Easy, Easy Key Lime Pie

One of Florida's greatest gifts to the world is the Florida Keys. Beautiful mangroves, clear blue water, soft sand, Hemingway's 7-toed cats* and a fun atmosphere. Also, the 7-Mile Bridge always inspires awe in me, as well as a ridiculously overwhelming fear that I will fall off the edge and die in my car.

The most important, in my opinion, is the small and delicious Key Lime. As citrus season is pretty much over, I am running a little behind to be making a Key Lime Pie, but I just couldn't help myself. Key Limes are still in the stores and I had vowed back in January to make one with real Key Limes (it just tastes gross with regular limes).

*I took piano lessons from a woman who literally COLLECTED "Hemingway cats" (cats with 7 toes on each foot). If that's not the greatest example of a stereotype, crazy piano teacher, I don't know what it is. We were always stopping in the middle of lessons because the cats were getting into something. Not surprisingly, I did not make it very far in my career as a concert pianist.

Key Lime Pie

Adapted from Emeril

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick butter) melted

2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk

1 cup key lime juice (do not use regular limes)

2 whole eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 tablespoon lime zest

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter with your hands. Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan, and bake until brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before filling.

Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

In a separate bowl, combine the condensed milk, lime juice, and eggs. Whisk until well blended and place the filling in the cooled pie shell. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Once chilled, combine the sour cream and powdered sugar and spread over the top of the pie using a spatula. Sprinkle the lime zest as a garnish on top of the sour cream and serve chilled.