the Ultimate Lemon Chiffon Pie...ATK

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

We wanted to develop a lemon meringue pie recipe that gave us a meringue that didn’t break down and puddle on the bottom or “tear” on top. We realized that the puddling underneath the meringue was from undercooking. The beading on top of the pie was from overcooking. We discovered that if the filling was piping hot when the meringue was applied, the underside of the meringue would not undercook; if the oven temperature was relatively low, the top of the meringue wouldn’t overcook. Baking the pie in a relatively cool oven also produced the best-looking, most evenly baked meringue.

INGREDIENTS

Graham Cracker-Coated Pie Shell

1 ¼ cups 

unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon table salt 

1 tablespoon granulated sugar 

6 tablespoons 

unsalted butter,

chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled

3–4 tablespoons cold water 

½ cup graham cracker crumbs 

Lemon Filling

1 cup granulated sugar 

¼ cup cornstarch 

⅛ teaspoon table salt 

1 ½ cups cold water 

6 large egg yolks 

1 tablespoon lemon zest from 1 lemon

½ cup lemon juice from 2 to 3 lemons

2 tablespoons 

unsalted butter

Meringue Topping

1 tablespoon cornstarch 

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar 

½ cup granulated sugar 

4 large egg whites 

½ teaspoon 

vanilla extract

1

INSTRUCTIONS

For the pie shell: Mix flour, salt and sugar in food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with a little of the flour. Cut butter into flour with five 1 second pulses. Add shortening; continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than a small pea, about four more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.

2

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons cold water over mixture. Using rubber spatula, fold water into mixture; press down on dough mixture with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together. If dough will not come together, add up to 1 tablespoon more cold water. Shape dough into ball, then flatten into 4-inch-wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.

3

Generously sprinkle work area with 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs. Place dough on work area. Scatter a few more crumbs over dough (see illustration 1, below). Roll dough from center to edges, turning it into a 9-inch disk, rotating a quarter turn after each stroke and sprinkling additional crumbs underneath and on top as necessary to coat heavily, (see illustration 2). Flip dough over and continue to roll, but not rotate, to form a 13-inch disk slightly less than 1/8-inch thick.

4

Fold dough into quarters; place dough point in center of 9-inch Pyrex pie pan. Unfold to cover pan completely, letting excess dough drape over pan lip. To fit dough to pan, lift edge of dough with one hand and press dough in pan bottom with other hand; repeat process around circumferences of pan to ensure dough fits properly and is not stretched. Trim all around, 1/2-inch past lip of pan. Tuck 1/2 inch of overhanging dough under so folded edge is flush with lip of pan; press to seal. Press thumb and index finger about 1/2-inch apart against outside edge of dough, then use index finger or knuckle of other hand to poke a dent on inside edge of dough through opening created by the other fingers. Repeat to flute around perimeter of pie shell.

5

Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Use fork to prick shell at 1/2-inch intervals; press a doubled 12-inch square of aluminum foil into pie shell; prick again and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

6

Adjust oven rack to lowest position, heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake, checking occasionally for ballooning, until crust is firmly set, about 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, remove foil, and continue to bake until crust is crisp and rich brown in color, about 10 minutes longer.

7

For the filling: Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and water in a large, nonreactive saucepan. Bring mixture to simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally at beginning of the process and more frequently as mixture begins to thicken. When mixture starts to simmer and turn translucent, whisk in egg yolks, two at a time. Whisk in zest, then lemon juice, and finally butter. Bring mixture to a brisk simmer, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, place plastic wrap directly on surface of filling to keep hot and prevent skin from forming.

8

For the meringue: Mix cornstarch with 1/3 cup water in small saucepan; bring to simmer, whisking occasionally at beginning and more frequently as mixture thickens. When mixture starts to simmer and turn translucent, remove from heat. Let cool while beating egg whites.

9

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix cream of tartar and sugar together. Beat egg whites and vanilla until frothy. Beat in sugar mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; until sugar is incorporated and mixture forms soft peaks. Add cornstarch mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue to beat meringue to stiff peaks. Remove plastic from filling and return to very low heat during last minute or so of beating meringue (to ensure filling is hot).

10

Pour filling into pie shell. Using a rubber spatula, immediately distribute meringue evenly around edge then center of pie to keep it from sinking into filling. Make sure meringue attaches to pie crust to prevent shrinking (illustration 3). Use spoon to create peaks all over meringue. Bake pie until meringue is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature. Serve.

Michael Symon's Bacon Cheddar Smash Burger

Bacon Cheddar Smash Burger

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 tablespoons hot or Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ pounds 80/20 lean ground beef
8 strips of bacon, diced
4 thick slices of cheddar cheese
4 potato rolls, to serve
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
Pickle slices, for serving

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Directions:
Set up your grill with a hot and cool side by only building the coals on one side. If using a gas grill, only turn on one side. Set a cast-iron pan over the hot side to heat up.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, mustard and barbecue sauce. Refrigerate until ready to use.

(NOT SEE ON TV:  Divide the ground beef into 4 patties. Fold each slice of cheese into quarters. Place 4 quarters of cheese onto the beef, covering the surface and pressing the cheese down into the meat.

Layer about 2 slices’ worth of the chopped bacon, covering the surface of each burger. Mold and shape the layered burger, keeping it all together then flip so the meat side is up.)

Spray the inside of a 1 cup measuring cup with cooking spray. Add in the meat, followed by pressing the quarter slices of cheese into the middle of the patty that is inside the measuring cup.
Add Cheese bits and bacon to the top of the burger again inside the measuring cup, pressing it down before unmolding. Repeat until you have 4 burgers.

Season the burger with salt and pepper, then place the burgers bacon-side down into the hot pan. Immediately smash down and place a press on top. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until the bacon is crispy. Spread the top of the burger with some of the mayo sauce before flipping. This will give you a crispy golden crust. Continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes, until the desired doneness.

Spread the top and bottom of the bun with the sauce. Add some thinly sliced red onion and pickles to the bottom half of the bun, on top of the sauce. Add a burger and place the top bun on. Serve.

Christie Christensen'd CHIMICHANGAS

2 LBS. STEW MEAT OR ROAST
1 1/2 C. WATER 
2 CLOVES MINCED GARLIC
2 TBSP CHILI POWDER. (Less if you like it milder)
1 TBSP VINEGAR 
1 TSP SALT 
2 TSP DRIED OREGANO
1 TSP GROUND CUMIN
1/8 TSP PEPPER

BRING TO BOIL THEN SIMMER, COVERED,  TILL MEAT IS VERY TENDER.  UNCOVER & BOIL RAPIDLY ABOUT 15 MIN UNTIL WATER IS MOSTLY EVAPORATED.  WATCH CLOSELY!!!   SHRED MEAT,  SPOON APROX 1/4 CUP MEAT INTO A FLOUR TORTILLA. FOLD SIDE, BOTTOM 
THEN OTHER SIDE.  FRY SEAM SIDE DOWN IN A. SMALL AMOUNT OF COOKING OIL TILL GOLDEN

I SERVE TOPPED WITH GREEN ENCHILADA SAUCE HEATED, SOUR CREAM, LETTUCE, TOMATOES, SLICED BLACK OLIVES
SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE.

MAKES 12 —10’’. tortillas

Donuts: Cooks Illustrated

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:  Our yeasted doughnuts are moist but light with a tender chew and restrained sweetness, thanks to a careful balance of fat, sugar, and moisture in the dough. We chilled the dough overnight—a step called cold fermentation—so that it was faster to make the doughnuts in the morning. The dough also developed more complex flavor and was easier to handle when cold. Shutting the cut doughnuts in the oven with a loaf pan of boiling water—a makeshift baker's proof box—encouraged them to rise quickly; we then briefly fried them on both sides in moderately hot oil until they turned golden brown. We dipped them in a thin, fluid confectioners' sugar–based glaze, which set into a sheer, matte shell.

GATHER YOUR INGREDIENTS

Doughnuts

4 ½ cups (22½ ounces) all-purpose flour 

½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar 

1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast 

1 ½ cups milk 

1 large egg 

1 ½ teaspoons table salt 

8 tablespoons 

unsalted butter,

 cut into ½-inch pieces and softened

2 quarts 

vegetable oil,

 for frying

Glaze

3 ¼ cups (13 ounces) confectioners' sugar 

½ cup hot water 

Pinch table salt

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

You'll need two large baking sheets and two wire racks for this recipe. You'll also need 3-inch and 1-inch round cutters. For the best results, weigh the flour for the doughnuts and the confectioners' sugar for the glaze. Heating the oil slowly will make it easier to control the temperature when frying. Use a Dutch oven that holds 6 quarts or more.

1

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THE DOUGHNUTS: Stir flour, sugar, and yeast together in bowl of stand mixer. Add milk and egg and mix with rubber spatula until all ingredients are moistened. Fit stand mixer with dough hook and mix on medium-low speed until cohesive mass forms, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl if necessary. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 20 minutes.

2

Add salt and mix on medium-low speed until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, 5 to 7 minutes. With mixer running, add butter, a few pieces at a time, and continue to mix until butter is fully incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, 7 to 13 minutes longer, scraping down bowl halfway through mixing. Transfer dough to lightly greased large bowl, flip dough, and form into ball. Cover bowl with plastic. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Transfer to refrigerator and chill overnight (or up to 48 hours).

3

Adjust oven racks to lowest and middle positions. Place loaf pan on lower rack. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and grease parchment. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter. Press into 8-inch square of even thickness, expelling as much air as possible. Roll dough into 10 by 13-inch rectangle, about ½ inch thick. Using 3-inch round cutter dipped in flour, cut 12 rounds. Using 1-inch cutter dipped in flour, cut hole out of center of each round. Transfer doughnuts and holes to prepared sheet. (If desired, use 1-inch cutter to cut small rounds from remaining dough. Transfer to sheet with doughnuts.) Bring kettle or small saucepan of water to boil.

4

Pour 1 cup boiling water into loaf pan. Place sheet on upper rack, uncovered. Close oven and allow doughnuts to rise until dough increases in height by 50 percent and springs back very slowly when pressed with your knuckle, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

5

FOR THE GLAZE: Whisk sugar, water, and salt in medium bowl until smooth.

6

About 20 minutes before end of rising time, add oil to large Dutch oven until it measures about 1½ inches deep and heat over medium-low heat to 360 degrees. Set wire rack in second rimmed baking sheet and line with triple layer of paper towels. Using both your hands, gently place 4 risen doughnuts in oil. Cook until golden brown on undersides, 1 to 1½ minutes, adjusting burner as necessary to maintain oil temperature between 350 and 365 degrees. Using spider skimmer, flip doughnuts and cook until second sides are browned, 1 to 1½ minutes. Transfer doughnuts to prepared rack. Return oil to 360 degrees and repeat with remaining doughnuts. For doughnut holes, transfer all to oil and stir gently and constantly until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to prepared rack to cool. Let doughnuts sit until cool enough to handle, at least 5 minutes.

7

Set clean wire rack in now-empty sheet. Working with 1 doughnut at a time, dip both sides of doughnut in glaze, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Place on unlined rack. Repeat with doughnut holes. Let doughnuts and holes stand until glaze has become slightly matte and dry to touch, 15 to 30 minutes, before serving.

PACZKI (POLISH DOUGHNUTS)

THE BEST RECIPE EVER...Brown-eyedBaker

Traditional Polish paczki - yeasted doughnuts filled with fruit preserves and rolled in sugar, popular on Fat Thursday and Fat Tuesday.

INGREDIENTS:

•  2
  cups
  whole milk, warmed to 110 degrees F
•  4½
  teaspoons
  active dry yeast
  (2 packages)
•  ¾
  cup
  + 1 pinch granulated sugar, divided
•  5 to 6
  cups
  all-purpose flour, divided
•  1
  egg
•  4
  egg yolks
•  1
  teaspoon
  vanilla extract
•  1¼
  teaspoons
  salt
•  4
  tablespoons
  unsalted butter
  (melted and cooled)
• Peanut oil
  (canola oil or lard, for frying)
• Fruit preserves
  (for filling)
• Powdered and granulated sugars
  (for coating)
  GLAZE:
  

  Glaze

  3 ¼ cups (13 ounces) confectioners' sugar 

  ½ cup hot water Whisk sugar, water, and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Dip both sides of donuts into the bowl and allow to drain on wire rack

  Pinch table salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour warm milk into bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in the yeast and a pinch of granulated sugar. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it has become bubbly.
2. Add 2 cups of flour to the mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a smooth batter forms. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot for 30 minutes. The mixture should have risen and be very bubbly.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and egg yolks until pale yellow and frothy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar, vanilla extract and salt, and whisk until combined and smooth.
4. Attach the dough hook to the mixer, add the egg mixture to the dough and mix on medium-low speed until mostly combined. Add the melted butter and mix to combine. Gradually add 3 more cups of flour to the mixture and continue to knead until a very soft dough comes together. (It will not clean the sides of the bowl or form a ball; it will be rather slack and a bit sticky.) If necessary, add up to another 1 cup of flour, a spoonful at a time, until the dough forms.
5. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set in a warm spot until it has doubled in size.
6. Remove the dough from the bowl and turn out onto a floured work surface. With your fingers, push down the dough into an even layer. Sprinkle flour on the dough and roll it out to ½-inch thickness. If the dough doesn't hold its shape and springs back, cover with a damp towel and let rest for a few minutes and try again.
7. Use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut out rounds of dough. Transfer the dough rounds to parchment-lined baking sheets. Gather scraps of dough and again roll out and cut until you have used up all of the dough. Cover the baking sheets loosely with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free spot until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, heat at least 1½ inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or deep skillet (I used a 12-inch cast iron skillet) over medium heat to 350 degrees F. Carefully lower about six paczki into the oil at a time (be sure not to over-crowd the pan) and fry until the bottom is golden brown. Carefully turn them over and continue to fry until the other side is golden brown. Use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to remove them to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Allow the oil to come back to temperature, then repeat until all of the paczki have been fried.
9. Allow the paczki to cool until you are able to handle them easily. Using a filling tip, pipe fruit preserves into the sides of the paczki, then roll in sugar. The paczki are best the same day they are made, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.