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A Springtime dessert, yellow and bright and lit with the tang of lemon, the richness of an eggy custard, and that mysterious little Southern something---the addition of cornmeal to a chess pie. I guess that's what makes it CHESS, and not custard or cream.
Chess pies have been around a LONG time, I imagine. If a cook had a bit of storebought sugar, or even the homemade cooked-off cane syrup, she could come up with quite a creditable pie by just going to the meal bin, the chicken yard for several good old orange-yolked eggs still warm from the hens, a hunk of fresh-churned butter, dewy and cool from the springhouse, and the flour and lard which were staples in every kitchen.
Vanilla was the norm, but if you had a lemon----oh, the joys of a bit of citrus in the house!! I don't imagine many readers of today remember the thrill of finding a plump juicy orange in the Christmas stocking, or the sighs and the pacing between the candy counter and the honored, padded box of fresh Florida oranges, both safely out of reach of grubby hands. The choosing between the coveted sweets, so bright in their shining colors, their exotic flavors of licorice and clove and strawberry, the charm of those tiny wax bottles filled with a toothaching, sugary KoolAid kin, the dainty mystery of those hard candies with the pictures magically painted all-through---weighed against the amount of pleasure that an afternoon of sucking on that orange, then the cutting-open of its depleted contents, to pull every last shred out with your eager teeth, the whole experience one of exotic flavor and scent which lingered upon your breath and fingers long into the day---those were decisions of childish gravity and import, and could consume an hour of the grocer's time, or all his patience, whichever came first.
But a lemon for a pie or a glass of tea---luxury of a particularly satisfying sort. Grated rind, or even finely chopped if you happened not to own one of the new-fangled fancy graters, and a squeeze of the eye-tingling juice made a confection fit for any gathering.
A chilled, rolled crust laid into a piepan, the fragrant custard poured in, the pan gently slid into a hot oven for a time, then the heat turned down a bit for a slow, gentle bake in deference to the temperament of eggs and butter and milk. The top may not quite brown; the pie jiggles ever-the-slightest-bit as it's retrieved from the oven---the fragrance follows its movements to the cooling rack, filling the kitchen with even more of the warm, sugary lemon scent until, if it weren't so HOT, and if you didn't intend it for that special Sunday Dinner tomorrow, you might just forget yourself and grab a spoon for great voluptuous bites, irresistible and even more satisfying for your lapse.
Spring calls for Yellow food, as much as the influx of the GREEN we've been craving. Bright yellow eggs and squash and sumptuous Hollandaise and golden cake layers and frostings and all things LEMON.
Even the richest lunch or dinner, when you've plumb foundered yourself on asparagus and great dollops of that rich Hollandaise, the lamb and the yeasty breads and the peas---or even on a big hot Southern noon DINNER, of humble greens and cornbread and ham and slaw---somehow, when you're full up and cannot eat another bite, a lemon dessert will magically conjure just the niche in your belly made for its receiving. And you'll be replete with that last just-hit-the-spot that a lemony sweet rounds out.
LEMON CHESS PIE
1 stick Butter, softened
2 C. sugar
4 Eggs
1 t. Vanilla
1 T. Meal
¼ C. Pet
2 T. Lemon Juice
2 T. Zest (always zest the lemon first, then roll, cut and squeeze---it's amazing how often we forget the simple order of that)
Whisk meal into sugar in mixing bowl. Cream butter and sugar, then beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in Pet, juice and zest.
9” Pie Shell---oven 425 for 10, 300 for 40. Cool for a while before cutting. If you can resist.
Lemon Bars:
1 box Yellow Cake Mix, 1 Egg, 1 Stick Melted Butter. Mix & pat into 9x13. make about a ¼ inch wall all around edges.
Make pie filling, pour, bake 425 10; 300 25/30. til not too jiggly. Cool in pan before cutting.
2 C. sugar
4 Eggs
1 t. Vanilla
1 T. Meal
¼ C. Pet
2 T. Lemon Juice
2 T. Zest (always zest the lemon first, then roll, cut and squeeze---it's amazing how often we forget the simple order of that)
Whisk meal into sugar in mixing bowl. Cream butter and sugar, then beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in Pet, juice and zest.
9” Pie Shell---oven 425 for 10, 300 for 40. Cool for a while before cutting. If you can resist.
Lemon Bars:
1 box Yellow Cake Mix, 1 Egg, 1 Stick Melted Butter. Mix & pat into 9x13. make about a ¼ inch wall all around edges.
Make pie filling, pour, bake 425 10; 300 25/30. til not too jiggly. Cool in pan before cutting.
LEMON ICEBOX PIE
Make crumb crust with crushed vanilla wafers and melted butter, or buy one of those made ones.
Separate three VERY fresh eggs. Beat yolks with a Can of Eagle Brand, then with juice from two lemons, plus 2 T. zest. Pour filling into crust and set aside while making meringue.
Beat whites with mixer or whisk. When they hold a peak, beat in 2 T. sugar, then spread on pie, sealing edges well. Brown in 350 oven until pale gold on top.
I think I have only one lemon in the house, and maybe three limes---I think they'd make a lovely combination in SOMETHING. Right now.
