Lemon Cream Meringue Pie

Flaky Pie Dough for a 1crust
-pie; about 10 ounces

To make the filling, combine milk and sugar in a nonreactive saucepan,
preferably enameled iron. Strip the zest from the lemons with a sharp
vegetable peeler, making sure you remove the yellow zest but none of the
white pith beneath. If you do remove some of the white pith, scrape it off
the strips of zest with the point of a paring knife and discard it. Add the
zest to the milk and sugar and bring to a simmer over low heat. Remove from
heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes; remove the strips of zest with a
slotted spoon or skimmer anddiscard them. Squeeze lemons to make 1/2 cup
strained juice. Place juice in a mixing bowl and whisk in cornstarch, then
yolks. Return milk and sugar mixture to a boil over low heat and whisk
about a third of the boiling milk into the lemon juice mixture. Return
remaining milk and sugar mixture to a boil once more and whisk the lemon
juice and yolk mixture back into it, whisking constantly until the filling
comes to a boil and thickens. Allow to boil, whisking constantly, for about
30seconds. Remove from heat, whisk in butter and pour into a nonreactive
bowl. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the filling and chill until
it is approximately 75 degrees. (If you prepare the filling in advance, let
it come to room temperature before proceeding.) Set a rack at the middle
level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough to make
bottom crust and arrange in pan. Chill crust until firm. To bake the crust,
pierce it all over with the tines of a fork at 1/2inch intervals. Line it
with a disk of parchment or wax paper and fill with cherry stones or dried
beans. Bake about 20 minutes, until lightly colored. Remove paper and beans
and continue baking until the crust is a deep golden brown. Cool crust on a
rack. Spread the cooled filling evenly in the cooled crust. Set a rack at
the middle level of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.To make the
meringue bring a small pan of water to a boil. Lower heat so that
watersimmers. Combine egg whites, sugar and salt in the bowl of the mixer
or if you are using a hand whisk another heatproof bowl. Place bowl over
pan of simmering water and whisk gently for about 2 minutes, until egg
whites are hot (about 140 degrees) and sugar has dissolved. Whip meringue
on medium speed until it has cooled and is able to hold a shape, but it
should not be dry. Distribute spoonfuls of the meringue all over the top of
the pie, then use the back of a spoon or a small offset metal spatula to
spread the meringue evenly. It should cover the top of the pie and touch
the edges of the crust all around. Here and there, bring up the surface of
the meringue so that it is swirled. Place the pie on a cookie sheet and
bake for about 5 to 10 minutes, until the meringue is colored evenly. Cool
on a rack. Yield: One 9 inch pie

Yields
1 Servings