Lemon Pie

Why is citrus season in the winter? I mean, when I think of a season that goes with citrus, it's usually summer. Lemonade, orange creamsicles, citrus tarts... all of those things come out during the summer. The only reason I can think of for God making citrus fruits ripen in December and January is that he wanted to give us a reminder that summer will return. That has to be it, right? Because there is nothing that can make me smile like the sun just came out like a slice of lemon pie.

Also, the lemons looked so pretty at the grocery store and this recipe is soooo fast and easy! I knew I had to make this. At any rate, it was a good way to avoid studying for statistics exam that I might*possibly*probably will fail... I guess I should have gotten a tutor earlier than one week before the final. Maybe eating lemon pie will lessen the blow of failing.

Simple Lemon Pie
1 unbaked pie crust
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
Juice of 2 lemons

Grease a 9-inch pie tin and place unbaked pie crust in the tin. Preheat oven to 350F.
In a medium bowl, stir sugar into butter until fully incorporated. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in lemon juice. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake pie in 350F oven for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 325F and bake for 35 more minutes. Let cool and place in fridge for at least 2 hours. Serve cold.

Nanaimo Bars

• I have seen these bars on various blogs lately, and by no means are mine the prettiest, but these are just soooo yummy that I had to share this recipe. Apparently the bars are originally from Canada and have been slowly making their way down South. I've only met a couple of other people in Kentucky who have even heard of them, but my Canadian friends know this stuff and speak very highly of it.

If you are looking for a yummy, no-bake treat, don't let the 3 separate layers scare you away. These are totally worth it. And super easy. I brought them to an economics study group and I am pretty sure the only reason that 10 people did not eat the entire 8x8 pan is because they are just so good and rich that you don't need but a tiny piece to be satisfied.

Nanaimo Bars

(generic recipe that is easily found online)

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons custard powder
  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet baking chocolate
  • 2 teaspoons butter

1. In the top of a double boiler, combine 1/2 cup butter, white sugar and cocoa powder. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Beat in the egg, stirring until thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the graham cracker crumbs, and coconut. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 8x8 inch pan.
2. For the middle layer, cream together 1/2 cup butter, heavy cream and custard powder until light and fluffy. Mix in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over the bottom layer in the pan. Chill to set at least 15 minutes.
3. While the second layer is chilling, melt the semisweet chocolate and 2 teaspoons butter together in the microwave or over low heat. Spread over the chilled bars. Let the chocolate set before cutting into small (1inch x 1inch even) squares.

Mocha Panna Cotta

When I get a chocolate craving, I just have to follow it. This particular chocolate craving led me to make a mocha panna cotta.

I happened to have a lot of extra cream sitting around, as well as some gelatin left over from when I made marshmallows a few months ago, so I figured I would try it. I can't quite decide how to describe it... Somewhere between flan ans jell-o? Either way, I would definitely make it again, if for no other reason than that is is chocolate and "panna cotta" sounds fancy.

Mocha Panna Cotta

Asapted from Giada, Serves 2-3

• ½ cup whole milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• Blocks of white and/or dark chocolate, optional

Place the milk in a heavy, small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over and let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. Stir over medium heat just until the gelatin dissolves, but the milk does not boil, about 2 minutes. Add the cream, espresso and cocoa powders, sugar, and salt. Stir over low heat, until the sugar dissolves, about 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Pour the cream mixture into 2 martini glasses (or whatever glasses you want to serve this in), dividing equally. Cover and refrigerate, stirring every 20 minutes during the first hour. Chill until set, at least 6 hours and up to 2 days.

When ready to serve, use a vegetable peeler on the chocolate blocks to create about 1 tablespoon each of the white and dark chocolate shavings. Sprinkle the shavings over each panna cotta and serve.

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.

Strawberry Season

After hanging out with some good friends on New Year's Eve, it was time for me to drive back up to Kentucky to my new "home." Due to my desire to still want to spend time with college friends, my need for cheap rent, and the predicament of having no job and grad schools not starting until the fall, I am living in the guest room of the family for whom I nanny. I have almost everything I need in my little room: a tv, a small fridge, a nice chair, my bed and dresser (of course), my own bathroom, and even my own entry.

When I do don't make dinner for the family, I like to make dessert. The kids (ages 2 and 5) love to help me bake. As my mom reminded me before I left for Kentucky, strawberry season, as well as citrus season, is upon us. In accordance, the dessert I made yesterday was my mom's strawberry pie. Next week's will be a key lime pie, but I am going to wait just for the right Floridian menu to include it in, or maybe just have it with BBQ, since I love my BBQ.

My Mother's Easy Strawberry Pie

Ingredients

1 pie crust (9 inch, already baked)

3/4 c water

3/4 c sugar

3 tablespoons (level) cornstarch

Add one small box of jell-o

1 quart of fresh, washed, sliced, hulled strawberries

Directions

Mix water, sugar, and cornstarch in saucepan on stove over medium or medium-high heat, cook until really thick and clear (will not really boil, but will usually make one big bubble at a time), remove from heat.

Add one small box strawberry jell-o (do not use sugar free) and stir in.

Add and mix in strawberries, pour mixture into prepared pie crust, set in fridge for an hour or so.