Pi Day Recipes!

I work with a whole mess of geeks. It's awesome.

Mostly 'cause they're neat people.

Partly 'cause we get to do stuff like this:

And, since we know I can't turn down an opportunity to bake, I volunteered to make several pies:

My Famous Lemon Chess Pie

For the crust (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Makes enoughfor two 9-inch single-crust pies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 16 tbsp (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup cold vodka
• 1/2 cup cold water

For the filling

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp cornmeal
• 1 tbsp flour
• Pinch of salt
• 3 large eggs
• Zest of 1 lemon, grated
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk flour, salt, and sugar until combined. Cut in butter and blend until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour).
2. Combine ice-cold water and vodka. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mixture over dough. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together, adding additional liquid 1 tbsp at a time as needed.
3. Divide dough in half, form into balls, and flatten into 4-inch disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour (preferably 2 or more).
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
5. Roll out the dough and transfer to pie plates. Trim and crimp the edges and prick the bottom of the crust. Then, weigh down the crust with weights (or rice or beans) OR use my newfound method: put the shell back into the freezer for 20 min and press a piece of buttered foil (butter side down) against the frozen shell (as tightly as you can).
6. Bake about 25 min, remove foil or weights, and bake about 15 min more. Set aside to cool. 
7. Meanwhile, make the filling. Whisk together sugar, cornmeal, flour, and salt. Whisk in eggs and lemon zest until combined.Slowly whisk in the butter, lemon juice, and vanilla.
8. Pour the filling into the baked crust and return to oven, baking about 30-35 min or until the filling is set (will still jiggle like jelly). Cool through completely before serving. 

Lemon Meringue Pie with Raspberry Coulis

Same crust as used with the Lemon Chess Pie

For the filling

• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 lemons, juiced and zested
• 2 tbsp butter
• 4 egg yolks, beaten

For the coulis

• 18 oz raspberries
• 3/4 cup sugar

For the meringue

• 4 egg whites, room temp
• 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
• 6 tbsp (super fine) white sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees and pre-bake pie crust.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter.
3. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell and set aside to cool.
4. For the coulis, combine sugar, berries, and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan and boil over med-high heat. Reduce to med-low and cook til sugar dissolves (about 8 min). Remove from heat and let cool. Then, puree in a blender til smooth, press through a fine mesh colander to remove solids, and drizzle over pie.  
5. Next, the meringue. In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites and Cream of Tartar until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla. 
6. Spread meringue over room temperature pie, swirling with the back of a spoon and sealing the edges at the crust to prevent slipping. (Tips: use CLEAN bowls and mixers and avoid ANY yolks in your whites)
7. Bake pie in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

Coconut Chocolate Pie (Gluten Free)

From A Gilt Nutmeg

For the crust

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 bag (about 14 oz) of shredded coconut

For the filling

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor, pulse about 1/3 of the coconut and butter together until well combined, 1-2 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut-butter mixture with the rest of the coconut and stir well until mixture is cohesive.
4. Press the coconut into a 9″ pie plate so that it forms a crust and bake for 10-15 minutes.  If the edges start to brown too much, cover them with some tin foil.
5. Once golden brown, move the crust to a wire cooling rack and let it cool completely before filling with the chocolate (this will allow the crust to crisp up first).
6. While the crust is cooling, bring the heavy cream to boil ina small saucepan.
7. Put the chopped chocolate into a medium bowl and pour the boiling cream over it.  Let it sit for a few minutes then whisk until itis smooth and no streaks of cream remain.
8. Pour the chocolate into the tart shell and let it cool before moving it to the refrigerator to set completely for another hour or so. 

...and another new recipe that I'll share tomorrow! It's worth the wait. Come back and see.