Pies!

For Thanksgiving dinner this year, we had apple pie, key lime pie, and squash/pumpkin bread. I love Evelyn's key lime pie, and she sent me her recipe, which I intend to use.

Evelyn and Tom have a wonderful collection of cookbooks, including many dessert cookbooks. Here's a photo of three very special ones:

Three books by Ann Amernick, a well-known Washington DC pastry chef
who baked Evelyn and Tom's wedding cake.

Evelyn's Key Lime Pie (Based on a recipe from the web)

Classic Graham Cracker Crust
In a 10-inch glass or ceramic pie plate, make your favorite graham cracker crust recipe (or the one on the cracker box) and allow to cool.

Filling
2 large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest (optional)
1 1/4 cups fresh lime juice, preferably key lime juice (from 25 key limes) or bottled key lime juice*
Two 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk

Whipped Cream Topping
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup sour cream
Key lime slices, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°
2. In a bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lime zest, condensed milk and eggs until smooth. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake for about 20 minutes, until set around the edge and slightly jiggly in the center. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until very firm, at least 6 hours or overnight.
3. Using a mixer, beat the heavy cream and sour cream until soft peaks form, 1 minute. Beat in the sugar until stiff peaks form, 1 minute. Mound the whipped cream on the pie. Garnish with the key lime slices and serve.

*Note: This is the most labor intensive squeezing ever done. Use a bottle of lime juice! On a previous try, we ended up using clementines to supplement juice from 25 tiny dry limes, and it was definitely tasty that way.

UPDATE: Graham Cracker Crust from Dan and Lara via Elaine
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (you can use pre-crumbed ones)
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Mix all the ingredients together, the press into the pie pan. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350. (Or you can fill it unbaked if you're making some other kind of pie that requires baking.)

The graham cracker crumbs plus the flour should add up to 1 1/2 cups, but sometimes I've done it with a bit less flour than 1/4 cup, compensated by a bit more graham cracker crumbs.

Lime Juice!