Currents

BY PAULA DISBROWE • PHOTOS BY WYATT MCSPADDEN

The Alchemy of EggWhites

T WAS MOSTLY ABOUT the reward of pie, but I’m getting ahead of myself.I

For several years I joined my daughter, Flannery, and her Girl Scout troop on their annual trip to Camp Champions in Marble Falls. The outing, which usually landed in early May, was much anticipated by the girls, even though each year seemed to be cursed by dramatic Texas weather. There were frigid nights in drafty cabins and torrential thunderstorms, and one terrifying year, a tornado chased us out of town.

Mother Nature, plus a hysteria fueled by s’mores and the energy of several hundred girls, made our departure each Sunday morning feel like a small victory, akin to making it through an episode of Survivor.

The treat at the end of those epic weekends was breakfast at the Blue Bonnet Cafe, the beloved institution known for its pies and recognizable by its awesome neon signage. One year we gave Flannery’s bestie, Clara, a ride to the restaurant. As we waited in line for a table, we all became mesmerized by the cooler displaying whopping wedges of fruit pies, cream pies and custard-based show stealers crowned with implausibly high clouds of meringue.

Clara, eyes wide and mother conveniently en route, asked if she might order pie for breakfast. Naturally, I acquiesced. When the massive wedge of lemon meringue pie was placed in front of her, her reaction—a mixture of disbelief, wonder and pure joy—made us all burst out laughing. Years later we all vividly remember Clara’s meringue pie moment, which speaks to another attribute of pies: They can create cherished memories.

ABOVE Making meringue starts with separating egg whites from yolks. RIGHT Adela Rangel has been the pie chef at Ko ee Kup Family Restaurant in Hico for 24 years.

Sky-high pies embody the delights of meringue

TOP Rebecca Rather, chef at Emma + Ollie in Fredericksburg, with a lemon meringue pie. ABOVE A slice of coconut meringue pie from Ko ee Kup.