Tuesday, August 25, 2009

TWD: Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie

How serendipitous that this recipe chosen for this week's installment of Tuesdays with Dorie is something that I know my best friend, Stephanie would love. Why is that serendipitous? Well, because her birthday was Saturday and while I was making it (on Saturday, even), I couldn't help but be reminded of her and be saddened because I couldn't share it with her on her birthday.

So, here I am a few days later, sharing it with her and the rest of the Internet and telling all y'all... this pie is damn good.

Steph moved to Portland, Oregon a little over a year ago. And while I'm ecstatic for her and her awesome new life out West, it's a hard adjustment to make. Admittedly, neither of us are phone people. We've never really had to be. I mean, we both went to different colleges, but we still came home pretty much the same weekends, etc, so it wasn't really an issue. And after college, if I wanted to talk to her... we would just meet up for dinner or shopping or whatever. But... that's kind of hard to do when we're 1000s of miles apart.

So, basically, I've dropped the ball. I get kind of wrapped up in my own stuff... and I have kind of an unusual routine for someone my age: I go to bed around 9pm and wake up around 5am. I'm not a phone person, so the idea just doesn't pop into my head very often... "oh! I should call so-and-so." And while I think of her everyday, it just doesn't dawn on me to actually pick up the phone and call. And then... after, oh say, 3 months of not calling... when I realize it's been 3 months... then I feel guilty for being such a shitty friend. 3 months! who doesn't call their best friend in 3 months? (This girl, apparently).

I view my life as a work-in-progress and as such, I have this really long self-help to do list for myself that I am constantly working on. Here's a snippet of the list:

32. Say YES to every 2 out of 3 things you're invited to.
33. Be a better friend. Call your friends who live far away, more often.
34. Say NO to 1 out of every 5 tequila shots ordered.
35. Don't engage in flirty texts with douche bag dudes who wronged you in the past.

So, you see... keeping in touch better with friends is something that I know I need to work on and I'm going to make a conscience effort to do so from now. So, all you friends of mine out there... I'm sorry. I know, I suck, but I'm going to get better.

So, Steph, even though I couldn't share this pie with you... it has your name written all over it. You would FREAK over it. It's so creamy and lime-y. It's like a key lime pie, except without the chemically aftertaste that sweetened condensed milk can sometimes leave. I didn't really give it enough time to firm up before I dove into it, but no matter... it was still creamy and silky and tangy. Lime perfection.

Happy Birthday, Steph! I love you and miss you! If I could have wrapped this pie up and shipped it to you, I would have.
Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie (click the title for the recipe)
Chosen by Linda of Tender Crumb

Ok, so of course... I couldn't make this pie directly as written because 1. I dislike calf slobber meringue and 2. I'm a little leery of ginger and didn't want to buy any. I made this pie with a graham cracker crust, although, I think I will try it sometime with a regular crust. My graham cracker crust just never really set up properly. I also added a touch of ground ginger, instead of fresh ginger and I couldn't even notice it in the flavor of the pie (hooray!). The recipe calls for a crapload of butter, but I only added in one stick and didn't even notice the missing calories (though, my love handles thanked me). It's very much like a key lime pie, but, it's a touch silkier, I think. Definitely a keeper and I will definitely make it again... and maybe top it with some fresh whipped cream. Yum.