DETERMINED LEMON MERINGUE PIE!

What a day!  First of all we are again breaking a weather record..........hottest days in June........it is just unbearable..........thank goodness for air conditioning.  Or so I thought. So, during the hottest part of the day.......I decide to make a lemon meringue pie.  Its so strange after being married to the same person forever (31 years) our taste buds are exactly the same. I will be hungry for something and before I say a word.........Bob will mention he is hungry for the same thing.  Today it was lemon meringue pie.  So, I start to build the pie.  I have the pie shell baking in the oven and the electricity goes off!!  Can you even believe that an electric company would decide to work on the lines...........in the HOTTEST part of the day........not at 8:00 in the morning but at 3:00 in the afternoon.  What is wrong with some people?  Long story short.......I just left the pie crust in the oven..........and after 20 min checked it out and it was perfect.  Then the electricity came back on..........so relieved........went ahead making the lemon filling...........AND......you guessed it.........it goes off again.........just before the filling had thickened.  So after 30 more min.........it comes back on..........I finally get the filling into the pie shell........Then off again........have the egg whites half beaten in the mixer for the meringue.  This I couldn't save.  When it came back on...........had to start out with new egg whites and FINALLY browned the meringue and the beautiful pie is sitting on my counter.  In fact I couldn't even wait for it to cool but cut my piece waaaaaay to early so it was runny but oh, so good.

I have tried many lemon meringue pie recipes and always go back to this one........the filling ALWAYS sets up beautifully. First.......make your crust.  I always use real lard for my pie crusts. They are flaky and wonderful........learned that from my Mother. Here's the filling; Put 1 1/2 cups of sugar in a nice pan on the stove, along with 1/3 cup plus one Tblsp. corn starch and 1 1/2 cups water.  Stir well and bring to a boil.......once real thick.......continue to boil and stir for 1 min. Then remove from the burner and stir a little of the hot thickened filling into 3 beaten egg yolks.......then pour the yolks into the pan with the filling as you continue to stir.......boil and stir 1 min. Remove from heat and add 3 Tblsp butter, 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice and 2 tsp grated lemon peel.   Pour into your pie shell and prepare the meringue.

Put your 3 egg whites into your mixer and add 1/4 tsp cream of tarter.  Beat til frothy........slowly beat in 6 Tblsp of sugar........Beat til glossy and stiff peaks.........Drop by dollops on top of your filling.......seal to the edges.......Make fun little pointy things with your spatula.......oven at 400 for 10 min.  Til you have the little pointy browned meringue tips.  When I was a kid at home.......I used to eat all of those little tips off the meringue when my Mom wasn't looking! She would get so mad at me but it was So good and still is.