When Bad Things Happen To Good Pies

In going through my cook books (yes, I'm still working on that), I came upon a recipe for a lemon pie that was a little different than the one I usually make.  I love anything lemony so decided to give it a try.

I meant to make it last Saturday night for our Sunday treat, but didn't get to it.  All day Sunday I tried again to get it whipped together, but no go.

So, dadgummit, this morning I put all else aside and made it.  The crust was different than a regular pie crust, more like a shortbread that had to be patted into the pie plate then baked for ten minutes, and set aside to cool completely.

When the crust was cooled, I made the lemon filling.  I used fresh eggs, fresh milk, real lemon zest and juice made with my own little hands using fresh lemons.

Recipe said pie must be chilled two to three hours before serving.  Okay.  Done.

After dinner tonight, I brought it out and sliced it.  Or tried to slice it.  For a time there, I thought we might need to go rev up the Sawzall to get through the crust.  It was that hard.

Then getting the pie spatula under the cut piece in order to lift it out of the pie plate was another challenge.  Holey moley, it was stuck in there like cement.

Not to be defeated, I persevered and finally got two slices out and onto our plates.  It was not pretty.

We looked at our plates and at each other and then we dug in.  The consensus?  It was delicious.  The filling was creamy, lemony with just a slight tang.  The shortbread crust was tender and buttery.  The pie will get finished, no doubt about that.

But am I glad I didn't take it to a pie social?  You bet.

Will I make it again?  Nope.