Lemon meringue pie bars and Virginia's Mac and Cheese

 Since I can't turn out a decent pie, I am going to try the Country Cooks lemon meringue pie bars.

                                                 

Lemon Meringue Pie Bars

Lemon Meringue Pie Bars

Recipe adapted from Cofessions of a Cookbook Queen

• Crust:
  1 cup flour
  1/4 cup powdered sugar
  1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut into cubes
  
  
  Filling:
  6 large eggs
  2 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  3/4 cup lemon juice
  zest of 2 lemons
  
  
  Meringue:
  3 large egg whites
  1/4 cup granulated sugar
  ¼ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
  ½ teaspoon vanilla
  
  
  Preheat oven to 350.
  In a medium bowl, mix together flour and powdered sugar for crust. Cut in butter in until the mixture forms a dough.  Pat it into a 9 x 13 pan. The crust will be thin. Bake crust for about 10 minutes, until golden around the edges.
  Prepare filling -- in the bowl of your mixer, beat eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and zest on medium speed for about a minute and a half. Pour over crust and bake for about 20 minutes or until filling is set and no longer runny on top. Remove from oven, let cool, and chill bars until cold and firm.
  Beat egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar, one tablespoon at a time until stiff peaks form.  Spoon the meringue over the lemon filling, sealing the edges. Place in the oven under the broiler. Careful to make sure the meringue does not get too brown.  Cut bars into squares. Enjoy!

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese:

If you have a chance, and it would be slim to none, to get the Junior League cookbook titled Virginia Hospitality, you should buy it.  In the early seventies Marcia Richards and I took an antiquing trip east to cover all the shops and flea markets that we could find.  Along the way we bought local cookbooks and this one is so used and abused that I am holding it together as I write.  I have made so many of the dishes listed here and very few are marked don't bother with this one.  Most are marked excellent.  This creamy Mac and Cheese is one I have made over and over through the years.  Stouffers is very good if you need a quick fix, but this one is just as fast if you have a few supplies in the frig.   I made it again today for Matt while he puts together the new pool side equipment and starts the spring clean up. This is my number one cookbook and here is the recipe.

7 ounces of elbow or any other sturdy pasta (cook it just to the bite because you are going to put it in the oven)

2 cups cottage cheese

 1 cup sour cream

1 beaten egg

salt and pepper to taste

8 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese (or as much as you like)

Put it in a buttered baking dish in a slow oven until it gets bubbled through out or to the consistency  that you enjoy.  Broil the top to create a brown crusty topping.

Another recipe from Virginia Hospitality (which you can buy on vintage cookbook sites) is milk punch.  It was the second biggest hit of a holiday party we had.  Once you see the ingredients, you'll know why. 

Virginia Hospitality punch:

1/2 gallon milk
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
1 fifth Bourbon
1/2 fifth rum
1/2 cup creme de cacao
1 quart vanilla ice cream for the end (on the day you serve)

Mix first 5 ingredients together on the day before the party. Chill.  At serving time place 1 quart ice cream in punch bowl.  Pour the mix over the ice cream and sprinkle with grated nutmeg. SOOO good!