#29: Lemon Wonder Pie

Pie!  Pie!  Pie!  I've been racking my brain to figure out what I should do next.  Something different that I haven't done yet.

So I decided to look through some of my old cookbooks and in "The Complete Western Cookbook:  The Gourmet's Guide to the Land Beyond the Pecos" by Betty Johnson (from 1964) I found a recipe for Lemon Wonder Pie.  What an amazing name!  I've got to do that pie.

Of course, as you can probably tell from the pictures, as I started working on the pie something started to feel very familiar about it.  Really familiar...like I've already made this pie.

DOH!

Okay, to be fair.  I have not made this pie before but I would consider it a cousin to the Buttermilk Pie that I made a few weeks ago.  You're just swapping the buttermilk for lemon juice and milk.

Still delicious.  Just not different.  Back to the drawing boards.

#26: Buttermilk Pie

Tackling another "staple" pie.  I've actually been eyeing this Buttermilk Pie recipe for a while and it truly doesn't disappoint.

I always get a little daunted when I encounter recipes that required "technique"...yes, I'm talking about whipping egg whites.  But, I think as I do more of it...I'm getting less spooked by it.  (And that's a good thing.)

When it comes to flavor, the buttermilk provides a tartness that brings out the lemon juice so it's less "eggy" in flavor.

#17: Lime Pie with Gingersnap Crust

I decided to go citrus-themed this week.  I did consider doing a Key Lime Pie but I also know that people get very weird if you don't use key limes from FL.  So, instead of going down that road, I decided to do a plain ol' Lime Pie, which lead me to this interesting recipe from the Magnolia Bakery -- Lime Pie with Gingersnap Crust.

The hardest part of this pie has nothing to do with the recipe.  Really?!  A cup of lime juice.  Man!  Prepare to work your arms because it's hard to get juice out of a lime.  I guess it's something to consider then picking out the limes -- look for fruit with a little give when you squeeze it.  If you estimate a tablespoon of juice from each lime...that would be at least 8 limes...round it up to a dozen just to be safe.

On the bright side, your arms are probably thankful that you're also not rolling out a pastry for this pie.

Unfortunately, the oddest thing about this pie is the filling/crust combo.  While ginger seems like a great fit for lime, the cookie's heavy molasses flavor is an odd third wheel that can't be easily ignored.

If I make this pie again, a graham cracker crust would be a safer pairing.  But don't feel bad for that gingersnap crust because I do think it would go great with last week's custard pie.

#16: Custard Pie

So this week I wanted to tackle something simple, which lead me to my Betty Crocker Cookbook where I found this Custard Pie recipe.

What I thought was most wonderful about this recipe was the part that said "place pastry-lined pie plate on oven rack; pour in filling."  It seemed like an odd request but as soon as I did it became so obvious.  While it wasn't specifically called out, this small action was a grief saver.  The filling went to the very edge of the crust and didn't leave a lot of wiggle room to transport the pie from counter to oven.  However, by filling the pie on the oven rack, the pie only had to be moved inches rather than feet.  BRILLIANT!

The pie itself was also a great pie...super easy and good.  But the biggest treat was that small piece of advice.

#11: Shaker Lemon Pie

In honor of Π (Pi) Day, I decided to make a Shaker Lemon Pie because not only are Meyer Lemons in season but the pie actually uses the entire lemon.  (I know, no waste.  It's the Shaker way.)

Because you're using the whole lemon, I guess the key here is definitely the Meyer Lemon, which is milder and has a thinner rind.

The recipe I found at Smitten Kitchen suggested using a mandolin but mine is either old or cheap because trying to cut paper thin slices just left me with a juicy mess.  So I decided to skip trying to be a speedy ''ninja'' and opted to go with patient ''Tai Chi'' master and slice the lemons by hand.

You DO have to plan ahead for this recipe since the lemons need to macerate in sugary lemon juice for 24 hours.

But it's worth it!  The end result is like eating a custard/marmalade love child -- which is a good thing.

I still have more lemons on hand so I'm going to try freezing the ''Day One'' lemon mixture.  Will let you know in a couple months if summer Meyer lemon pie is doable.

#9: Banana Cream Pie

So in honor of National Banana Cream Pie Day I wanted to actually make a Banana Cream Pie.

The one thing that I find disappointing about most Banana Cream Pie recipes is that they don't use an actually banana cream.  Instead, they take a vanilla cream and then add sliced bananas.

That was until I found this Banana Cream Pie recipe in my "Momofuki Milk Bar" cookbook by Christina Tosi.  Not only did it use bananas but it used flavorful, ripe bananas.

Another thing I found interesting about this recipe was its use of a blender to pure and mix.  Love it.  (Especially bringing out the blender then just becomes an excuse to have milkshakes.)

I did cheat and use a store-bought Oreo cookie crust but mainly because I'm still scarred from my chocolate crumb crust debacle from last week. (Have no fear.  I'll get over it soon.  I just didn't want to tackle that along with the time pressure of hitting National Banana Cream Pie Day.)

The end result was good.  A nice banana flavor that went well with the chocolate cookie crust.  If you want a little more zing, you can top it with whipped cream for visual flare or drizzle with chocolate sauce for a tastebud overload.  :o)

#5: Coconut Cream Pie

This week I decided to bring together two of my favorite worlds -- pudding and pie -- with a Coconut Cream Pie, based on an America's Test Kitchen recipe.

The coconut custard part was pretty straight-forward.  The hardest part was probably not eating the filling before it hit the pie crust.

Skipping the pie, you could probably layer this filling with shortbread or other "plain" cookie and top with whipped cream for a yummy dessert.

Instead, per instructions, I placed a layer of plastic on the pie and allowed it to chill for four hours.

At that time, I checked in on the pie and was bummed to discover condensation under the plastic.  Slicing the pie, later, I also encountered a lot of moisture, which would make me not want to serve this pie to guests as it didn't look too appetizing.

Normally, I would attempt a second pie but, to be honest, this is a heavy pie and consuming two of them in a week...well, a girl has to have her limits.

However, I will return to this pie later this year.  A couple things I may try -- 1) using something other than plastic wrap, which I believe is just needed to prevent a skin from forming on the pie, 2) creating the pie without the plastic wrap (or other layer) and see how bad the skin really is, 3) use a different crust (the original recipe used a graham cracker crust, which possibly absorbed some of the moisture