So if you're like me - 21, student, working, living in a studio with no air and no clue - cooking is a skill you likely need some work on. I am someone who instead of quickly throwing together grilled chicken and a salad (which is readily available in my fridge), will eat 3 bowls of frosted flakes for dinner. Now that I'm living with my health conscious boyfriend (and now that I can no longer blame a little extra weight on the freshman 15), I have been making more of an effort to prepare my own meals, plan ahead, and use fresh ingredients. For someone who has never had experience cooking before (or as a general rule of thumb, you're a first-year male student) this task can be extremely daunting. Before I give you my tips on making a DELICIOUS and REFRESHING lemon meringue pie, let me enlighten you on shopping for these ingredients. Frankly, it sucks. Carrying all of that stuff everywhere hurts my arms and since I often have to take a subway and bus to get to the closest Trader Joe's, I've started using a website called Peapod. USE PEAPOD. It is the best thing that's happened to me in my college years. You shop online and they deliver your groceries to you. This makes sense for me because I can't carry all of my groceries on my own but also, the small grocery stores near my apartment in the city are WILDLY expensive and Peapod offers great deals and specials. Check it out.
On to lemon meringue pie. YUM.
The first "homemade" anything I've - successfully - made in my new apartment is a lemon meringue pie. After 6 grueling hours, 2 failed attempts, and 3 trips to the grocery store, I am here to offer you a FULL PROOF lemon meringue pie.
Here is the link to the recipe that I followed:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grandmas-lemon-meringue-pie/
PS - There is a very helpful VIDEO you can watch on how to make this that I wish that I had watched BEFORE attempting.
So first things first - stock up on groceries. The groceries are easy and inexpensive. The first mistake I made was buying a graham cracker crust. NO. DO NOT BUY A GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST, it will not work. In the frozen section of the grocery store, a Pillsbury pre-made pie crust will be there. We can try tackling home made pie crust another day. Other than that, get everything else listed on the allrecipes.com ingredient list.
Next, take a trip to your local kitchen supply store or super target or something. If you are not living at home, I guarantee you don't have the supplies needed to make this pie.
You will need:
1) ingredients
2) stainless steel mixing bowl
3) a hand mixer
4) an oven
5) measuring cups
6) a grater
7) a sauce pan
8) serious patience
If you have all of these things, follow the recipe on the site. It is very self explanatory, once you are prepared - that is. Now I just want to offer you nuggets of info. that they don't tell you on allrecipes.com because these people know how to cook.
- You cannot, I repeat CANNOT make meringue in a plastic bowl with a whisk. Neither of those things will yield meringue. And you will develop carpal tunnel. A hand mixer at my local CVS was $14 and the stainless steel mixing bowl was $9.
- BAKE the pie crust. Once you thaw it, you don't just wait to pour the scolding hot filling in. You need to bake the crust simultaneously while you are making the lemon filling.
- Follow the recipe step by step (the video helps). Your filling will be runny if you do not temper your eggs (wait until the lemon mixture is hot, then take a spoonful of the hox mixture and mix it with the eggs, and then return it to the hot mixture).
- Don't forget the butter...I did
- Pour the hot mixture into the crust when it is piping hot.
- Quickly mix up your meringue (you should already have your egg whites separated with sugar on hand). It only takes a few minutes with your hand mixer and your mixing bowl. You will want to add the meringue to the pie when the filling is still very hot.
- Bake the whole pie - even once you put the meringue on top, you still need to bake it about 10 minutes in the oven.
I sincerely hope this helps some poor soul out there. Impress your mom or your girlfriend or boyfriend and make them fresh homemade pie. :)
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