Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Pink Pie and Giveaway

I am so excited about today's post because desserts for breakfast is teaming up with CSN stores (purveyors of coffee tables, cookware, and oh-so-much-more) for an amazing cause: breast cancer awareness.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and, as I've mentioned on this blog before, it's a cause that's very near to me because close family members and friends of mine have had to fight and survive breast cancer.  So please.  Be aware.  Get tested.  Spread the word.

In commemoration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, CSN stores and cookware.com have kindly agreed to give away to one awesomely lucky winner an Emile Henry "Bake for the Cause" 9-inch pink pie plate (Emile Henry donates 10% of the sale of each pie dish to breast cancer research!).  I myself am a huge (read: HUGE) fan of the Emile Henry pie plates (I own four of them!), so I'm uber-excited for one of you to receive one, too, and especially a pink, breast-cancer-research-benefiting one.  To sweeten the pot pie even further, my breast-cancer-surviving relative and I will together donate $50.00 to the American Cancer Society for breast cancer research in the winner's name!

Now, once you have the pie plate, you can make this pink pie I whipped up for the occasion, inspired by a mash-up of my favorite pie (lemon meringue) and one of my favorite pink drinks (strawberry lemonade--trust me, I'm addicted to the stuff): strawberry lemonade meringue pie.  Inside the pie is a mix of the classic, tart lemon curd filling and a sweeter strawberry-lemon curd filling, made from the super sweet late season strawberries that are still floating about the farmers' markets right now.  The combination of lemon and strawberry lends a particularly fun twist to the classic lemon meringue pie.  (And, of course, don't forget the massive amounts of cloud-like meringue on top--my favorite part of this pie!)

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for participating, and please check back soon for the announcement of the winner!  To enter this giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment with your name, a way for me to get in touch with you (anonymous entries will be disqualified), and the answer to this question:

What is your favorite pie?

I'll also give you an extra entry in the drawing if you tweet about this post, but in your tweet, you must mention me (@shihbakes) and include a link to this giveaway (http://bit.ly/dfbCSN1) so that I can track all of your entries!  You have until 23:59 PST, Sunday, October 17th, 2010 to enter.  I'll pick the winner at random that night and make the announcement in next week's post, so be sure to check back then!  This contest is open in the U.S. and Canada only. (My apologies, international readers.) The pie plate portion of this giveaway is brought to you by the CSN stores and cookware.com.

Good luck on the giveaway, and remember to spread the word about Breast Cancer Awareness!


Read on for recipe...



Strawberry-Lemonade Meringue Pie
makes one 9" pie

for pastry:
2 cups flour
2/3 cup butter
1/4 tspn salt
6 Tbspn ice water

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. In a food processor, combine flour and salt. Cut in the butter in ~Tbspn-sized chunks.
3. Process the flour, salt, and butter for a few pulses.
4. Slowly add in water, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing between each addition.
5. Process just until water is integrated and the mixture is the texture of tiny pebbles. When you press the mixture between your fingers, it should form a dough.
6. Dump the dough onto a piece of parchment paper or a lightly floured board and form into a ball. If the dough has warmed up too much during this process, freeze for ten to fifteen minutes before continuing.
7. Roll out the pastry dough and place into pie plate. Prick the bottom of the pie several times with a fork. Return to the freezer for ten to fifteen minutes if the dough has warmed up too much in the rolling process.
8. Before baking, line the inside of the pie crust with a piece of parchment paper and weigh down with pie weights (or dry beans, which is what I use).
9. Bake in the oven for ~15-17 minutes, until the outside rim of the crust begins to turn a golden brown. Carefully remove the pie weights and parchment paper, lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F, and continue to bake for 5-7 minutes more, until the pie crust has turned golden brown and is no longer shiny. Remove from the oven and let cool.

for strawberry-lemonade curd filling:
1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled
1 cup sugar
6 Tbspn cornstarch
1/4 tspn salt
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 egg yolks
2 Tbspn butter, softened
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 Tbspn freshly grated lemon zest

1. In a food processor or blender, puree the strawberries until smooth.
2. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually blend in the strawberry puree and lemon juice.
3. Add the egg yolks and butter, blending until smooth.
4. Gradually add in the boiling water, stirring constantly.
5. Place the saucepan on medium high heat and bring to a full boil, stirring gently with a spatula and scraping the bottom (to prevent burning). Once the mixture begins to thicken, reduce the heat and simmer for one minute.
6. Remove the curd from heat and mix in the lemon zest. Let cool.

for lemon curd filling:
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbspn cornstarch
pinch of salt
1/3 cup + 1 Tbspn freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 egg yolk
1/2 Tbspn butter, softened
1/2 cup boiling water
1 Tbspn freshly grated lemon zest

1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually blend in the lemon juice.
2. Add the egg yolk and butter, blending until smooth.
3. Gradually add the boiling water, stirring constantly.
4. Place the saucepan on medium high heat and bring to a full boil, stirring gently with a spatula and scraping the bottom (to prevent burning). Once the mixture begins to thicken, reduce the heat and simmer for one minute.
5. Remove the curd from heat and mix in the lemon zest. Let cool.

for meringue and assembly:
7-8 egg whites
1/2 tspn cream of tartar
8 Tbspn granulated sugar
1 1/2 tspn vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
1. Place egg whites in a large bowl and sprinkle in the cream of tartar. Stir using a whisk until the surface of the egg whites is completely covered with foam.
2. Increase speed and whip the egg whites, gradually adding the sugar, until the whites hold glossy stiff (but still a bit rounded) peaks. Do not overbeat!
3. Add in the vanilla extract with a quick stir.
4. Fill the pre-baked pie crust with strawberry-lemonade curd and then swirl in the lemon curd.
5. Top with meringue, making sure to seal the meringue to the pie crust at the outer edges.
4. Bake for fifteen minutes, until the meringue is just barely golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool for at least one hour at room temperature before serving.

Enjoy!