Welcome to the 5th Annual Pieathalon!
I am a Pieathalon newbie and this is my first time to participate. Thanks to Emily for the invite (via Judy at The Book Club Cookbook). We all submitted a recipe from a pre-1990 cookbook. (Why did that make me feel so old?) Then, Emily did some magic, swapped them around, and sent out our assignments.
My assignment (ironically) was from the authors of The Unoffical Mad Men Cookbook (of which the aforementioned Judy Gelman authored). I was to make Jolie Gabor’s “Apricot Meringue Pie.”
Jolie Gabor, Countess de Szigethy, was Hungarian royalty (by marriage). She followed her daughters to the United States in 1945, first landing in NYC where she opened a successful costume jewelry boutique. (Some accounts I read inferred that Ms. Gabor might have been a successful madam in Hungary as well.) Jolie was the mother of Magda, Eva, and Zsa-Zsa. The family had beauty and they used their feminine wiles to rack up a number of marriages. Mama had three, Magda had six, Eva had five, and Zsa-Zsa had nine (one of which was a former husband of Magda).
That’s a total of twenty-three marriages!
Apricot Meringue Pie
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dried apricots
- 1 c. water
- 1 slice lemon
- 4 T. granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 c. fine sugar
- 6. T. apricot brandy or sherry wine
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 pie crust, unbaked
- 1 T. ginger snap crumbs, finely ground
- 2 egg whites
- 6 T. fine sugar
- 6 T. almonds, finely chopped to almost a powder.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook apricots in 1 cup water with the lemon slice and 3 T. granulated sugar. When very soft, cool and drain off all liquid. Put in a food processor and puree. Add 1/2 c. fine sugar, apricot brandy, and 2 egg yolks. Pulse to combine well.
- In a separate bowl, beat 2 egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold into apricot mixture.
- Mix ginger snap crumbs with 1 T. granulated sugar. Sprinkle a prepared pie crust mixture.
- Pour in apricot mixture. Bake in preheated oven until pie crust is golden and the apricot mixture is firm, about 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven.
- Increase oven temperature to 400 F. Beat 2 egg whites until stiff, gradually add 6 T. fine sugar and the finely ground nuts. Spread meringue over the apricot filling, making peaks with a fork. Place in the 400 degree oven for a few minutes, until the meringue turns golden. Cool before serving.
Yield: 6-8 servings
I have been having some epic failures in the kitchen lately. (You could read more about it here.) I just continued the trend with this recipe. Although the flavors of this pie were outstanding, my meringue was dismal. This apricot pie lends itself to the flavors of fall, so I know I will make it again when the weather turns cooler. I might even work on a jam recipe that mirrors the flavors of this pie.
That meringue, however…..apparently, my peaks weren’t perky enough. 🙂 As soon as I sprinkled in the sugar and almonds, everything fell flat. No amount of whipping could make it right. I consulted my sister and showed her the mess. I was ready to start all over (but I was out of almonds). Instead, Sis just told me to forge ahead. I poured the meringue on top and threw it back in the oven.
It’s a sad state of meringue….
My sister and I loved the flavor. The Hubs said it was OK. One nephew stated the texture was weird (but I think he was expecting a traditional apricot pie).
I will make this again but it might be served with whipped cream instead of meringue next time.
Please check out the other Pieathletes who hopefully performed better than I.
After all this pie eating, we will need to burn calories so let me leave you with this strenuous workout. (Besides being strenuous, it is also hilarious and kitschy and over-the-top!)
Please check out the other Pieathletes!
- Vintage Recipe Cards – Dutch Peaches and Cream Pie
- Kelli’s Kitchen – Chocolate Mousse Pie
- Dr. Bobb – Ritz Cracker Mock Apple Pie
- Kelly’s Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en – Marguerite Patten’s Cheese Pie
- Jenny at Silver Screen Suppers put Sweet Onion Pie to the test
- Kari, The Nostagic Cook – The Tansey
- Poppy Crocker’s Granny Pantries – Strawberry Ginger Pie
- The Battenburg Belle – Frosty Vanilla Pie
- Sally’s My Custard Pie – Mock Pecan Pie
- Taryn’s Retro Food for Modern Times – Vincent Price’s Pineapple Meringue Pie
- Culinary Adventures with Cam – Peaches and Cream Tart
- Vincent Price Legacy – Puddin n’ Pie
- Renee’s Tortillas and Honey – French Raspberry Pie
- The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook – Aloha Meringue Pie
- A pie called The Millionaire? What? Mimi at Once Upon a Salad will find out!
- Sue, of Vintage Cookbookery – Yul Brenner’s Walnut Pie
- I don’t know who Tyler is, but he has a pie. Go visit Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Heritage Recipe Box with Clara and an Olde English Egg Nog Pie
- Book of Cookrye – Cool Mint Cookie Pie
- Eliot’s Eats – Apricot Meringue Pie
- The Book Club CookBook – “Almost a Pie”
- Recipes4Rebels – Seafoam Cantaloupe Pie
- Kaci, the Homicidal Homemaker presents Lemon and Beer. In a sponge pie
- Yinzerella – Kate’s PIe
Thanks for hosting, Emily! Can’t wait for the 6th edition of Pieathalon 2019!!!
[…] Apricot Meringue Pie by Eliot’s Eats […]
The filling looks and sounds delicious! (So sorry about the meringue fail. You weren’t the only one this Pieathalon.) I’ve got a whole bottle of Marie Brizzard Apricot Brandy in the cupboard, that I’ve been looking for ways to use up…I may just have to try this one out! The workout video is fabulous! I enjoyed learning about the Gabor family. Great read!
This would be a great canvas for your brandy! Hope your meringue turns out! The filling is really tasty! Kind of like a fruity custard…
[…] Apricot Meringue Pie by Eliot’s Eats […]
Oh dear! That’s sad about your pie flop. I wonder if it would be better to choose more mainstream cookbook recipes that are certain to have been tested in a real test kitchen, and leave the nostalgia cookbooks to just satisfy our curiosity.
Your summary of the lives and times of the Gabor women was very amusing. Did you ever see Zsa-Zsa’s exercise video? Really funny.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Apparently, it’s the norm to try to pick challenging recipes! Honestly, I didn’t really know that there was a sabotage atmosphere among the other pieathletes! HA! I will be better prepared next year! (Maybe I should start training now!)
What a lovely pie! The meringues probably tasted delicious and so…….they didn’t stand up high – still looks just fine. I love the flavor profile and I am going to try it this fall!
It was like a thin marshmallowy layer–not in a good way…
Oh my Gosh….that video is priceless….Thanks for starting my day with a laugh.
Glad to do it, Wendy Darling!
Zsa Zsa’s “workout” never gets old.
Meringues can be finicky, but that’s great that the flavor was good.
I’m glad that Judy extended an invite to you. The more the merrier. Cheers!
Thanks for hosting and I hope to get invited back next year. Lots of fun (but pleas do NOT send me the seafoam cantaloupe recipe)!!!!
Meringue is really tricky! I had a meringue pie a few years ago and was sooo worried about the meringue on top– but I managed to screw up the filling instead.
Cream of tartar should have been my friend on the meringue.
I was a newbie this year, too. Sorry the meringue was less than perfect, but it looks delicious! Can’t wait to see what next year brings for us. And I had no idea who Jolie Gabor was. Thanks for the education.
I think I will scour my very vintage cookbooks for next year’s round!
Yum! Apricot and almond is one of my favourite flavour combos. Never mind the meringue this sounds totally delicious! xx
The filling was good. Topping….not so much.
I loved all of the background and tidbits that you shared! I’m sorry that you had meringue trouble! If you hadn’t said anything about your meringue, I wouldn’t have thought anything about it wouldn’t have known if was a failure! I also had trouble with my custard setting for my pie submission. I ended up remaking it because my pictures come out hilarious. 🙂
Had to point it out…meringue means perky peaks in my book. 🙂
That workout video is priceless. Also, look at Zsa Zsa’s hand (or whoever’s on the left) in the picture with all three sisters. Was she a metalhead on top of everything else? Also, whenever a meringue flops like that, just call it a baked icing or something like that. I actually like a thin layer of sweet on top instead of those huge billowy clouds. It may not look as impressive, but the thinner ones seem to be a part of the pie whereas the big ones seem to be entirely separate things that for some reason landed on top of the pie. 😀
Ha! I just caught that. I thought her pose was a bit off. 🙂
What a pretty pie! I think the meringue looks nice, but I understand about wanting it to be “right”.
Obviously, I wasn’t too OCD on the meringue b/c I certainly didn’t redo it. 🙂
I would love a slice…totally love that filling!
The filling rocks. The topping does not.
[…] Debra at Eliot’s Eats gets fruity with an Apricot Meringue Pie […]
Debra,
We love all of your Gabor research! Serial marriages galore, Gabor! We’ve been wondering about this pie for some time, and now we know, thanks to you. A great post, and glad you liked the pie. We had trouble with meringue, too!
Judy, The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook.
So what would you recommend? Cream of tartar? No almonds! Anyway, thanks for this recipe. It was unusual but not daunting like some I’ve seen this round! 🙂
I think at one time I was dimly aware of who Jolie was, but I had forgotten about her. Blast from the past! But this pie? Blast from the future. Because I haven’t made it yet, and need to. It looks excellent! Thanks so much. 🙂
Excellent sans the meringue, that is. 🙂
I’m a huge apricot fan, so would love to dive into a slice of your pie. Sorry about the meringue—maybe make it without the almonds?
Thanks, Liz. That’s what I’m thinking….or just skip it altogether. 🙂
[…] Apricot Meringue Pie by Eliot’s Eats […]
The pie looks tasty. Too bad about the meringue. Meringues can be so tricky.
Pie was tasty. Will skip the meringue nest time.