Ever since I was young, I’ve always asked for lemon meringue pie for my birthday instead of a regular birthday cake. Cake … I can take it or leave it. But pie – I love it!

There are so many versions of my beloved lemon meringue. And with so many recipes floating around, some get fancy with “lemon curd” as their filling – It’s not for me. Others masquerade as lemon meringue in grocery stores with florescent yellow fake filling – giving my fave a bad name!

My favorite recipe is just like my Mom used to make but with a few updated twists. The recipe uses fresh lemon juice and lovely yellow lemon zest, which really ups that delicious tartness we love in a citrus pie filling. The crust is speckled with chopped toasted hazelnuts … and I also like to indulge a little –it’s my birthday, why not?– and use lard in the pie crust. It makes it so much flakier and gives it that old fashioned flavor. A little corn starch in the filling helps it set just right for that picture perfect slice of pie when you cut into it. The lemony goodness then gets a layer of fresh raspberries – and all that gets topped with a cloud of fluffy meringue.

I so look forward to a big slice every May 19th! I know your mouths are watering, and mine is too – I can’t wait to have a slice! – Kathy

Enjoying a slice!

Kathy’s Birthday Lemon Meringue Pie with Fresh Raspberries

Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup lard or vegetable shortening
2 Tbsp. butter
1 – 2 Tbsp. ice water

Filling & Meringue
1 cup + 1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
6 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
4 eggs, separated
1 1/2 Tbsp. finely minced lemon zest
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

To make the crust:
Mix the flour, hazelnuts, salt and sugar together in a large bowl. Add lard or shortening and butter and, with a pastry blender or clean hands, combine until mixture forms pea-sized particles.

Add 1 tablespoon of the ice water. Stir the dry mixture with a fork, mixing until liquid is just incorporated. If dough is too dry, then add more water, 1 to 2 teaspoons at a time.

Form dough into a ball and flatten out slightly to a big disk, fold over each side into the middle, so there are 3 layers. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for 20 minutes.

After dough has chilled, press the portion into a flat round disk. On a lightly floured surface roll out dough into a 1/8-inch-thick circle that is about 1 inch larger all around than a 9-inch pie pan.

Place crust in pie pan and crimp the edges. Prick crust all over with a fork to prevent puffing while baking. (If pastry puffs, carefully reach in oven and prick pastry again where puffing.) Bake for about 8 – 10 minutes until golden brown then remove from oven and cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, to make the filling:
In a heavy sauce pan whisk together 1 cup of the sugar, cornstarch, water and lemon juice until well combined and cornstarch is dissolved.

Place over medium heat and stir constantly until mixture is thickened and lightly simmering.

Mix together the egg yolks in a small bowl with a little of the hot mixture to temper the eggs, and whisk quickly into the simmering mixture. Cook about 1 more minute, stirring constantly, until totally thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in lemon zest and butter.

Cool, stirring often. When filling has cooled slightly, pour into the cooked pie shell and arrange raspberries on the top.

To finish pie:
Make meringue by whipping the 4 reserved egg whites with cream of tartar in a mixer on medium high speed until frothy. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, a little at a time with mixer on high. Continue beating until stiff and glossy but not dry. Pile meringue on pie, sealing meringue onto edge of crust to prevent shrinking of the meringue.

Swirl with a spoon for a decorative, peaky top and bake in the 400-degree preheated oven for 6 – 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Place on a rack to cool.

Recipe © Kathy Casey Food Studios®

You’ve for sure seen them at Starbucks. And they do make perfect whipped cream. But there’s so much more you can do with them! Of course I’m talking about iSi Gourmet Whips (as seen to the left, photo courtesy of iSi North America).

There are so many ways you can use your Whip! I tend to geek out and try different things.

Amazon’s Al Dente Blog

Lots of Delicious Travel and Exciting Projects

It’s been another whirlwind of a few months … lots of tasty travel and exciting work as well as the addition of a new mixology associate Andrew Bohrer to the Liquid Kitchen! As a former bartender at Vessel and opening bar manager at the Naga Cocktail Lounge (both listed in Food & Wine’s top 100 bars in the world) as well as most recently the bar manager at Mistral Kitchen, Andrew created national cocktail buzz around his creative libations. We are thrilled to welcome Andrew to our mixology team! Check out his blog at Cask Strength.

Speaking of blogs … on my blog Dishing with Kathy Casey, we will have some new guest bloggers such as Cocktail Quests’ Courtney Randall, Liberty Bar co-owner Andrew Friedman and cake lover Josie Plath. We have new posts and recipes every week and we hope you visit often.

It seems I’ve barely been home for 2 seconds lately, so here is a glimpse of my spring adventures. I’ll be excited to report back mid-summer with new travels, tales and tasty recipes!

Tales of the Cocktail on Tour: Vancouver

Tales of the Cocktail has moved into international territory and broken from its New Orleans roots this past March. Tales Vancouver was hosted at the beautiful Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in British Columbia. Tales on Tour was set for a different, yet fun and refreshing change of pace. (Definitely not as many sun glasses worn at the early morning seminars!)

Mass cocktail swag from TOTC: Vancouver!!!!

The whole event kicked off with a Canadian Professional Bartenders Association (CPBA) Welcome Reception held at the Vancouver Aquarium. Master mixologist David Wolowidnyk of WEST Restaurant & Bar as well as Director & Treasure of the CPBA shook up and stirred lots of great drinks while demonstrating his mastery and finesse of the Japanese bartending techniques.

Mixologist David Wolowidnyk stirring a tasty concoction!

The rest of my time there was spent attending amazing seminars by such cocktail luminaries as tiki god Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. Jeff is a total tiki beverage historian. His CSI-style seminar took us through the various origins of the Mai Tai cocktail and helped us come to our own conclusions. Too fun!!!

Beachbum Berry holding up his book Sippin’ Safari!

I then geeked out with Dave Arnold at The Science of Cocktails: New Techniques Behind the Bar followed by an informative and fun seminar on The History and Importance of Ice in Cocktails by renowned mixologist Charlotte Voisey and Jon Santer.

It was definitely great to have Tales up in the Pacific Northwest- my neck of the woods. I can’t wait for Tales of the Cocktail this summer, July 20-24 in New Orleans, Louisiana where I will be presenting a seminar on H2O Cocktails with the Modern Mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim and master distiller Thomas Kuuttanen from Purity Vodka. Come shake some fun up with us and get your tickets soon!

Mom 2.0 Summit Conference

In April I headed to the Mom 2.0 Summit Conference! This huge conference was held in beautiful New Orleans, Louisiana. (I sure seem to be spending a lot of time there!) My team and I were there with Almond Accents. We whipped up lunch for 400 people, passed out some delicious snacks and bites at the booth and met lots of great people. Check out my recipe for the Calypso Cous Cous Almond Salad with Shrimp that we made for the lunch.

Dale DeGroff comes to Seattle!

“King Cocktail” Dale DeGroff was shaking it up at my Food Studios-Liquid Kitchen this past spring for a Cointreau event. He guided attendees through a spirited tasting of orange liquors and a sampling of Dale’s cocktails. Cointreau also announced the 2011 Mix-Off Competition where I get to be an expert mentor for the finals at Tales of the Cocktail. If my mixologist wins not only do they get a trip to France – but I do too! Afterwards we served up some of Dale’s cocktails. It’s always an honor to see Dale and watch him work.

Dale and I enjoying a cocktail!

Here is a one of my favorite Dale DeGroff cocktails:

Bitter Rose
1/2 oz Cointreau
2 ounces Plymouth Gin
1/2 oz Roses Lime Juice
1/4 oz fresh lime juice
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
Dash of Grenadine
Garnish: rose petal

Directions: Assemble all ingredients in a Boston shaker filled with ice and shake well. Strain in to a chilled martini glass and garnish with a rose petal.

TV, Books, and More!

I’m so excited to have been chosen as one of the 101 featured mixologists in the legendary spirit writer Gary Regan’s newest book, Annual Manual for Bartenders, 2011, which includes the recipe for my Bollywood cocktail. It’s an amazing book for any mixologist or budding bartender. So please support this great writer and order your copy today!

If you missed my latest episode on New Day Northwest all about what to do with that extra Easter candy you can still catch the video and recipe here.

If you’re still thirsty then try out my Tea’Thyme cocktail recipe found in the Food & Wine: Cocktails 2011 book due out this summer! I penned the vodka chapter – so stay tuned for more…

Food Bank Gourmet!

Family Works Food Bank had an amazing and successful fundraiser event in late March. They asked celebrated chefs and restaurant owners Rachel Yang of Joule/Revel and Amy McCray of Eva to team up and lead an interactive cooking demo using only food bank ingredients. I was happy to be asked to emcee the event. It was amazing to see and taste the amazing dishes they cooked up for a great cause. Please remember to support your local food banks!

Chef’s Rachel Yang, myself and Amy McCray!

Foster Farms’ Fresh Chicken Cooking Contest!

Foster Farms is looking for recipes! If you have an amazing chicken recipe that you think is great and deserves some recognition, make sure you enter the Foster Farms’ Fresh Chicken Cooking Contest. Recipe applicants have until May 31st to turn in recipes for a chance to win a grand prize of $10,000 and a year’s worth of Foster Farms’ chicken! For contest info, click here. A family owned company since 1939, Foster Farms prides itself in raising locally-grown fresh chicken available in grocery stores on the West Coast. The Washington state finals will be held at my Food Studios and I am lucky to be a judge again this year!

2010 Judges: Jamie Peha, myself and Cynthia Nims!

Where to catch Kathy next:

Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen™ Season Two – Coming Soon!
I’ll be filming Season Two of my cocktail show Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen soon with Small Screen Network! I’ll be creating some refreshing summer cocktails and d’lish appetizers. In the meantime, check out past episodes for some libacious inspiration.

May 13 – 17: Manhattan Cocktail Classic: New York, New York
The Manhattan Cocktail Classic is just around the corner! This part conference, part cocktail party and part festival-style liquor and spirits event is open to the industry and to the public! I’ll be presenting the seminar “Three Mixologists, Three Cocktails, Three Ways (or Cocktail Ménage á Trois)” and teaming up with Small Screen Network and fellow renowned mixologists Charlotte Voisey and Jamie Boudreau as we each give our spin on the French 75, a Margarita and the Old Fashioned while discussing the history of the classic versions and our inspiration for our modern versions. For event and ticket info, click here.

June 1 – 4: International Association of Culinary Professionals Conference: Austin, Texas
The IACP Conference is an annual conference where worldwide culinary professionals get the chance to meet up and take part in lively discussions/seminars about the latest trends in the culinary world. I’ll be presenting a seminar this year titled “It’s Better to be Bitter” where we will be tasting bitters and discussing the growing bitters phenomenon. For those industry friends, I hope to see you in Austin. For more information, check out the IACP site.

I’ve also been blogging for Amazon’s Al Dente so I hope you will visit there as well to see what new things I am cooking up this summer. Here’s wishing you all a tasty and d’lish summer! – Kathy

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Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@KathyCaseyChef), Dishing with Kathy Casey Blog or find Sips & Apps on Facebook for all my tasty travel tidbits.

If you haven’t signed up for my Newsletter, you can sign-up here.

Whether you’re a long-time vegetarian, a newcomer looking for healthy, hearty meatless dishes or you’re trying to convert a carnivore, I have just the book for you! The fabulous Kim O’Donnel’s The Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook is your one-stop guide to cooking up completely meatless meals that will leave even the most die-hard steak-lover happy and satiated! With recipes like Jig-Inducing Falafel Burgers and Zesty Pinapple Salad, who wouldn’t want to eat meat-free?

Continue reading on Amazon’s Al Dente Blog.

It’s that time again when the air is crisp and cool. The ground is moist and the rains are coming… we hope! Why do I wish for rain every fall? Because no sooner do our Northwest grounds moisten up that the heavily sought after wild mushrooms start to pop up. Fall is fast approaching and that means it’s mushroom time! I love foraging for my own fall fungi –  Boletus edulis (king bolete, porcini, ceps, they have many names) Matsutake and Chanterelles!

Continue reading on Amazon’s Al Dente Blog.

Well, it’s been a super, crazy, busy summer here at Kathy Casey Food Studios®-Liquid Kitchen™. I’ve been filming, traveling, and shaking up a storm the past few months. If you want to stay updated with all kinds of super-tasty tidbits of what’s been going on, be sure to follow me on Twitter and check out my blog.

Food Network Canada — yea! I’m their new “Ask an Expert” mixologist!

I am so honored to be working with Food Network—so click, and ask away everything you wanted to know about crafting a great cocktail, throwing a libacious party or what the newest imbibing trend is. Click here to check it out!

The Liquid Kitchen™ has been shaking up some new products …

At our online store we have our logo’d Boston shaker tin sets and our house-made Golden Era bitters as well as our Liquid Kitchen Cocktail Kit with all the barware basics. Look forward to other tasty cocktail concoctions soon, too, such as unique handmade marmalades and preserves—that will be excellent to shake into your favorite spirit—as well as our Liquid Kitchen No. 5130 backyard honey from our very own bee hives!

Speaking of honey … we are all abuzz about the very first batch of No. 5130 Honey
The end of July had things buzzing here at the Food Studios — it was time for the 1^st honey harvest from our hive! Bee Master Corky Luster spun the first batch, and is it d’lish! With a dark amber hue, our honey is rich and complex tasting. Honey is a great sweetener and can be used in a plethora of recipes. I love it drizzled over sexy cheeses, lush summer fruits or in cocktails such as my newest fav — the Maker’s Honey Hum Collins (recipe follows). This cocktail combines the new Maker’s Mark 46, honey syrup, fresh lemon and HUM liqueur made by my friend and extraordinary mixologist Adam Seger.

Above is a finished comb filled with honey that has been capped with wax
It’s on the way to become Liquid Kitchen™ #5130 Honey!

Maker’s Honey Hum Collins
featuring Liquid Kitchen™ No. 5130 Honey

Makes 1 drink

1 1/2 oz Maker’s Mark 46
1/4 oz Hum Botanical Spirit*
3/4 oz Liquid Kitchen Honey Syrup (recipe follows)
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz soda
Garnish: hibiscus flower and honey comb on a pick

Measure Maker’s Mark 46, Hum, honey syrup and lemon juice into a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, cap and shake. Add splash of soda to the shaker and pour into a tall Collins glass. Add additional ice if needed.
Garnish.

To make Liquid Kitchen™ Honey Syrup: Measure 1 part HOT water and 1 part Liquid Kitchen™ No. 5130 honey into a container. Stir until honey is completely dissolved. Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

*Check out the HUM site for stores that carry it, or visit Drinks over Dearborn to order online if your state allows.

Recipe © 2010 by Kathy Casey Food Studios® – Liquid Kitchen™

Pur’ly Refreshing Cockails

Most recently I have been working with Purity Vodka, a complex character vodka. Unlike many neutral-tasting vodkas, Purity has a subtle, yet complex taste, which is best when embraced and highlighted rather than masked by overly sweet ingredients and powerful flavors. These cocktails are not only refreshing to sip this summer, but are also ideal when “watching your waistline.” Check out my blog on Amazon’s Al Dente site for the full read and the recipes.

Purity Vodka’s Berry Purity H₂O and the Frisk

Libatious Tales from The Big Easy
In July, my Executive Chef Cameo, my Account Manager Jill and I kicked off our “summer conference frenzy” with a trip to New Orleans for the annual Tales of the Cocktail. The attendees of this conference are what I endearingly refer to as the cocktail “geeks” (which I humbly place myself among), who are super into the Art of Mixology.

Cameo and my seminar Creativity and the Power of Brainstorming was picked for the Pro “line-up” which was so much fun! A portion of the presentation was hands on: each table of attendees had to create a cocktail in 5 minutes using a unique bar tool and whatever they could grab in 1 minute from a “pantry” of ingredients. (There were 80 people doing this at once! Can you say crazy!!) I’ll have to say we were pretty impressed with what the teams came up with in such a short period of time. The winning drink was called “Morris Day and the Thyme” and was a tasty blend of cucumber, Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine, gin, lime and a touch of simple syrup.

Attendees choosing from the “pantry” of ingredients.

Ms. Franky, Cameo, and I with the hard task of picking a winner!

After the seminar was over, we had time to enjoy the rest of the conference! I participated in the Cointreau Tasting Room & Bar Star Mix-Off where I was a “mentor” for a mixologist. The rest of our time in the Big Easy was split between eating and drinking, more seminars, parties and avoiding the heat! We hit all our favorite restaurants: Lunch at Napoleon House, famous for their Muffaletta and Pimm’s Cup; Cochon Restaurant for Pork Ribs with Watermelon Pickles; and Mother’s Restaurant for Grits with Debris.

If you missed Tales and want to shake up some of this year’s cocktails, check out the Tales of the Cocktail eBook — it is available online. This is a great deal for just 10 bucks (my recipe entry for the Planter’s Punch contest is also included along with our other seminar recipes). For more information, click here.

To read more, check out Cameo and my blog on Amazon’s Al Dente.

Then it was on to California for the 2010 Flavor Conference

After only a few days back in Seattle, Cameo and I were re-packed and ready to head to sunny Newport Beach, California, for the annual Flavor Conference. While we never see much more than the inside of a kitchen and the back side of a banquet table, it’s a great event that brings together restaurant, hotel, cruise line, resort, and food and liquor industry professionals from all over the US. It’s a three-day eat-and-drink-a-thon showcasing popular food trends, flavors and new products.

We were in attendance with our friends at Monin, shaking up some cocktails and appetizers we adapted from my book, Sips and Apps. At the welcome reception I signed copies of my book and Cameo served up Blue Thai Mojitos, 1800 Spiced Margaritas with a Mango Ginger Grilled Shrimp Garnish, and a delicious Clover Club with raspberry foam.

From left to right, Blue Thai Mojito, Clover Club with raspberry foam and 1800 Margarita

I headed back to Seattle the next day for a Seattle Sip Around (read more below) while Cameo held down the fort for the second night at Flavor for the “Chef’s Showcase.” Cameo was on hand poolside to serve up some sweet and spicy ceviche to a crowd of hungry conference-goers. This time we paired shrimp with pineapple and mango with a hint of chipotle, and a fresh halibut ceviche with hints of habanero, lime and orange. We added a fun twist to the margarita by offering a trio of foams and a sprinkling of black lava salt. Along with the beautiful and delicious sangria that Monin served, we were quite a hit at the sunset pool party!

Now we’re home and the dust has settled, we can relax for a minute or two before the next big thing … BlogHer Food 2010. Stay tuned for more info.

Things are Jammin’ at the Studios
Right now it’s Jam Time! It’s that time of year again when summer fruits are in abundance (despite this crazy weather!). We’ve been hooking up with City Fruit, a cool non-profit organization that gathers excess fruits from neighborhood yards then delivers them to food banks and restaurants. We love supporting them and are donning our sexy hairnets to cook up lots of great tasty treasures, which we will feature at Kathy Casey Food Studios annual open house this December … yes, we are thinking ahead!

Travis, myself and Cameo in our sexy hairnets!

Mmm … Strawberry Lavender Jam

Sip Around Seattle
This is a great new event we hosted for Beam Global and is something we for sure want to host again. We started out with Senior Mixology Associate Keith Waldbauer and fellow Mixologist Andrew Bohrer’s presentation on cocktail history, classic and new bartending techniques, and some new trends we are seeing in mixology bars across the country. Andrew carved up a slew of ice balls, Keith flamed some rosemary, and both mixed up some fantastic drinks for the guests.

Sr. Mixologist Associate and owner of Liberty Bar, Keith Waldbauer

The following day I conducted a major mixology session and drink tasting featuring 16 new drinks! Whew! After my seminar, we were off to the Sip Around tour. Seattle has so many great mixologists and bars that truly are on the cutting edge of all the nations’ trends, we thought we should show our guests what Seattle has to offer. So 30 of us piled onto a party bus and headed out.

First, we saw Jay Kuehner at Sambar, where we sipped his fruit-forward creations in the back garden patio.

Jay Kuehner, hard at work
The drink is Cruzan Single Estate Rum, grapefruit, grapefruit bitters,
Tahitian vanilla bean, sassafras and Cremant de Limoux — YUM!

Next, on to Oliver’s Twist. Robert Rowland and Kim Bruso each made a fantastic drink while we snacked on oxtail sliders and anchovy deviled eggs. We grabbed our treats of garlic truffle popcorn and hopped back on the bus to head downtown. At Vessel, Jim Romdall served us the signature “Vessel 75” made with two types of bourbon and Peychaud’s bitters poured over luscious maple syrup foam. Stop #4 was at Tavern Law, where we snuck up the secret staircase to the upstairs private room and Nathan Weber whipped up two delicious cocktails, served in their beautiful vintage glassware collection.

Nathan Weber’s “Chancey” cocktail

For our final stop we zipped over to Barrio where we tried Casey Robison’s ever-popular “Sexy Sadie,” a jalapeño-spiced tequila drink with a touch of sage. Then it was on to Liberty for last call, where co-owner Keith mixed up some drinks “on the fly” for us.

One of Liberty’s many concoctions, Rum Pineapple White Tea
… if you ask nicely, Keith might make you a special drink with it!

All-in-all it was a booze-a-licious and spectacular couple of days; everyone learned — and drank — a lot!

Save the Date for a delicious event — the Seattle Food & Culinary Arts Show!

I am so excited to be the emcee at the Culinarium live stage for this year’s Seattle Food Show. We are going to have a great line up of chefs! For years, foodies of all ages have devoured their way through Seattle’s specialty chocolate, artisanal coffee, craft brews, regional wine, scratch-made cupcakes, farmstead cheeses, fine restaurants and retailers. On November 20 and 21, you’ll find them all tempting you under one roof, at the Seattle Key Arena, and just in time for holiday shopping. Advance general admission is $20; details available here.

And stay tuned to see who wins $10K in the Foster Farms Chicken Recipe contest!

This next week we are hosting the Washington recipe finals here at the Food Studios. See all the semi-finalists’ recipes from Washington, Oregon and California here.

I hope you have had a delicious summer and I look forward to an excting fall. Stay tuned on Facebook and Twitter for news about all my tasty travels and projects.

XXO – Kathy Casey