Key Lime Pie

Welcome back to me! I know, I know. Where have I been, right? MIA for 2 months and no explanation whatsoever. Shame on me. Well, I have a very good reason as to why I've been gone for so long. First, we just got back from our trip to Hawaii for one of my cousins' wedding. But more importantly, the main reason I haven't been on this blog was because I haven't been able to stand being in the kitchen due to morning sickness. You got it right, folks. Hubby and I are expecting our 2nd child, due in early May. It was a pleasant surprise and hubby, my daughter and I are so excited.

My last blog post was of this recipe for Taiwanese Spaghetti. Then that same Labor Day weekend, we found out that I was expecting. How appropriate that it was "Labor" Day. lol. But since then, I've been hit with the worst case of morning sickness ever. I experienced morning sickness with my daughter 5 years ago that lasted 7 months. But it wasn't as bad as this pregnancy. I'm nauseous all day long. I throw up almost all day long. So many smells trigger my nausea. Especially the kitchen. Which totally kills me. Because we all know how much time I spend in the kitchen. So I haven't been cooking much in these past 2 months and have avoided the kitchen like the plague. Sometimes, I can muster up some energy and cook a real simple dish. Like some sort of Fried Rice. Holding my breath the entire time I'm in the kitchen.

I worry, sometimes, that because I throw up so much, I may not be getting in enough nutrients for the baby. I haven't gained much weight, but I haven't lost weight either. My doctor says that not gaining weight is okay, as long as I don't lose weight. Everyone tells me not to worry because the morning sickness will be gone after my first trimester. That's what everyone told me with my last pregnancy, and it lasted 7 months. They also say every pregnancy is different. I guess only time will tell. I just hope it somehow subsides soon. Because I really miss my kitchen.

I've noticed that the only things I can make in the kitchen are desserts. Because the ingredients don't emit odors like onions and garlic do. Our lime tree has been growing tons of limes and hubby wanted me to start using them up. So I was thinking Key Lime Pie. I've always loved the Key Lime Pie at California Pizza Kitchen, so I did a quick search which lead me to this recipe from the Examiner. The ingredients and recipe was quite simple and the pie tasted tart and sweet. To offset the sweetness, I topped the pie with some homemade whipped cream and it came out really good. A great recipe to break my funk.

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Filling
4 large egg yolks
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice (regular or key limes)
2 tsp. lime zest

Topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream
5 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.

2) First make the crust: In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crust, sugar and melted butter. Stir until well coated. Press crust onto a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 9-10 minutes, just before crust begins to brown. Allow to cool.

3) For the filling: Beat egg yolks over medium-high speed until they begin to thicken and turn to light yellow, about 5-7 minutes. Stop mixer and add condensed milk. Continue beating over low speed and add lime juice. Slowly add lime zest and continue beating until well incorporated. Pour filling into prepared crust and bake for 11-13 minutes until set. Allow to cool completely before topping with whipped cream.

4) For the topping: With a whisk attachment, beat heavy whipping cream over high speed until soft peaks form. Continue beating at high speed while slowly adding confectioner's sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Top on to prepared pie.

Lemon Chess Pie

I found this recipe a while ago while skimming the web for more great recipe ideas from Southern Plate sometime last year. I've been fixated on Southern desserts lately after attempting my version of a Caramel Cake. And since I had a few extra lemons from my parents' tree, I decided to make another classic Southern dessert.

This pie is reminiscent of lemon bars, but the filling is a little more custardy. It only consists of 5 ingredients. So simple and so yummy.

1 (9 inch) frozen pie crust
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 eggs, separated
zest and juice of 3 lemons

1) Bake pie crust according just until it turns golden brown. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

2) Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg yolks and continue to beat until incorporated. Add lemon zest and lemon juice and beat well.

3) In a separate clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites into lemon mixture until well incorporated. Pour into prepared pie crust. Bake for 25-30 minutes until set.  

No-bake Creamy Peanut Butter Pie

There's been a lot of buzz around the foodie blogosphere about this blogger, Jennie. You see, her husband suddenly died from a heart attack, leaving behind Jennie and their 2 daughters. Before her husband passed away, she had been meaning to make his favorite Creamy Peanut Butter Cream Pie but never got around to it. So she asked her readers and other fellow bloggers to make the recipe in his honor and to celebrate his life.

I wasn't a follower of Jennie's blog, but I found this touching story through The Brown Eyed Baker. It helped me reflect on my own life and reminded me to not take everything I have for granted. Little things hubby does that annoys me, or the little things that my daughter does that upsets me are all trivial and will eventually resolve themselves. But I only have one time with them, and that time is NOW. I need to always remind myself to enjoy my time with them, because tomorrow is always so uncertain.

There was a time when hubby and I thought we would never be able to start our own family. And when our little princess came into our lives, she was the best gift we could ever imagine. I made a promise to myself to always treasure this gift. I still hold on to that promise everyday. Jennie asked to make this recipe for someone we love, and "then hug them like there's no tomorrow because today is the only guarantee we can count on." Words we should always live by.

Crust

8 ounces Oreo cookies, crushed into fine crumbs

pinch of salt

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter melted

4 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Filling

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Topping

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. shortening

1) In a medium bowl, combine Oreo crumbs, salt and melted butter, tossing with a fork until evenly moistened. Press onto the bottom of a 10-inch spring-form pan (if using a 9-inch pan, spread the crust about 1 inch up the sides. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

2) While crust is in the freezer, place the 4 ounces of chocolate chips in a small bowl. Heat the 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a small saucepan and bring to a full boil. Pour heated cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for about a minute. Stir gently with a rubber spatula until completely smooth and glossy. Pour over the bottom of the crust, tilting the pan until it cover the entire bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with the chopped nuts and refrigerate while making the filling.

3) Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the 1 cup heavy cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a medium bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

4) Using the electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together peanut butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the confectioner's sugar until completely incorporated, scraping down the sides. Add condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Continue beating on medium speed until fully incorporated.

5) Using a rubber spatula, fold in about 1/3 of the whipped cream to lighten the mixture. Very gently, fold in the remaining whipped cream until no streaks of whipped cream remain. Pour filling onto prepared crust.

6) Place the remaining 1/3 cup of chocolate chips and shortening in a small bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments until completely melted and smooth, stirring after each 30 seconds. Drizzle melted chocolate over the pie filling. Refrigerate pie for 3 days to overnight before serving.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

This weekend, hubby has been quite busy studying for his state board exam and fixing up the back yard so we can put up the above-the-ground pool for our daughter. We decided to put up the pool so we can have a pool/bbq party for 4th of July with my folks tomorrow.

Fresh strawberries are in abundance out at all the local grocery stores nowadays. Being that it's 4th of July tomorrow, I thought it would be festive to have some bright-red, Fresh Strawberry pie out on display when my family comes over tomorrow. My family and I love fresh strawberry pie and we buy at least one from our local bake shop every summer. The other day, my co-worker, Stacy, introduced me to a new blog and I found this great recipe for Fresh Strawberry Pie from Southern Plate. I've found a few other recipes from blogs I frequent. But the glaze that goes on the fresh strawberries look too thick, almost solid, and didn't look like the pie that I'm used to. This recipe, however, looked like the same consistency as the ones I buy at the bake shop. And it tasted great and easy to make.

1 ready-made pie crust

1 pint fresh strawberries

1 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. strawberry gelatin (do not use sugar-free)

3 heaping Tbsp. cornstarch

1 cup water

1) Bake pie crust according to directions. Set aside and cool completely.

2) In a medium bowl, combine sugar, strawberry gelatin, and cornstarch. Stir until incorporated. In a medium saucepan, add water and stir in gelatin mixture until well combined. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and clear. Set aside and cool completely.

3) Wash and hull strawberries. Cut strawberries in half and arrange in baked pie crust. When filling has cooled, pour over strawberries. Chill until ready to serve. Serve with whipped cream.

Banana Caramel Cream Pie

I'm still trying to use up all the bananas that my mom had given me when I made Banana Spice Cupcakes a few days ago. This past NBA All-Star weekend, hubby was watching all things basketball on TV. But I managed to sneak-in a few episodes on the Food Network and the Cooking Channel and caught an episode of Kelsey's Essentials where she made this recipe for Banana Caramel Cream Pie. It looked so good on TV and I know hubby would really like it, so I had to try to make this. And plus, I couldn't possibly pass up anything that has caramel in it.

I realize that this may look like a long recipe. But I actually cut the recipe by using ready-made pie crust. The original recipe called for making the crust from scratch. But using a ready-made pie crust worked just as well. The caramel sauce was a little tricky for me. My first attempt to make the caramel sauce was a failure as I had burned the sugar mixture. The second attempt resulted in the sugar clumping up when I added the heavy cream. But I returned the mixture back on the stove to heat up and melt the sugar and it came out fine. Overall, this pie was yummy. My daughter loved licking the paddle for the whip cream. Both hubby and daughter couldn't wait to dive into this pie.

1 (9") ready made pie crust

Pie filling

3-4 bananas, sliced

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 Tbsp. all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups milk

2 egg yolks

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 vanilla bean, split in half and seeds scraped

Salted Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup heavy cream

3 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

salt

Whipped topping

1 cup fresh whipped cream

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Bake pie crust according to directions. Cool completely.

2) First make the caramel sauce: In a saucepan, combine sugar and water over low-medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil without stirring. Use a wet pastry brush to brush off the sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan. Boil until syrup is a deep amber color, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and carefully whisk heavy cream (mixture will bubble). Stir in butter and salt to taste. Transfer caramel on a dish and cool completely.

3) For the filling: In a medium saucepan, mix together sugar, salt, cornstarch and flour. Over medium-low heat, slowly whisk in milk.

4) In a separate small bowl, beat egg yolks. Once milk mixture begins to boil, transfer 1/2 cup of the mixture into the egg yolks and whisk to temper. Return egg yolk mixture into saucepan and whisk constantly to prevent burning the bottom. Continue whisking until custard coats the back of the spoon and is smooth and thick. Strain mixture through a sieve.

5) Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Stir in 1 cup sliced bananas. Allow mixture to cool completely.

6) For the topping: Whip cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and vanilla and whip until stiff peaks form.

7) Cover the bottom of the crust with sliced bananas. Drizzle 1/4 cup of salted caramel sauce over the bananas. Top with more bananas. Spread banana custard over bananas. Top with whipped topping. Chill pie until filling sets, about 2 hours.

Buttermilk Pie

At our office Thanksgiving luncheon last week, one of my co-workers, Stacy, brought a buttermilk pie that she had been raving about for the last year. She orders it from a guy she knew. I've never had buttermilk pie before and the way she described it made my mouth salivate in anticipation. This recipe came up from my reader a couple of weeks ago from Sing for your Supper... that I had been saving up. I planned to make it once I had a taste of Stacy's buttermilk pie. And after a year-long anticipation, I finally had a taste. It was custard-y goodness that I cannot describe. But I had to have more. Alas, there was no more leftovers. But I still had the recipe and wanted to make it as one of our desserts for tonight's Thanksgiving dinner.

The pie came out very sweet, so I topped it with whipped cream to off-set the sweetness a little bit. I'll probably make the pie with much less sugar next time. It called for 3 3/4 cup sugar. I'll probably lessen it to 2-3 cups instead. But the pie was still delicious and I received some positive feedback from the family. I'll definitely be making this again. Yum!

2 (9 inch) pie crust, unbaked

3 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

6 eggs, beaten

2 sticks butter, melted

1 cup buttermilk

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.

2) Mix flour, sugar, salt. Add eggs, butter, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour into 2 unbaked pie crust. Bake for 1 hour. (note: start checking the doneness of the pie at 50 minutes. If they're too jiggly, continue baking them for a few more minutes. If the tops begin to brown, loosely cover with foil). Cool for at least 1 hour before slicing. Top with whipped cream or powdered sugar.

French Silk Pie

Every year, my brother would always buy his all-time favorite pie, French Silk pie, from Baker's Square for Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately, all the Baker's Square branches closed down here in Southern California. He was kind of bummed out about that. The other day, I came to learn that my friend Kiran was also addicted to the pie and so she did a search for the recipe to try to make it for their Thanksgiving dinner. I had this French Silk Pie recipe saved up from Beantown Baker and it gave me the idea to make it for my brother for Thanksgiving this year.

The original recipe called for raw eggs to be used. Being in the field of food safety, I wasn't too keen on feeding my daughter raw eggs. So I did a trial run the other day by cooking the eggs in a double boiler. The pie came out quite rich and grainy, but still very tasty. Tonight, I decided to modify the recipe some more by adding a container of ready-made whipped topping, which came pretty darn close to what Baker's Square pie was like. My brother seemed to really like it because he took the rest of the pie home. I'm glad he liked it.

1 (9 inch) ready made pie crust

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 eggs, beaten

8 oz container prepared whipped topping

chocolate shavings for garnish

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Bake pie crust for 25-30 minutes, until pie crust just begins to turn golden brown. Set aside and cool completely.

2) Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler. Temper the eggs by adding some of the melted chocolate and mixing thoroughly using a wire whisk. Add the remaining melted chocolate and continue to whisk thoroughly. Return egg and chocolate mixture over the double boiler and add the vanilla extract. Cook for 5 minutes, whisking constantly to prevent clumping. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

3) In a separate container, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add chocolate mixture until well combined. Fold in ready-whipped topping until well incorporated.

4) Pour mixture into cooled pie crust. Refrigerate for 4 hour or overnight. Let pie sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving. Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.