page 342 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. I made 1/4 of the recipe and skipped the pie crust. Instead, I used these lovely ginger Japanese cookies and some thin ginger cookies from Trader Joe's (watch the blog next week for giveaways that include these cookies!)

My pastry cream was a little too cooked and ended up a little "tough." Ah, I need to practice more on the puddings, custards and creams.

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

And check back next week! It'll be National Library Week and I'm celebrating with giveaways all week long! :)

It's Pi Day! Thin Mint Strawberry Pi (You Want Pie with That?)

Strawberry Mascarpone "Mint" Pi

It's Pi Day! (3/14 = 3.14)

To celebrate, the baking group You Want Pie with That? is posting their monthly pie selection today. This month's theme, selected by Elizabeth of Cake or Death, is Herbs and Spices.

I'm sure my other bakers are pulling out the mortar and pestle to grind cardamon pods, spent the month growing rosemary on their windowsill, or went to their Indian spice store.

Um, my herb is totally exotic.

It's pretty rare...only found in certain areas.
Like the delicate saffron, it is harvested by hand.
It's as addicting as the stuff they make from poppy seeds in Afghanistan.
The selling season is short and only sold by certain designated individuals.

My herb is the Girl Scout Thin Mint!
(Okay, it's a stretch, but I figure Pi day would appreciate the pun)

I took food processed about 1 1/2 sleeves of Thin Mints to make 1 1/2 cups of crumbs. (I didn't have enough so next time I would go for 2 cups of crumbs). Added 4 T (1/2 stick) of melted butter. Pressed into tart shell and baked 10 minutes at 350.

I blended an 8 ounce container of mascarone cream, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/3 c heavy cream, and 1 t vanilla for the filling.

California strawberries...yum!

Be sure to check out the other creative You Want Pie with That? bakers!

Literary Pie: Funny in Farsi Apple Rose Water Pie (You Want Pies with That?)

Literary Pie: Funny in Farsi Apple Rose Water Pie
Finished off with a sprinkle of pistachios and pomegranate molasses

This month’s theme for You Want Pies with That? was chosen by… ME!! I selected “Literary Pie” (really, what did you expect from The Food Librarian?). I also said you get bonus points from me if you use your library...and I read the most wonderful stories of trips to the library as both a child and adult from some bakers. (By the way, in these tough economic times, public libraries are busy. We offer entertainment to the whole family! DVDs, downloadable audiobooks, storytimes, magazines, book clubs, internet access, cultural programs, and so much more! Please support your library because as our usage sky-rockets, our budgets are taking a big hit. [Mary exiting her soap box now :) ])

For my pie, I selected the memoir, Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America by Firoozeh Dumas

This memoir chronicles Firoozeh’s experiences coming from Iran at age seven and settling in Whittier, California (a suburb of Los Angeles) in 1971. Written in short vignettes, she describes her experiences in this new county with her family (including being horrified when she thought we ate dogs in our “hot dogs”). Her father’s optimism and love of the United States (especially Walt Disney) is touching and hilarious. I couldn’t put it down and have loaned it out to everyone I know. All who have immigrant parents or grandparents can relate, regardless of their homeland.

Pomegranates are natives of Persia/Iran and are used in a lot of Persian cooking (I had a roommate and boss who were Iranian American). Oh man, I love Persian food. The rice dishes are sooooo delicious. If you get a chance to go to a restaurant, or better yet, get invited over to someone’s house, please try this delicious cuisine. Luckily, Los Angeles has a large concentration of Iranian Americans (did you know that Jimmy Delshad was the first Iranian American mayor of Beverly Hills?) and lots of Iranian stores and products (I love Mashti Malone’s saffron pistachio ice cream sandwiches).

I wanted to make the Citrus POM Tart with fresh pomegranates, but, wouldn’t you know it, Poms are out of season! (Rain check for next season). So I focused on another Persian flavor: Rose Water. I found this recipe for Apple Pie with Rose Water on the Food Network.

I made it with two granny smiths and one gala apple in a galette shape. I brushed the crush with some cream and sprinkled it with sanding sugar.

A huge thank you to all the people who baked along with me this month! It was such a thrill to choose a theme! I can’t wait to see the round-up of pies. You’ll be able to see them on the You Want Pies with That website soon!