Rhubarb meringue custard pie

Because what else would I do on a gorgeously sunny weekend in Chicago but stay inside the house and bake!

No, really, there is good reason: Kenn and Cliff have invited us to dinner tonight, and we were asked to bring dessert. Conrad can, I admit, work wonders with boneless chicken breasts and cream of mushroom soup, but I am not sure I want him to tackle dessert without his Mom co-baking. Over to me, then.

Helen used to make this on occasion at the restaurant, but I've never tried the recipe. The rhubarb meringue custard pie comes from a cookbook by Karen Barnaby of the Fish House in Stanley Park. Nice restaurant, and I do like her books. Not-so-secretly, I utterly love this one for its cover alone, but there are some good recipes in it.

I did the whole thing her way, pretty much. I used her pastry recipe even, which was fine though not the same as my own.




Conrad was a little fascinated by the whole process of working with pastry. I have to admit, I'm still a bit haphazard about the whole process. Mine is usually good enough, and it took me a lot more practice than I care to admit to get to "good enough"!




The pie smelled lovely once it was out of the oven. I hope it turns out fine. Rhubarb just struck me as such a perfect spring thing to use for dessert. Yes, those are jam tartlets in the background - what better use to put leftover dough to? You surely know I'd munch on all the raw dough otherwise!


The pie juest came out of its second bake a short time ago. I should say that the second bake - kind of obviously - is to toast the meringue and nothing more. I think it looks decent enough for dinner (though the crust is a little speckly brown - from the butter?). I kind of hope that everyone assumes it's a lemon pie and enjoys the surprise of the rhubarb custard filling!