Recipe - Orange Meringue Pie

PIE PASTRY
2 cup Allpurpose flour
One half teaspoon Salt
2/3 cup Vegetable shortening
2 tablespoon Ice water (or more)
2 cup Fresh orange juice
12 tablespoon Unsalted butter; cut or sliced up
1 One half tablespoon Grated orange zest
One half cup Fresh lemonjuice
2 teaspoon Grenadine syrup

FILLING
6 tablespoon Cornstarch
3 tablespoon Allpurpose flour
1 cup Sugar
One fourth teaspoon Salt
1 cup Boiling water
5 Egg yolks; lightly beaten

MERINGUE
5 Egg whites; at room temp.
One fourth teaspoon Salt
One half teaspoon Cream of tartar
One half cup Sugar; plus...
2 tablespoon Sugar

Combine the flour, salt and shortening in a large mixing bowl, and cut in
the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With a fork, stir
in only enough ice water to enable the dough to be gathered into a ball.
Flatten the ball into a disk, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at
least 1 hour. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into an
11inch round. Without stretching, fit the pastry into a 9inch pan. Trim,
leaving a 1/2inch overhang all around; discard the pastry scraps or
reserve for another purpose. Tuck under the excess pastry and crimp to
make a decorative edge. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking. Preheat
the oven to 425 F. Line the pastry with aluminum foil and weigh down with
aluminum pie weights or dried beans to prevent the pastry from bubbling.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Cool on a rack.
PREPARE THE FILLING: In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornstarch,
flour, sugar and salt. Stirring constantly, pour in the boiling water nad
blend until smooth. Add the egg yolks and orange juice and beat until
smooth. Transfer the filling to the top of a double boiler over, but not
touching, boiling water and cook, stirring frequently, for 15 to 20
minutes. When the mixture is very thick, remove it from the heat. Add the
butter, orange zest, lemon juice and grenadine; stir until the butter
melts. Cover with a round of waxed paper place directly on the surface and
let the filling cool to room temperature. Pour into the prebaked pie
shell, cover with waxed paper and chill for at least 5 hours or overnight.
PREPARE THE MERINGUE: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the egg whites in a
bowl, add the salt and beat until the whites are foamy. Add the cream of
tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and continue
beating until the whites are stiff and very glossy. Do no overbeat or the
meringue will be dry. Pile the meringue on the filling, mounding it in the
center and spreading it out to the edge of the crust to seal well. Bake in
the center of the oven for 15 minutes, or until the meringue is golden. Let
cool and chill for 3 hours before serving. To slice neatly, use a knife
dipped into boiling water before making each cut.

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