I woke up this morning to snow. Don’t get me wrong, it was absolutely beautiful. It gently defined each tree branch, even against the gray sky. It accumulated in just the corners of my windows so that it looked like I was on set of the Polar Express. And then, I snapped back to reality and realized my car is covered in snow and the walkway needs to be shoveled. And at exactly that moment, I started the countdown until Summer.
I am a big believer of living in the Present, but sometimes I can’t help looking forward to something. For me, the summer reminds of eating a piece of tart key lime after a long, sunny day by the pool. So today, we are going to bring a little taste of Summer to this snowy day.
My mom used to go to Key West in the Summer and would bring us back various key lime flavored goodies, my favorite of all being Nellie and Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice. It is all over the place now, so you can typically find it in your food store, and if not, a quick visit to amazon.com will do the trick.
After these trips to Key West, my mom would make key lime pie for us. The pie was a showstopper at barbecues and pool parties and I always thought people were just being polite. My mom has made hundreds of desserts (maybe thousands- which would explain a few of my heavy years) and this one was almost too simple for me to truly appreciate when I was younger. It wasn’t until real life kicked in that I realized what a beautiful thing simplicity can be.
One other great thing about this recipe, is that the directions are right on the side of the bottle. So when you go to the store to buy your ingredients, all you need to do is check the side of the bottle to double check your kitchen is fully stocky. The side of the bottle will read:
Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Pie
- 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
- 3 egg yolks (whites not used)
- 1/2 cup of Nellie and Joe’s Key West Lime Juice
Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream, or meringue and garnish with lime slices.
I wasn’t kidding when I said how simple this recipe is!! The graham cracker crust should be made ahead of time to allow it to cool. The recipe for the crust is below.
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- 1 stick of butter
Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Melt butter and add to mixture. Mix together with a fork until the consistency is like wet sand. Pour mixture into a greased 9″ pie dish and press down until it is firm along the bottom and edges of the dish. Bake at 375 F for 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before adding the key lime filling.
Now, last but now least- the whipped cream! For me, fresh whipped cream is like a slightly melted version of ice cream .. so make with caution 😉
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Add all 4 ingredients and whisk on high speed until consistency becomes thick. Refrigerate until time to serve and then dollop on each slice of key lime pie 🙂
