Lemon Curd and Meringue

I wish I had painted the tree blue; that would look cool. I'm totally addicted to Foodgawker.com and Tastepotting.com and always wanted pics on this site but I'm not a photographer..but I'm gonna try. This lemon curd has been waiting patiently for me to figure something out for about a week and it did not turn our as I would have liked. At all and the next day this was on Foodgawker to taunt me. Oh, well. I had time to paint the tree but the curd and meringue cookie were eaten before that could happen. By who, I can't say. It just sort of happened. Yumm...I mean, umm, yeah. Recipes follow...

Lemon Curd

from marthastewart.com

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, 

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

8 large egg yolks (egg whites reserved for another use)

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter (10 tablespoons), cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Whisk together sugar, lemon zest, and egg yolks then add juice and salt in a sauce pan with the heat off. Turn the heat to medium high and stir in butter one lump at a time until mixture is thick and coats the back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Do Not Boil. Stirring constantly, filter mix through fine mesh sieve and store in airtight container for up to two weeks in the refrigerator. Makes 2 cups.

Meringue "Cookies"

So, now I totally understand lemon meringue pie: you make the filling with just the egg yolks and reserve the whites for the top. I totally get it now. I actually used the egg whites last week for a (lackluster) quiche so I cracked open an egg to make some cookies for the picture and for my friend who has an interview tomorrow.  The dogs enjoyed the yolk, trust me.

1 egg white

1/4 c sugar

Preheat oven to 250. Each portion on egg white needs at least a fourth cup of sugar added at the end. If you add at the beginning the whites won't froth. Don't try to do this my hand, that will hurt; use a stand or hand held mixer. The whites will be glossy and form stiff peaks when it's ready. you can put dollops straight onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet or make an impromptu piping bag with a sandwich bag.  Either way, bake low and slow until they turn pinkish on the tops. Brown meringues taste really bad, I can't (won't) tell you how I know this. One egg white makes about 5 big cookies (one white makes a lot of foam). I think more sugar would make this crunchy, must experiment.