NAVEL ORANGE MERINGUE PIE OR (WITH APOLOGIES TO ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING), HOW DO I SCREW UP? LET ME COUNT THE WAYS 4 SEPTEMBER 2023
After the semi-success of my LEMON BERRY MERINGUE PIE, I wanted to try a plain, old-fashioned LEMON MERINGUE PIE, the way Neal's Mom used to make (which is why I tried the LEMON BERRY MERINGUE PIE in the first place). Unfortunately, we've no idea what happened to her recipes, so I was just thinking that . . . . . . where a long time ago was 1973, a galaxy far, far away was Kenosha, WI, and my first future MIL gave me a Betty Crocker Cookbook, thinking maybe I'd become a housewife & a mother. I didn't do either, but I still have that cookbook, so I looked up LEMON MERINGUE PIE. As usual, I couldn't just stick to that . . . on the same page was a recipe for ORANGE MERINGUE PIE . . . . . . which meant I could also make some CHOCOLATE-DIPPED ORANGE PEEL. Neal brought home four beautiful Navel oranges; everything else I already had available. For the next week, ev'ry time I opened the fridge, those poor oranges cried out, 'WHEN ARE YOU GONNA USE US???' But with Hurricane Idalia in the offing, it was way too humid to make meringue. H. Idalia missed us, and with tomorrow being eye surgery day, I figured today would be a good day to get this done, so I took the oranges & the eggs out of the fridge to bring them to room temperature. First, the crust. I went with Preppy Kitchen's crust from the LEMON BERRY MERINGUE PIE, as it was simpler than the one in the BC cookbook. I thought. Mixing station . . . Flour, sugar & salt . . . . . . magically transform into a pie crust . . Side note:
	In August, I purchased a box of FOOD QUALITY vinyl gloves, to be used when I make ALL-SPRINKLE COOKIES (VANILLA), ALL-SPRINKLE COOKIES (LEMON & CHOCOLATE/ALMOND), [NO-BAKE] RUM OR BOURBON BALLS, [NO-BAKE] BOURBON BALLS, [NO-BAKE] BOURBON BALLS WITH ORIGINAL OREO CRUMBS, and any rolled pie crust. They were very handy for this pie crust, and much easier to clean off than my hands would've been.
Adding the pie weights and ready to go into the oven . . . Are you seeing the screw-ups yet? * butter, COLD & CUBED - by the time I got to making the crust, the butter was already room temperature * 1/2 t salt - I tasted the dough; it seemed awf'ly salty (I checked the recipe and yes, 1/2 teaspoonn salt was correct) * I forgot to do this - WRAP and CHILL for 1 hour to 3 days * And this - CHILL 15 minutes to overnight * And this - BRUSH edge of pie with egg white * And, finally, this - LINE with foil & parchment paper. With some trepidation, I took the crust out of the oven . . . . . . it looked and tasted OK. So now I had a pie crust, but with my propensity to screw up today, I thought it prudent to NOT make the filling & meringue. And despite wearing my back brace, I hurt. Must be another storm coming! I looked thru my recipe box for something I could make easily, without baking, and with ingredients I had to hand. . . . AND THE WINNER WAS . . . [NO-BAKE] BROWN SUGAR BOURBON ICEBOX PIE . . . . . . with chocolate jimmies instead of ORIGINAL OREO™ cookie crust. So this project wasn't a total bust. MORAL OF THIS STORY: DON'T TRY COMPLICATED RECIPES WHEN YOU'RE STRESSED!
THE PREPPY KITCHEN PIE CRUST RECIPE I USED, AND THEN IGNORED

ORANGE MERINGUE PIE, FINALLY! HERE