What a Filling. . .

Here are the fillings that I put in the pie crusts. They were both fab.u.lous! PE is slightly picky about his banana cream pie filling and he was very impressed with this filling. He couldn't believe it was from scratch. I, on the other hand, am picky about my lemon meringue pie filling. This stuff was lucious. Tart and tangy as it should be with a fabulous meringue on top. Yum! I can't wait to make them both again.

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Banana Cream Pie Recipe
from Recipezaar
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8 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 pinch salt
4 cups cold milk
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla
3 bananas, sliced diagonally

Mix cornstarch, sugar, salt. Add to cold milk in a medium size saucepan. Stir to dissolve. Cook mixture over medium heat (stir constantly to prevent scorching) until bubbly. Pour 1/4 of the hot mixture into beaten eggs. Mix thoroughly. Return mixture to the saucepan. Continue cooking until mixture comes back to"bubbling" and is thick. Blend in butter and vanilla. Pour half of the mixture into 10" baked pie shell. Cover the top with sliced bananas. Pour remainder of the mixture on top of the bananas. Let the filling cool-- then refrigerate until firm. Top the pie with sweetened whipped cream and serve.

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The Ultimate Lemon Meringue Pie
from RecipeZaar
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Lemon Filling
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
6 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh from 2 - 3 lemons)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a large, nonreactive saucepan. Add egg yolks, then immediately but gradually whisk in 1 1/2 cups water. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking regularly, 8- 10 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat, whisk in zest, then juice, and finally butter. Keep warm until meringue is made.

Meringue Topping
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix cornstarch and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally until thickened. Remove from heat when translucent and thickened. Preheat oven to 325. In a large mixing bowl, mix cream of tartar and sugar together. Beat egg whites with whip attachment of mixer until frothy. Add vanilla. Beat in sugar mixture, 1 tbsp at a time. Then drop in cornstarch mixture, 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form.

Pour warm lemon filling into pie crust. Distribute meringue evenly over the top, starting with the edges, and then the middle. Make sure it attaches to the crust. Lifting with the back of the spoon, create peaks in the meringue. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

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