Recipe - Chocolate Meringue Pie

1 Pie shell, 9"; baked
One half cup Cocoa, Dutch process
unsweetened
One fourth cup Cornstarch
1 One half cup Sugar
One fourth teaspoon Salt
3 Egg; separated
2 cup Milk
2 teaspoon Vanilla (not extract)
2 tablespoon Butter

MERINGUE
3 Egg white
One fourth teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla (not extract)
One fourth teaspoon Cream of tartar
1 teaspoon Baking powder
2/3 cup Sugar

Pie: Combine dry ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir to mix thor
oughly before you add liquids. Now add egg yolks (save the whites for the
meringue) and milk and whisk until there are absolutely no lumps. Place
directly over mediumlow heat, stir CONSTANTLY until the pudding thickens
and comes to a plopping boil. Watch it like a hawk and DON'T TURN UP THE
FIRE; at this stage it'll stick and burn at the least provocation! Patience
is essential here. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and butter.
Pour into baked pie shell. Top with meringue. Bake at 325 F. until the
meringue browns, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meringue: Beat egg whites and all other ingredients except sugar until
foamy. Add sugar, ONE TABLESPOON AT A TIME, while beating vigorously until
the whites will hold a firm peak and are satiny looking. Spread meringue
over the hot filling, starting with small amounts at the edges and sealing
to the crust all around. If you don't make sure the meringue is well stuck
to the crust at this stage, it'll shrink and pull away during the baking,
which makes a lots less attractive pie. Spread pie with remaining meringue,
making hills and valleys.

Adding the sugar a little at a time helps make sure that it dissolves
completely, and so helps prevent the meringue from weeping. Also, spreading
the meringue over the hot filling helpsI don't know why.

Adapted from The Only Texas Cookbook
Linda West Eckhardt
per Sam Waring

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini