LUCY HARRIS (Weir, Mississippi) was known as Mamaw Lucy to great-granddaughter, LARISSA ARNAULT (Nashville, Tennessee). Until she was five years old, Larissa lived just down the hill from her Mamaw Lucy and Papaw Orn. A large garden separated their houses, and she remembers helping Mamaw Lucy pick butter beans and purple hull peas from those rows. The family all lived on a big hill—she and her parents at the bottom of the hill, Mamaw and Papaw Harris in the middle, and her grandparents (Mamaw Sarah and Papaw Frankie Arnault) at the top.
1 (12 ounce) box vanilla wafers
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs, room temperature and separated
1 (14.5 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
⅓ cup lemon juice
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
6 tablespoons sugar
1 Preheat broiler to 500 degrees.
2 Crush enough of the vanilla wafers to make 1 ½ cups. Mix with the butter. Press crust into a 9-inch pie pan.
3 Beat together the egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. Slowly beat in the lemon juice. Beat until very thick. Pour the mixture into the piecrust.
4 In a glass bowl use a hand mixer to beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar. Add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition. Beat on high until stiff peaks form. Layer evenly on top of the lemon pie.
5 Place in the oven and brown just until the meringue is set and golden. Watch closely so the meringue does not burn.
6 Line the edges of the crust with whole vanilla wafers to garnish. Cool before serving. Keep the pie refrigerated.
MAKES 8 SERVINGS.