WHEW! Time flies when you're having fun. In the last couple of weeks, I finished my finals (I got two more As than expected! OH YEAH!), and started a new job as an SEO marketing intern at a Dallas online marketing firm called RankHammer. I have been busily copywriting, editing and blogging away for them; and unfortunately I have been ignoring my first loves: cooking and you lovely people! For that I am truly sorry. Let's not fight anymore. I love ya and I promise to keep the recipes comin'.
Anyways, now that we're friends again, I am SO excited to share my favorite favorite FAVORITE recipe I have ever made. I wanted to tell you all about it ages ago...but I lost it. Because I am unorganized that way. Now back to the point: PIE!
I developed this recipe while abroad in Paris, where I stayed with the lovliest little family in all the land. The mother, painter Anne Ramaré, and her husband, retired economics teacher Jean-Charles Guillien, were always making the most delectable of dishes: homemade butter cookies, roasted rabbit with potatoes and leeks, and of course all the crepes and quiche I could eat. These two are such creative, free-spirits and they encouraged me to express myself through the arts of food and music. They are truly remarkable people and I will always love them like family.
It was while I was staying in their home that I came up with this most sinfully delicious dessert: Meyer Lemon Tart. This little pie embodies just about everything you could want out of a dessert. It is sweet, yet tart; creamy, but with a crunchy crust; buttery and crumbly. It is just downright HEAVENLY (Thank ya, Jesus. Amen.). And it would be just cruel not to share it with you.
Meyer Lemon Tart
Ingredients:
20 tea biscuits/butter cookies (I used Leibniz Butter Biscuits)
5 tablespoons melted butter
2 cold eggs
2 cold egg yolks
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup fresh meyer lemon juice (a meyer lemon is a lemon and orange hybrid)
1/2 tablespoon of meyer lemon zest
6 tbsp cold butter, cut into piecesInstructions:
Crust: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While your oven is warming up, put your cookies into a large bowl and crush them until fine but still crumbly (I used a meat cleaver). Next add 4 and 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter to your crushed cookies. Mix until all cookie crumbs are evenly coated. Use the remaining 1/2 tbsp of melted butter to grease a 10 inch round glass baking dish. Dump the butter/cookie crumb mixture into the dish and begin to pat it out, forming an even layer across the bottom and around the sides. Once the dish is completely and evenly covered, place in the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool while cooking the filling.Filling: Whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar together in a small, metal, heat-safe bowl for 1 or 2 minutes, or until creamy. Fill a quart-size pot with 2 inches of water. Heat pot of water over high heat until boiling. Once boiling, place the bowl containing the egg mixture on top of the pan, creating a double boiler. Reduce heat slightly. Continue to whisk the egg mixture for 2 minutes (mixture will become frothy). Whisk in the meyer lemon juice in 3 parts. Continue whisking until mixture is thickened and a light yellow in color (8-10 minutes). Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter, one piece at a time. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and sprinkle the zest over the top. Place under the broiler for 30 seconds to 1 minute (just long enough for the top to get a little golden).
Serves 6-8. Best served cold or at room temperature.
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Voila. Magnifique. WOOHOO. Your taste buds are gonna be singing and your friends are gonna beg you for another slice. I made this pie for Memorial Day and, I kid you not, it was gone in about 5 minutes. Delish.
For comments, questions, ideas, critiques and concerns, give me a shout in the comments section below or at keencuisine@gmail.com
Bon Appetit,
KK
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