Sharing memories and one of Papa Tony’s favorite recipes

Written by Joy Paoletti and Judy Vig
Tuesday, 06 April 2010 09:27

The inspiring warm weather is a great time to celebrate with family and friends, preferably outdoors. As we gather around any table, a picnic or kitchen table, we happily reminisce about our loved ones who are no longer with us; and this family gathering is no different. This time, our mom decides to tell the children a story about her father, their great-grandfather, Papa Tony. He was kind and jolly, and wonderfully huggable.

As a young man, Papa Tony was handsome, tall and very thin, “quite dapper” actually. He always worked long, crazy hours at his grocery store and missed most meals with his family.

Nana would always surprise him with her home-cooked meals and fancy desserts. That is how he came to be the Papa Tony we all knew and loved, “chubby chubby,” with white hair, rosy cheeks and a big beautiful smile.

Today’s recipe is for lemon meringue cream pie, one of Papa Tony’s favorites. The pie is bright, fresh and powerfully puckery. Combined with Nana’s delicately sweet, surprisingly easy crust, it will be a hit on your table.

The pie is best served chilled and in generous wedges. We suggest making the meringue the day you are serving the pie, but we prepare the pie dough and lemon filling the day before. There is enough to do the day the guests are coming, so preparing ahead of time is crucial.

Nana’s cookie crust

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 cup milk

3 teaspoons baking powder

4 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together baking powder and flour and add to creamed mixture, along with the milk. Mix and chill for one hour. Cut in half or use as much as you need for the pie crust, rolling to about 1/8-inch thickness; and save the rest for cookies. Rolling between two sheets of wax paper is neat and quick; no need to flour anything. Bake crust at 350 degrees until golden. After 15 minutes, check the edges of the crust and cover with foil. The crust can burn on the edges.

Lemon meringue cream pie filling

1 cup sugar

grated zest of 3 lemons

4 large eggs, room temperature

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 1/2 sticks butter, sliced into tablespoon pieces

Have an instant-read thermometer and a food processor ready. Place the sugar and the zest into a heat-proof bowl. Rub the lemon, with your fingers, into the sugar to release the oils. Now whisk in eggs, lemon juice and cornstarch. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

As soon as the mixture is warm, start whisking and cook until it reaches 180 degrees. Do not stop whisking or eggs can scramble. The lemon mixture will go from foamy to thick as it gets closer to 180 degrees. When it does, remove from heat and pour into food processor.

Let cool about five to eight minutes. Turn processor on high and add butter, a few pieces at a time. Continue beating for three minutes more. Pour into baked cookie crust, cover and chill.

Meringue topping

4 large egg whites, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

In mixing bowl, whip egg whites at medium speed until opaque. With mixer running, add sugar in a slow stream; and continue to beat until the whites are glossy and form firm peaks. Spread meringue over pie using swirling motion all the way to edge of the crust because meringue will shrink. Place under broiler until the meringue is golden and the tips/peaks are darker in color. Let cool 15 minutes and enjoy!

For questions or comments, visit Twicebakedtwins.com; e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it