Tuesday, May 13, 2008

TWD: Florida Pie

Diane of Diane's Dishes chose the Florida pie for this week's recipe. It was a fantastic combination of coconut and lime! I enjoyed it, but definitely had some bumps along the way, and I'm pretty sure I'd make changes next time.
The recipe itself was pretty straight-forward. There's a graham cracker crust, topped with a layer of reduced coconut cream. This smells like coconut milk while it's cooking, and I think I might try substituting some coconut milk for some of the coconut flakes in this step in the future. I love coconut milk. It's an unhealthy obsession, I know.
You top the layer of coconut goodness with the key lime pie part. I couldn't get my hands on key limes, and I always prefer the real, fresh thing to bottled juices, so I used regular lime juice here. I am torn on this substitution. I might try it with the bottled key lime juice next time, as some people out there in internet land seem to suggest. It just feels wrong to use juice from a bottle... and I happen to find juicing citus incredibly theraputic. Still, great pie. I loved this part.
Next, it's on to the merengue. This was new territory to me. I understand the concept, and I've whipped egg whites for other purposes before, but I have never actually made merengue. I was conflicted about this topping. This is mostly because my results were less than amazing. First, I found that the egg whites deflated significantly, and just plain weren't as pretty, when I folded in the coconut. I imagine that this has something to do with my inability to fold perfectly, but I think I'll save myself the heartache in the future and just put the coconut in an extra layer, either on the top or between the lime pie and the merengue, rather than try to fold it in. It was ugly.
Then I managed to burn it trying to toast the top in the oven. This didn't affect the taste of the pie in any noticable way, but it wasn't pretty. I like my food to be pretty.
I blame the oven. I think this means that I need to buy a kitchen torch! And as long as I'm buying the torch, I might as well buy the entire creme brulee set, right? (And this line of thought it what finally let to my creation of an Amazon wish list. I feel better about avoiding these impulse purchases when I create a list that reminds me that I can buy them later.)

20 comments:

Heather B said...

your pie looks delicious! Great job!

Unknown said...

Nice job! And go ahead and gt yourself a blowtorch - I love mine!

ostwestwind said...

You pie looks great, I love my blow torch, although my son burned the work plate ;-)

CB said...

I love your blog name! My KA is red too. Don't you just love red? Mine makes me happy. haha. Bummer you had issues with the meringue but I am sure it was still quite tasty! Great job!
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Nina said...

Even though it isn't the prettiest, I'm sure it tasted wonderful! Better luck next time with the meringue Nina at Love Sweet Love

mimi said...

sorry your meringue got a little toasty on top, but your pie still looks great!

PheMom said...

I used my torch (which I love)and still burned the tips. Oh well - at least they taste good! Great job!

The Food Librarian said...

The pie looks great...and congrats on your recent graduation! I use a blow torch from Home Depot - it's cheaper than the creme brulee one, but it is larger and more powerful.

Annemarie said...

It's TOTALLY the oven's fault. I love your pics!

Melissa said...

I blame the oven! And it's still yummy which is the most important.

Christine said...

The oven did it that is my excuse for everything! Your pie looks yummy! Good job!

Bumblebutton said...

I think a lot of us had trouble with that meringue recipe--you actually might have fared better because yours was a little more toasted than most!

Jaime said...

seems like we had similar experiences w/the meringue. it still tasted great though :)

Gretchen Noelle said...

Too bad you had troubles. Hope you enjoyed the taste!

Natalie said...

I was thinking I need a blowtorch after this too! :) Looks great even with the extra-brown top.

Liliana said...

Your pie came out great! I managed to save my pie from the broiler before it went on fire!!
I just received a red KA for Mother's Day and I love it!

Hygeian Stew said...

I have a hard time using bottled juice too. Sorry about the meringue, but it still looks delicious!

Jayne said...

You definitely need a blowtorch - everyone should have one. Except my daughter. And my meringue burnt, too, probably because I had it in the oven under the broiler and got distracted just for a moment. They burn fast. You did a great job, though! Be proud!

Amy said...

Your pie looks great, and I want a kitchen torch too!

Anonymous said...

Sorry you had some bumps along the way, but I'm glad you enjoyed the pie. I used bottled juice myself and it turned out fine. :)