Key Lime Pie

I love a good snow storm now and then but I've all but had it with this winter. After the flu, bronchitis and a near spill yesterday in my icy driveway, I'm counting down the days until we start to thaw out. The bad news is that P. Phil saw his shadow today meaning that we're in for another 6 weeks of this snowy, icy, messy cold that makes me want to hibernate under the four blankets on my bed and just stay there all day.

Since my boss might take issue with this, there was nothing to do but attempt to brighten up these gray days with a killer citrus dessert. But after a weekend of constant cooking including numerous loaves of challah, vegetable barley soup, chocolate cake, and red velvet cupcakes, I had no time (or energy for that matter) for a lemon curd tart with olive oil or something of the sort.

And so it was really happenstance that the last dessert I made this weekend happened to also be the easiest and the best. I could rave to you about the crumbly, buttery graham cracker crust or the luscious tart and tangy filling- or about how it took only 30 minutes total to pull together- but that wouldn't be very nice of me seeing as how we've got 6 more weeks of winter minimum and this Key Lime Pie is about as close to Key West- or anywhere else above freezing- as we're going to get. I hope this pie will bring a little sunshine to your home as well.

Key Lime Pie Adapted from Emeril Lagasse *Emeril's pie called for a strange sour cream layer to be spread over the pie once it's chilled. I can't imagine why you'd want to ruin a perfect pie with a layer of sour cream, but if you'd like a topping, I suggest a dollop of whipped cream with lime zest. 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 or regular lime juice 2 whole eggs 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 20 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. Cut pie using a sharp knife. Serves 8.