Key-lime Pie

Every year I see them sitting at the produce stand, usually inexpensive always beautiful, I look at them and think, I really should figure out how to make Key-lime Pie... how hard can it be? Then I tell myself that I will look up a recipe and come back and pick some up. Then I go home, some years I start to look for a recipe, some I don't, always a few days later when I go back to the store to pick up the limes and they are gone.

Apparently the Key-lime season is about 4 days long, it seems that one day there are hundreds of pounds of the tart little buggers in every store then there are none to be found. Anyway this year I turned the tables on fate a little bit, I went to my regular produce store and saw them 2 pounds for $ .99 I jumped over a small crowd of people and grabbed a couple of bags and ran. This year I was going to make it happen, so I took my Key-Limes and went home to study....

I found a couple of recipes and thought, "no... this can't be right?!?" then continued to look, wow this is simple! for all of the mystery that people put behind this dessert it really is the epitome of the Florida Keys *relaxed, laid back, easy going, tart and sassy. There are very few ingredients and it is easier to make than Rice Krispy Treats. I almost feel guilty passing this one along.

Pre-heat oven to 350

The Crust

1 cup graham cracker crumbs from 8 graham crackers

2 tablespoons sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 

Begin by chopping the graham crackers in a food processor until fine, then add the butter and sugar and mix. Press into a pie pan until you have it evenly coated. Pop that into the oven for about 10 minutes to toast while you make the filling

 Miss Lu was cool here she juiced about 20 of these little 

buggers.  They don't make a Key lime press so we stuffed

parts into a lemon juicer 3-4 at a time.

The Filling

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons juice from about 20 Key-Limes

Mix the filling all together in a bowl then scrape into the crust and bake for 15 minutes.  When the time is up take it out to cool on the counter for a few minutes then cover and refrigerate overnight (or at least 8 hours).  There you have it.  

When the time comes top with a little whipped cream and you are ready to go.  Now I have mentioned before that pastry isn't really my thing here is an example I don't have a pastry bag or tips (don't bake much) so I piped the whipped cream out of a zip lock bag with one corner cut out.  That isn't that strangest thing though, my beaters had mashed potatoes on them from earlier so I tried beating the cream buy hand (with a wire whip) but quickly ran out of steam.  This is the contraption I came up with for whipping cream... yeah it worked.  Plus it got a laugh out of the visiting parents.

*Oh and I don't know that people from the Keys are actually "easy going, tart or sassy," but it sounded good to me.