Grandma’s lemon pie

My eldest nephew Austin recently became a high school student. Since he’s been old enough to stand on a chair, he’s been helping his parents in the kitchen. These days, he can reach the counter without assistance and he can also cook anything. But his true passion is pie.

For inspiration, I’ve given him cookbooks. Likewise, both his immediate and extended families are adventurous cooks, which has also fueled his curiosity. Passing down recipes between the generations has long been a family trait.

My immediate family during my formative years also cooked often, though the time I spent in my grandma’s kitchen may have inspired me the most. She could cook anything, and like her great-grandson Austin, pies were her specialty.

Over the years, I’ve shared several of her pies, with her chocolate pie being the most popular. Even though it was published over 15 years ago, I still receive comments and messages from readers who’ve baked the pie and declared it a connection to their own family roots.

The last chocolate pie my grandma baked for me was on my 50th birthday. That was five years ago and it was one of her last. At that time, she had already declared herself retired from cooking.

Sometimes with a little coaxing, you could convince her to take another turn at the stove, even. though she was in her late 90s and was declining in energy. However, even though she didn’t move around as much, she had a sharp mind and still enjoyed a spin around the pasture on her riding mower.

Earlier this year, my grandma left this world. It is still strange for me to grasp. As she reminded us often, she was 98 and ready to go. However, it doesn’t make grieving any easier, especially when you’ve been blessed to have your grandma in your life for over half a century. That’s a long time to make a host of memories.

One of my favorite pie memories was at Christmas one year. My mom’s Meyer lemon tree had produced an abundance of fruit and she had brought it up to the farm. I was in town from New York, and after time on planes and in cold temperatures I was coming down with a cold.

My body craved citrus and when I expressed this, Grandma suggested we make her mother’s lemon meringue pie. Now, Grandma was famous for her chocolate and pecan pies, most of all, though she sometimes dabbled in other fillings such as apples or peaches. Lemon, however, was a new one for me.

She made the lemon meringue pie, and its zesty custard was bright and alive. Her signature pie crust has a healthy handful of salt, and it also went well with the tart filling and delicate meringue. The lemon’s potent hit of Vitamin C was an excellent foil to my cold, and it became a new favorite.

My nephew Austin made this pie over the past holidays. Mom sent me a picture and it looked perfect. She noted that he’d used the recipe for it that I’d shared in my second book, The Homesick Texan’s Family Table.

In celebration of my grandma’s life and for the continuing tradition of sharing family recipes, I now share her lemon pie with you here, so it can join your family table, too.