Meyer Lemon Blueberry Pie Food

BLUEBERRY PIE WITH MEYER LEMON ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine the butter, flour and salt in a food processor. Pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture looks like finely grated cheese. Add half of the ice water and pulse again. The mixture should start to come together to form a rough ball; if it still seems dry, add the remaining ice water and pulse until it has formed a rough ball. Remove the mixture from the food processor to a clean work surface and form it into 2 discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (This can be done a few days in advance.)
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Combine blueberries, lemon zest and juice, sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Set aside.
• Remove dough from the refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before using to allow it to soften up a bit. Dust the dough and a work surface with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll one disc of dough out, rotating the dough a quarter turn after each roll and dusting lightly with flour if it feels tacky, into an even 11-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick.
• Butter a 9-inch pie plate and lay the dough in the plate. (There should be about 1/2-inch dough hanging over the sides. If there is more than that, trim it with a sharp pair of kitchen shears.) Fold the dough underneath itself around the rim of the pie plate and pinch or crimp into desired shape.
• Roll out second disc of dough and slice into 1 1/2-inch strips.
• Fill the pie with blueberries and lattice the dough strips on top. Crimp the edges to seal. Bake until the internal temperature reaches 195 degrees F, about 50 minutes. Allow to cool and set, about 1 hour. Serve topped with Meyer Lemon Ice Cream.
• Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set aside. Combine the cream, vanilla extract, lemon zest and 1/2 cup sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat and stir in lemon juice. Combine the eggs and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl and beat to a homogeneous consistency.
• Strain the cream mixture, then whisk a third of the cream mixture into the egg mixture. Immediately whisk the egg mixture back into the remaining cream mixture.
• Chill the mixture over the ice water bath.
• Churn the chilled mixture in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's directions. Transfer to a container and freeze, 2 hours.
• Special equipment: an ice cream machine

BLUEBERRY-LEMON PIE WITH A BUTTER CRUST

Steps:

• For the flaky butter pie crust: Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and cut it in with a pastry blender until the largest pieces are the size of small peas and the mixture begins to clump on the pastry blender. Shuffle through the mixture with your hands, pinching chunks of fat to flatten them.
• Stir the vinegar and 5 tablespoons ice water together in a bowl. Add the liquid to the flour mixture and stir with a fork. Pinch a clump of dough in your hands: If it feels moist and clumps together easily, it's probably hydrated enough. If it feels really crumbly, add another tablespoon or two of ice water until you can form a baseball-size clump of dough, packing it on as if you were making a snowball.
• Divide the dough in half and form each half into a flat disk. Wrap both disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
• Thirty minutes before you're ready to roll out the dough, remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature to soften. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the blueberry filling: In a bowl, toss the blueberries with the sugar, cornstarch and lemon zest and juice and mix until combined.
• Dust a worktop and rolling pin with flour. Roll out one dough disk a little less than 1¿4 inch thick, about 14 inches in diameter. Fold the dough in half and transfer it to a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Unfold. Press the dough into the corners, leaving the overhang for now. Refrigerate the first crust while you roll out the second disk of dough.
• Remove the bottom crust from the refrigerator and fill it with the berry mixture. Tuck the pats of cold butter beneath the top layer of berries. Top with the second piece of dough, and trim both to a 1/2-inch overhang around the pie. Tuck the overhang into a roll and crimp the edge, pressing down to hook some of the dough over the edge of the dish, holding the pie. Cut a hole in the center of the pie, as well as some decorative vents.
• Brush the top of the pie with cream and dust it with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes. Cover the edges of the pie with foil and continue to bake until the center juices bubble and thicken, 25 to 35 minutes more.
• Let the pie cool until it is just warm to the touch before slicing and serving. Top with ice cream.

MEYER LEMON AND BLUEBERRY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Grease a 8x4 inch loaf pan.
• Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Combine lemon juice, lemon zest, oil and egg in small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
• Stir blueberries into dry ingredients to coat. Add lemon mixture to dry ingredients and fold together until just combined. Spread evenly in loaf pan.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely.
• By the way - this bread gets even more moist and lemony the next day if you wrap it well once it's cooled. Don't make yourself wait, though. Cut a slice and then wrap it up.

MEYER LEMON PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place sugar, eggs, and lemon juice in a blender; blend until smooth, about 3 minutes.
• Pour melted butter into the blender and blend for 30 seconds more.
• Transfer lemon filling to the pastry shell.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling is just set, 30 to 35 minutes. Allow pie to rest until completely set before serving, about 15 minutes more.

MEYER LEMON PIE

Steps:

• in a bowl, mix the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt together.
• in a saucepan boil 2 cups water, add the sugar mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture just begins to thicken.
• reduce heat to low and cook until thickened; whisk in the beaten egg yolks and cook 2 minutes longer on low heat.
• remove from heat and add the lemon juice and zest, and combine well. let cool for 5 minutes then pour into pie shell. 4 egg whites, beat until foamy, add 1/3 c sugar gradually, beat on high until peaks form. spread over lemon pie, sealing edges and swirling decoratively. bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.
• Meringue:.
• beat 4 egg white until foamy, add 1/3 c sugar gradually, beating on high until peaks form. spread over lemon pie, sealing edges and swirling decoratively, bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

BLUEBERRY AND MEYER LEMON MARMALADE

Steps:

• Day 1, Morning: Take the 1/2 pound of lemons and cut them into eighths. Place these in a non-reactive saucepan where they will fit snugly in a single layer. Add enough cold water for the fruit to bob freely. Cover tightly and let rest for 8 hours at room temperature.
• Day 1, Afternoon: After 8 hours have passed, bring the pan with the lemon eighths and water to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium-low. Cook the fruit at a lively simmer, covered, for 2 hours - the lemons will become very soft and the liquid will become slightly syrupy. As the lemons cook, press down on them gently with a spoon every 30 minutes or so, adding a little more water if necessary. The water level should remain consistently high enough for the fruit to remain fully submerged as it cooks.
• When the lemons are finished cooking, strain their juice by pouring the hot fruit and liquid into a fine mesh strainer or jelly bag set over a medium bowl. Cover the whole setup with plastic wrap and let drip overnight at room temperature.
• Meanwhile, prepare the Meyer lemon slices.
• To prepare the Meyer lemon slices: take the pound of Meyer lemons and halve them lengthwise, then cut each half into quarters (each lemon will be cut into 8 pieces at this point). Take each lemon slice and pry out any seeds from it. You can place these seeds in the pot with the lemon eighths and water which is currently simmering - this will add more pectin.
• Slice each Meyer lemon slice thinly crosswise - how thick you slice is a personal preference. I prefer to slice very thinly, making each slice 1/8th of an inch or less. But if you like you could make your slices thicker. I wouldn't recommend going much thicker than 1/4 of an inch.
• Place these Meyer lemon slices (they will look like a lot of little triangles) in a stainless steel pot and cover with water, covering the slices by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain, discarding the liquid. Return the lemon slices to the pot and cover with 1 inch of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, decrease the heat to medium-low, and cook at a lively simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. As the fruit cooks, stir it gently every 10 minutes or so, adding a little more water if necessary. The water level should stay consistently high enough for the fruit to remain submerged as it cooks. After 20 minutes, remove the pan from the heat, cover tightly, and let rest overnight at room temperature.
• Day 2, Morning: Remove the plastic wrap from the lemon eighths and their liquid and discard the lemons remaining in the strainer or jelly bag. Do not squeeze the bag or press down on the lemons if you want a clear jelly in your marmalade. Set this liquid aside.
• Pour the Meyer lemon slices and their liquid through a fine mesh strainer (or a jelly bag), and let this mixture drip for about 15 minutes. Remove the Meyer lemon slices from the strainer - DO NOT DISCARD - set them aside. Mix the cooked liquid you have strained from the lemon eighths and the Meyer lemons, mixing well, and set aside. You will need 4 1/2 cups of this liquid. If you do not have 4 1/2 cups, add water to the mixture until it equals 4 1/2 cups.
• In a large preserving pan, combine the blueberries with 1 1/2 cups of sugar. I use a potato masher to mash up some of the blueberries, about a third of them, but you don't have to do this. I just feel that it gets the juices flowing quicker. Bring the blueberries and sugar to a simmer, stirring frequently, and then continue to cook until the juices are just deep enough to cover the berries, about 5 minutes.
• Pour the berries into a colander set over a large bowl, and stir the berries gently to drain off the juice. Set the colander of berries on a plate (to catch any remaining juice) and set them aside.
• In a large preserving pan, combine the 4 1/2 cups of mixed liquid from the lemons, the juice from the blueberries, and the Meyer lemon slices. If you do not have a preserving pan, use the widest pan you have. The wider the pan, the more quickly moisture will evaporate from the mixture, and this is what you want when you are making jelly, jam, or marmalade.
• Place 4 saucers or small plates in the freezer. You will use these later to check the set of the marmalade.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, and cook at a rapid boil over high heat until the mixture is reduced by half, stirring occasionally. It will take about 35 minutes for the mixture to reduce by half.
• Once the mixture is reduced by half, add in the blueberries and any accumulated juice, the strained lemon juice, and the remaining 4 cups sugar, stirring well over high heat to help dissolve the sugar.
• Cook at a boil over high heat, stirring every 2 minutes or so, until the set point is reached. Check the set after 5 minutes of cooking.
• To check the set: take the pot of marmalade off the heat (if you don't remove the marmalade from the heat while you check the set it could over-cook and become rubbery or hard, if the marmalade is indeed already set).
• Place a drop of the marmalade mixture (try to get the "jelly" part of the mixture, avoiding the rind and the berries; I use a 1/4 teaspoon measure to dip out the drop) on one of the saucers you've kept in the freezer, & place the saucer back in the freezer for 1 minute. After 1 minute, take the saucer out of the freezer and nudge the drop of jelly with your finger. If it "wrinkles" when you nudge it with your finger it is done. If the jelly is not set, continue cooking over medium-high heat, checking the set again every 5 minutes.
• I make this marmalade using an 11 quart copper preserving pan, over highest heat on my second largest burner. After the sugar has been added and has dissolved, it usually takes 10 minutes of cooking for the marmalade to reach the set point for me.
• When the marmalade is set, ladle it into sterilized canning jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with damp paper towels to remove any marmalade which got on the rims or the threads. Place the lids and the bands on the jars, just tightening the bands fingertip tight.
• Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes, then remove and let sit, undisturbed, for at least 12 hours before checking seals. It is important to let them sit undisturbed for 12 hours because the sealing compound on the lids is still cooling and hardening, completing the seal. While the jars cool, you will hear a "plink" type sound from each jar - this is the jars completing the vacuum seal as the final air escapes the jar. After 12 hours have passed, remove the bands and check the lids - press down in the center of the lid. If you cannot push the lid down any further, the jar is sealed. If the lid "gives" a bit, and you can push it down, the jar did not seal. You can either put the band back on the jar, and reprocess it for another 5 minutes, or you can just put it in the fridge and use it within 3 months.