Thursdays in the kitchen with Jo: Key lime pie
29 July 2010
Soooooooo easy.
The limes were not from Key West. I was in Newport Beach, California last night wondering what to offer all of you. I was uninspired, which is sometimes the case when you’ve been entertaining your children all day. (Watch kids, I can make fart sounds with my underarms!)
I was staying for a night at my sister’s gorgeous beach house, meaning not in my own home with my own “stuff”, and really didn’t want to undertake anything too elaborate. Hmmmmmm. Oh look, there’s a “beach house” recipe book on the counter. Wonder what’s in there? Shrimp salad, okay. Lobster bisque, got it. Key lime pie. Yes! I’ve always wanted to make one and never got around to it. I love the stuff. Tangy, custardy, and that graham cracker crust. Yum. How hard could it be?
Had I known Key lime pie was so easy, especially if your sister happens to have on hand all of the ingredients in the cupboard except for some unsalted butter, heck, I would’ve been making this for years.
On Balboa Island, you can send your kids to the liquor store without wondering whether or not they’ll return safely, so I gave them some money. “Come back with unsalted butter.” And they did. From there, we organized and then looked for a pie tin. Okay, no pie tin. Let’s improvise and make it in an All-Clad sauté dish. Works just fine.
After our masterpiece was finished, the girls and I were proud. So what if the basic Key lime pie recipe is the same wherever you look? When’s the last time you made one?
The Beach House Cookbook’s Key Lime Pie
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
6 T. unsalted butter, melted
¼ c. sugar
½ c. fresh lime juice (I used four limes to get this)
1 can sweetened, condensed milk
2 large egg whites, beaten within an inch of their life or when stiff peaks form
Grated lime peel for garnish
Whipped cream (we bought ours, okay?!)
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly butter a pie tin (or whatever’s handy). Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press firmly into the pie tin and bake for ten minutes. LET COOL COMPLETELY before filling with the custard: mix lime juice and condensed milk. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl and fold into the lime/milk combo. Pour into the graham cracker crust and refrigerate until ready to serve. Before serving, sprinkle some grated lime peel over the top (my idea) and add decorative whipped cream around the edges.
Warning: it’s hard to stop eating once you’ve started. Has a lot to do with that graham cracker crust. Enjoy. And sis, I’ll replace the can of condensed milk next time I see you.
Soooooooo easy.
The limes were not from Key West. I was in Newport Beach, California last night wondering what to offer all of you. I was uninspired, which is sometimes the case when you’ve been entertaining your children all day. (Watch kids, I can make fart sounds with my underarms!)
I was staying for a night at my sister’s gorgeous beach house, meaning not in my own home with my own “stuff”, and really didn’t want to undertake anything too elaborate. Hmmmmmm. Oh look, there’s a “beach house” recipe book on the counter. Wonder what’s in there? Shrimp salad, okay. Lobster bisque, got it. Key lime pie. Yes! I’ve always wanted to make one and never got around to it. I love the stuff. Tangy, custardy, and that graham cracker crust. Yum. How hard could it be?
Had I known Key lime pie was so easy, especially if your sister happens to have on hand all of the ingredients in the cupboard except for some unsalted butter, heck, I would’ve been making this for years.
On Balboa Island, you can send your kids to the liquor store without wondering whether or not they’ll return safely, so I gave them some money. “Come back with unsalted butter.” And they did. From there, we organized and then looked for a pie tin. Okay, no pie tin. Let’s improvise and make it in an All-Clad sauté dish. Works just fine.
After our masterpiece was finished, the girls and I were proud. So what if the basic Key lime pie recipe is the same wherever you look? When’s the last time you made one?
The Beach House Cookbook’s Key Lime Pie
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
6 T. unsalted butter, melted
¼ c. sugar
½ c. fresh lime juice (I used four limes to get this)
1 can sweetened, condensed milk
2 large egg whites, beaten within an inch of their life or when stiff peaks form
Grated lime peel for garnish
Whipped cream (we bought ours, okay?!)
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly butter a pie tin (or whatever’s handy). Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press firmly into the pie tin and bake for ten minutes. LET COOL COMPLETELY before filling with the custard: mix lime juice and condensed milk. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl and fold into the lime/milk combo. Pour into the graham cracker crust and refrigerate until ready to serve. Before serving, sprinkle some grated lime peel over the top (my idea) and add decorative whipped cream around the edges.
Warning: it’s hard to stop eating once you’ve started. Has a lot to do with that graham cracker crust. Enjoy. And sis, I’ll replace the can of condensed milk next time I see you.
I don’t know why but I have always thought there was some difficult, back-breaking alchemy to making key lime pie. I adore it and now that you have inspired, I will make it. Every day. Thanks for simplifying!
When can we come down to Balboa to have some? I’m hungry.
Seriously…one of my all-time favorite desserts. If it is on a menu where we are eating dinner I order it (or lunch…I try to restrain at breakfast). OK – it is on the “weekend list” (along with weeding the vegetable gardens, folding all the laundry and refinishing the backyard bench). But I think it beats the laundry and the bench.
[...] most dishes (except Key lime pie), this one can be made about a thousand different ways. Some are far better than others, and [...]