Sour Cream Lemon Meringue Pie

1 recipe Linne Tart Crust

Filling:
4 large egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 & 1/2 (or whole milk)
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup lemon juice (read directions before adding)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup sour cream

No-Weep Meringue:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup water
4 large egg whites, room temp
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS
Lemon Filling:
Whisk egg yolks in a bowl set next to stove.

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Whisk in half cup of the cream/milk. Add remaining milk and turn heat to medium. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick. Carefully spoon or pour a little of the milk mixture into the bowl of egg yolks, stirring well – this tempers the yolks. Add yolk mixture back to saucepan and bring to a low boil.

Cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add butter. Stir until butter melts, then add 1/4 cup lemon juice. Test to see if it’s lemony enough for you and if not, add remaining lemon juice and zest until you are satisfied with the lemon level. Let cool completely in the saucepan.

Stir sour cream into cooled lemon mixture and pour/spread in pie crust. Prepare meringue.

Meringue:
In a small cup, dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoon of the water. Bring remaining 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add cornstarch mixture to boiling water and cook, whisking stirring constantly, until clear and thickened. Let stand until completely cool.

Using an electric mixer, beat eggs until foamy. Gradually (1 tablespoon at a time) beat in sugar. Reduce mixer to low and add baking soda, tartar and vanilla.

Raise mixer speed back to high and beat in cornstarch/syrup mixture, beating until thick and fairly stiff. Spread over a cooled filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack and chill pie for at least 2 hours or until ready to serve.

Lemon Curd Pie

For the tart shell:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch salt

For the lemon curd:
4 lemons, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the tart shell:
Mix the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Press the dough into a 10-inch-round or 9-inch-square false-bottom tart pan, making sure that the finished edge is flat. Chill until firm.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter 1 side of a square of aluminum foil to fit inside the chilled tart and place it, buttered side down, on the pastry. Fill with beans or rice. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, prick the tart all over with the tines of a fork, and bake again for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool to room temperature.

For the lemon curd:
Remove the zest of the lemons with a vegetable peeler or zester, being careful to avoid the white pith. Squeeze the lemons to make 1/2 cup of juice and set the juice aside. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the sugar and process for 2 to 3 minutes, until the zest is very finely minced. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar and lemon zest. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture into a 2-quart saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. The lemon curd will thicken at about 175 degrees F, or just below a simmer. Remove from the heat.

Fill the tart shell with warm lemon curd and allow to set at room temperature.

Watermelon Lemonade

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