Week 19- Put the Lime in the Coconut...

Happy Belated Mother's Day.  I had a lovely day with my husband and the girls!

For this weekend, I decided to make a pie I would enjoy to celebrate Mom's Day.  A few of you know that I have a MASSIVE collection of recipes I've saved from a variety of sources.  But even I didn't realize that I have had some of these recipes for a very long time.  The recipe I used is apparently from the August 2000 issue of Good Housekeeping- and it's actually clipped out of the magazine.  Which leaves me to wonder 1) Why was I reading Good Housekeeping 13 years ago when I was footloose and fancy free?  and 2) How did this recipe survive all the moves? For the record I have moved 9 times since I got the recipe.

Whatever.  It survived and I'm glad it did because it was delicious.  I love coconut and lime and this had fantastic flavors.  Much easier and tastier than the key lime pie I made a few months back. And I only had to squeeze 6 limes rather than 24 little key limes. Well, actually I didn't squeeze the limes.  I had my eldest helping me with lime juice duty.  She also helped place the mango on the top of the pie so don't blame me for the aesthetics.  You can see from the picture that we started with a spiral pattern and then things got a little out of hand.

BTW, one other note.  The recipe says you can get 10 servings out of this pie.  I don't understand why anyone would cut a pie in more than 8 pieces.  Of course, I eat pie for breakfast these days so maybe I have a skewed perspective.

Tropical Lime and Mango Pie
Adapted from Good Housekeeping, August 2000 recipe
Link to Coconut Lime Pie


Coconut Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
6 tablespoons cold butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease the pie plate.

In a food processor pulse flour, coconut and sugar until finely ground.  Add the butter and 1 tablespoon cold water and pulse until fine crumbs form.

Sprinkle crumbs in the plate and form into a crust.

Bake about 25 minutes or until lightly golden, covering the crust with foil for the last 10 minutes.

Filling
6 limes
1 14 ounce can low-fat sweetened condensed milk
1 8 ounce container sour cream
1 envelope of gelatin
1 ripe mango

Grate 2 teaspoons of lime zest and squeeze 1/2 cup juice.  In a medium bowl, whisk together lime peel and juice with the condensed milk and sour cream.

In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water; let stand for 2 minutes.  Heat over low heat for about 5 minutes until gelatin dissolves. When done, combine the gelatin into the lime mixture.

Set bowl with lime mixture into a larger bowl filled with ice water.  With a spatula, stir mixture occasionally until it begins to mound (about 20 minutes).  Pour the filling into the crust and chill.

To serve, arrange mango slices on top of filling.

Week 18- Looh-ville pie

Sorry for the late post.  I've been swamped with princess parties.  Seriously, I escorted my little princess to three themed birthday parties last week.  My head might fall off if I see another tiara, pink castle cake or  Disney costume in the near future.

My daughter's birthday is coming up next month and I'm very glad to say we're heading towards a different theme- we're having a pony party.  Which is fitting considering my eldest was born in Horse Country USA- Kentucky.  And last week, we had Kentucky on the brain when we sat down to watch the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby. 

To celebrate the Derby, I made the iconic chocolate bourbon pie that can't be named for trademark reasons.  Although I love the fact that as I searched for recipes people have found a ton of cutesy other names like "Derby Day Pie" or "Run for the Roses Pie" or "Pegasus Pie".  When I searched Wikipedia I discovered this type of pie has been the subject of 25 lawsuits.  And since, I don't want to be #26, I'm just going to call it "Looh-ville" pie.  Or if you're really local "Lul-ville" pie.  ;)

I did have a debate about which nut to use in the recipe because most recipes call for walnuts.  However, I feel that pecans are a little more in the spirit of a Southern pie.  So pecans it was. 

Super sweet and filled with chocolate and bourbon, it's really not the best pie for a warm day.  But you can't mess with tradition!  And this pie was a good antidote to princess overload....

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Recipe adapted from Southern Living, May 2005
Link to Chocolate Bourbon Pie

Pie crust
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup bourbon (although the recipe says you can use bourbon or water.  I say "HA!" If there is no bourbon there is no reason to make this pie)
4 eggs
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons cornmeal
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

Prepare pie crust.  Sprinkle pecans and chocolate chips in bottom of crust.

Combine corn syrup, 2 sugars and bourbon in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.

Whisk together eggs and next 4 ingredients.  Whisk 1/4 of the sugar/bourbon mixture into the egg mixture, stirring constantly.  Add the remaining hot mixture while whisking.

Pour into prepared pie crust and bake at 325 degrees for 55 minutes.

Week 17- Substitute Pie

As you know I planned to do one more "Pie I Don't Like".  However, Mother Nature foiled me.  I had promised myself that I would use local ingredients as much as possible.  Well, because it's been so cold and dreary, the ingredient I needed for the last pie is not out yet.

So I made a quick sub.  I found this recipe for cranberry chocolate nut pie and it just so happened I had all the ingredients on hand.  No trip to the supermarket for me (well, unless you count visiting three different farms earlier in the week to find rhubarb for the MIA pie.)

The other beautiful thing about this recipe is this was a pie used in another person's 52 pie project.  As you can see I'm not even original.  And her pies are much better looking than mine.  So just look at her pie picture and you can pretend it's mine.

The pie was yummy- very dense, boozy, and almost like a cookie bar in pie form.  This is definitely a keeper for a winter pie option since everything is from the pantry- and I enjoyed using up the last of my nuts, white chocolate chips and brandy from other baking projects!

Cranberry Chocolate Nut Pie
Adapted from a recipe on the blog Saving Room for Dessert
Pie Recipe

3/4 cup dried cranberries (I had sweetened on hand so that's what I used)
1/2 cup brandy (you can use orange juice but I had brandy that needed to be used up)
1 single crust pastry
1/3 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts (I used about 3/4 cup since that was all I had)
3/4 cup flour
2 oz white chocolate chips

In a bowl, combine the cranberries and the brandy.  Chill for an hour.  Drain, but save 1 tablespoon of the brandy for the pie.

Preheat oven to 325 and prepare the pie crust.

Combine all the other ingredients.  Pour into the prepared pie crust.

Bake for 65 minutes, loosely covering the pie for the last 30 minutes.  (I left my pie in an extra 5-10 minutes since it looked like it needed a little more time to bake.)

Cool on wire rack and then enjoy!

Week 16- "Pies I Don't Like" or do I?

I'm usually pretty live and let live about people's food choices.  You like what you like and that's OK.  My one rule for my girls is that they have to at least try everything on their plate.  If they don't like it or don't want to eat more than one bite, that's fine.  And luckily, that's worked for us since I always get compliments on what good eaters the kids are.

But there is one thing that has always driven me crazy- and I have several family members that do this.  They will only eat one preparation of a food.  For example, they will eat tomato sauce, but not tomatoes or tomato juice or anything that has come into contact with a cut tomato.  And I can never remember which type of the food it is that they will eat.  It's all very confusing.

I, however, realized I am a hypocrite.  I do the same thing with one type of food.  Blueberries.  I like fresh blueberries.  They're not my favorite so I don't buy them much but when they're in season or in a fruit salad I enjoy them.

But cooked blueberries.   A totally different matter.  I don't mind blueberry muffins as long as the blueberries don't clump together.  But pies and cobblers are always too sweet and jammy for me.  So blueberry pie was added to the list of pies I don't like.

However, it seems ridiculous to exclude blueberry pie from a list of 52 pies.  And it's one of my taste tester's favorites.  And it just seems un-American to not make a blueberry pie.

I decided to go with a Martha Stewart recipe for blueberry pie since I wasn't feeling very adventurous.  It calls for 7 cups of blueberries.  Now blueberries aren't quite in season yet so they were on the pricy side. So not only was I making a pie I didn't like, I was making an expensive pie I didn't like.

I planned to save a piece for my husband and give the rest of the pie to my taste tester.  We were going away for Spring Break so we wouldn't be around to eat the pie anyway.   Well, I decided to try the pie.  And it was so delicious I ate two pieces. The berries were big and juicy, not jam like at all.  You could really taste the fruit in this pie.  The recipe also called for cinnamon which I thought was a bit odd, but the spice gave a nice warm tone to the pie,

That night, I received this email from my taste tester:

Subject: Dang
Freaking tasty pie- 4 of us agree.

Apparently blueberry has been added to the list of pies to make again!


Lattice-Top Blueberry Pie
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts
Link to Blueberry Pie Recipe

Pie crust (we had frozen some pie dough a while back so I used this for the crust)
2 lbs (about 7 cups) fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar ( I used a scant cup so the pie wouldn't be too sweet)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large egg yolk, for egg wash
1 tablespoon heavy cream, for egg wash
Sanding sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare dough for pie crust.

In a large bowl, toss together berries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and lemon juice. Pour mixture into uncooked crust.

Roll out the lattice top.  Now Martha expects you to make 10 strips with a fluted pasty wheel.  HA!  I got 6 thick strips with a pizza cutter.  But seriously people, pizza cutters are your best friend when making a lattice.

Carefully arrange dough strips, weaving to make a lattice.  (Anyone who has seen my child's braided hair knows that I'm not exactly a master of attention to detail with braiding.  But a "lattice" like structure was made.)  In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream for egg wash.  Brush on top of dough.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Now Martha tells you to refrigerate the pie for 30 minutes, but I had vacation packing to do and I skipped this step.

Bake pie on a foil or parchment covered baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees  until the crust begins to brown, about 20 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake about 55 minutes long (I put on a pie shield at this step.) Remove pie and let cool on a wire rack.

Yes it's ugly and Martha would never let that out of the kitchen, but it sure was good!
 

Week 15- 1st in the series of "Pies I Don't Like"

Monday night I sat down to post my weekly pie  and I just couldn't do it.  My heart was filled with so much sadness after learning of the senseless attack on innocent people at the Boston Marathon.

 I had called my mother when I found out because years ago we had watched the Marathon together just a few blocks from my house in Boston.  That day will always be special to me because it was an incredibly fun day with my Mom; there was so much joy, so many people who were just glad to be a part of the race whether they were running or cheering.

Yesterday there was no joy.  There was a lot of me sneaking off to check Facebook and email to make sure friends and fellow runners were OK.  There was me making up a "hide your eyes" game for my girls when I turned on the TV (since I wasn't sure what channel we had left it on or what would be shown.) 

Luckily, there were also wonderful stories.  Doctors who ran the race and then stepped up to help the injured.  Spectators who helped people get out of the area.  Bostonians who opened their homes to people who had no place to go in the mayhem.

 My thoughts are with the people of Boston and all the runners who trained so hard and didn't get to finish or may never run again. 

I know the joy will be back some day but it will take a while.  :(

*********************************************************************
So this was the entry I had planned to post. 

This week begins a short series of "Pies I Don't Like."  When I told my taste tester, Squishy, about the series he asked quizzically "Why would you do something like that???"

Well because I have 52 pies to make and there are some pies I feel like I should make even though I don't like them.  And because perhaps someone else might like them even if I don't.  And that someone could be Squishy.

This one was a request by my sister to make a mocha pie.  And that request came with a recipe attached.  So I figured why not?

Now I don't like coffee AT ALL.  I don't drink it and can't stand the smell of it. But it's my sister and I knew she would like it.  And my husband had some instant coffee in the house after last fall's hurricane when the only way he could get coffee was to have instant made with water boiled on a hot plate.  And I'll do anything to get that coffee out of my house.

The pie is a bit of a cheat.  It's made with pudding and Cool Whip so it's not a real homemade pie.  But I did make the crust from scratch, so I'm counting it.

For the record, I could not bring myself to try this pie.  I really do hate coffee.  But my sister and Squishy enjoyed it and apparently the pie disappeared in a couple days.

Mocha Cappuccino Pie

1 baked graham cracker crust
1 3.5 ounce package of chocolate pudding
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
1 cup cold milk
1 container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Combine pudding mix and coffee granules. Add the milk and then whisk.  Fold in 1/3 of the tub of whipped topping.

Chill for at least 30 minutes.  Top with additional whipped topping.

Week 14-Seriously yummy...

Yes, I'm still chomping at the bit to make a fresh fruit pie.  I promised myself I would wait for fruit to be in season, but it's been a long winter.

I found this recipe for White Chocolate Strawberry pie on Tasty Kitchen.  Even though strawberries aren't in season yet, I decided to give it a go.  It also amused me because the recipe uses Cool Whip- something I don't think I've ever bought before.  I'm totally confounding the people who try to find patterns off my Stop & Shop loyalty card, cause this project is making me buy some weird stuff.

The pie was super easy to make, except for one step.  Melting white chocolate.  I usually melt regular chocolate chips in the microwave and the recipe recommends the same.  But white chocolate doesn't melt the same way and both times I tried to melt the chips they got sort of pasty.  I ended up using the melted chips anyway so I had a few "pieces" in the pie, but that was OK.

In fact, both my husband and my older daughter thought the pie was "awesome".  Definitely one to make again- and probably a good one for Valentines' Day with the bright red strawberries on top. (I forgot to take a picture of the pie before it was eaten!)

White Chocolate Strawberry Pie
Adapted from a recipe by Caprice at The Home Heart
Link to the recipe

1/2 cup white chocolate chips
12 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups Cool Whip
1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice
Dash of salt
1 prebaked graham cracker crust
1 lb strawberries, sliced (I used less, but enough to completely cover the pie)


Melt 1/2 cup white chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Stir and then keep microwaving in 30 second increments until completely melted.

Mix cream cheese until smooth.  Then add the powdered sugar until well combined.

Add the Cool Whip, orange juice, salt and melted white chocolate.  Mix until everything is smooth (except for a few white chocolate lumps :)

Spoon the mixture into the prebaked graham cracker crust.

Top with the sliced strawberries.

Note, the recipe calls for an additional 3 tablespoons of white chocolate chips to be melted and poured as a glaze on top.  I skipped this step because I had trouble with the chips and the pie was still delicious!

Chill for one hour and then enjoy!

Week 13- Ricotta Pie

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Italian-American.  I grew up in a town where you were pretty much one of the following: Italian, Irish, Polish or African American (or some combination.)  It always puzzled me when I was a kid reading my history books because everybody seemed to come over to the US from England; by the time they got around to when my folks came on over to the US it was usually about 3 weeks from the end of the school year.

As I moved around, I realized a few things.  Not everyone eats pasta at Thanksgiving dinner.  Not everyone has an Uncle Tony or grew up knowing someone named Fabrizio.  Not everyone had seen the movie "The Godfather" by the time they were 8. 

So, imagine my surprise when I was researching pies for Easter and there is an Italian Easter pie made with ricotta cheese. 

Now when there is something "Italian" that I don't know about, I tend to say "That must be Northern Italian" so as not to sound totally ignorant.  In this case, it might be because my family doesn't bake.  So I called a fellow paisan who is well versed in Italian stuff and asked her if she knew of this pie.  To which she responded, "You mean it's a pizza pie with ricotta?"  OK, so I'm not the only one who doesn't know about this.

I figured I would try it.  And the description said it was like a cheesecake pie, so how bad could it be?

Let's just say, this is not a pie that will be a family tradition.  It was OK, very dense and it had a sort of curdy texture due to the ricotta.  For some reason I thought it would be smoother, more like a cannoli filling.  I used a nip of Amaretto in it (you see, I really am Italian, I like Amaretto) which gave it a nice flavor.  The "crust" wasn't a true crust, it was more like the crumb-like bottom of a cheesecake.

Even the Easter bunny would pass on this one :)

Ricotta Pie
Adapted from the King Arthur Flour website
Ricotta Pie Recipe

 

1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 2-3 graham crackers)

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup almonds

pinch of salt

3 cups ricotta cheese (I used whole milk, but the recipe says you can also use part skim)

6 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup Amaretto liqueur, optional (it's not optional for me!)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

 

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter the pie pan.
-To make crust, process graham crackers, sugar, almonds and salt together.  Pour crumbs into pan to make a "crust".
-Mix the rest of the ingredients together.  Pour into the "crust".  At this step, my mixture looked really liquidy, but it set up well in the oven. I also had a good amount left over.
-Bake the pie for about 45 minutes.  Use a thermometer to make sure the inside of the pie has reached 160 degrees.  The pie will look unset at this point, but that's OK.
-Let the pie cool for an hour and then put it in the fridge.

Buona Pasqua all! :)