Dad's Thanksgiving Key Lime Pie

Yep, this is my Dad's favorite pie.  Without fail, every year, two pies get made at each holiday get together. One so that Dad can have pie after dinner as well as an entire pie for him to take home for left-overs, which means there has to BE enough for leftovers...

Oh well, that's the best part of any holiday, right?  However, I am thinking that after my Dad's stalking of everyone who had a piece of "his" pie this year, we may need to consider making a third... Just saying.  Our family is big and Dad can lay down a guilt-inducing stare for those that decide to share his pie. And let's face it, we all want a piece of this pie!

This year, my family had a Thanksgiving Do-Over.  That is to say, we redid our family holiday tradition in December because some of us had to work and therefor we missed our holiday get together. Not to worry, we have no issues with having an unscheduled "real Thanksgiving" even if it falls off the normal holiday calendar. We enjoyed it immensely and it may even become a tradition if we ever need a fallback Turkey Day.

I had been considering this very post because when we go to make it, we always have to fake the recipe and it turns out right every time. Still, I figured that I would write it down today so we always have it at hand and also because my hungry brother just texted me. He needs a pie fix, poor dear. :) Big Sis can accommodate you, so here it is, Love. Let me know how it goes, ok?

Graham Cracker Crust Ingredients:

* 8 inch premade graham cracker pie crust

OR make your own, it's super easy:

* 2 packages of graham crackers or favorite cookie that makes sense with this pie
* 2 tbsp sugar
* 1 stick of melted butter or coconut oil

1. Put the crust ingredients in the food processor and process until the mixture looks like wet sand.
2. Dump the contents into a greased or buttered spring form pan or 8 inch pie pan.
3. Using a small glass, gently press the crumb mixture on the bottom and sides of the pan. Doesn't need to be perfect, Brother.

**Also, if you don't have a food processor, just put the sugar and graham crackers into a zip lock bag and beat the crap out of it with a rolling pin. Ok, just kidding, you don't need to kill it, just roll the pin back and forth over the crackers to make a crumb and it doesn't have to be a fine crumb either. Chunky is good here, too.  Put the crumbs in a bowl and work in the melted butter with a fork until it is crumbly as instructed above. Dump this into the pan and form the same way I mentioned.  The results will be just as good.

Key Lime Pie Filling
* 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
* 1/2 cup lemon, key lime or rangpur lime juice (pink grapefruit might be awesome?!)
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 3 egg yolks, save egg whites for the meringue or make macarons :)
* 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar or 1 tbsp of corn starch (there is usually corn starch in powdered sugar and I have substituted this successfully before)

1. In medium bowl, combine milk, lemon juice, and zest; blend in egg yolks and powdered sugar.
2. Pour into ready made crust.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Meringue Topping (optional of course):
* 3 egg whites
* 1/4 teaspoon cream or tartar
* 1/4 cup sugar

1. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks from.
2. Gradually beat in the sugar until stiff.Spread over filling; seal to edge of crust.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until meringue is golden brown.

Best American Cheesecake I have EVER Made

Ok, so if one has to be on a quest, might as well be something truly earth shaking like how to make the perfect cheesecake, right? I mean, the world won't stop just because you make cheesecake, but if you make the PERFECT cheesecake, trust me, worlds stop. At least mine. For a few minutes... which is sometimes saying an awful lot if you have busy lives like I'm sure you must have...

It's these little indulgences that make life sweet.  I'm the ultimate student in the kitchen and while not exactly methodical, to some people, there is a method to my madness and it centers around education. I want to know... I HAVE TO UNDERSTAND.  I don't burden others with my quests other than to ask their indulgence of me when I have an abundance in the kitchen and gardens. I grow what I like to eat and I cook what I like to grow. If it's possible for me to make it or grow it myself, I will inevitably try to do just that. Pretty simple. And I'm not afraid to try and try and try and try and well, you get it. I'm not afraid to fail, I suppose.  Which makes me a pretty darn good cook once I get the hang of what I'm pursuing. And, it's always a pursuit. Full of love and passion for the ingredients and more importantly, what it takes to create and grow the finest ingredients. I'm an ingredient snob and proud of it.

So, in the pursuit of the perfect cheesecake, I started out to perfect the recipe but that is harder for me than most because this is where my "creative license" usually gets me off track. If I were more scientific, it would probably go quicker and I'd be a little skinnier, but the understanding would be elusive, I suspect.  

So this recipe was a good one to begin with, but it wasn't perfect. There is a technique to baking a cheesecake and it isn't no willy nilly affair; it's precise if what you are after is perfection.  The big secret, which I have resisted for years after one miserable failed attempt, is the water bath, friends.  I'm no scientist but my palate is pretty particular. The water bath ensures even, s-l-l-l-low and even baking.  It affects the rise of the batter, the evenness of the baking, the TEXTURE.  I do not lie when I say it makes or breaks the perfection of your recipe. But how does one do this?

Well, Alton Browne knows.  I DVR'd his show about cheesecakes and he had the solution, as he almost always does, to a clever technique that any cook at home can use to produce this textural magic.  Alton's secret was in how to do a water bath without a springform, WITHOUT getting water into your cheesecake and turning it into cheesecake pudding.  It's pretty simple, takes a little patience and time, but well worth the effort, you'll see.

My Cheesecake Recipe:

• 20 oz cream cheese (homemade if you are curious! you can do it, too!)
• 1 c sugar
• 1 1/4 c sour cream (homemade, too, but store bought is just fine)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/3 c heavy cream

Crust:

• 2 packages of Graham crackers, crushed into crumbs
• 1 tbsp sugar, melted or soft
• 1 stick butter

Make your crust in a food processor or smash it real well in a sealed plastic baggie. 

Add about half of the crust mix on bottom only of your 9", parchment lined round pan, gently pressing into place. Save the rest of the crust as we will use that for the sides once we take it out of the pan.  Isn't that sly? :)

Blind bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes to set the crust so it doesn't get too soggy.

Tricky Equipment Needed:
(1) 9" x 3" round cake pan fitted with parchment on the bottom and sides (go ahead, cut parchment? Kids do it, its easy)
10" x 3" round cake pan or larger for the water bath
Technique:
All you really do is grease your 9" pan. BUT! Don't flour it. That isn't the purpose of the grease here. Instead, the grease acts as an adhesive that will help you keep your parchment lining in place. Cut a circle for the bottom of the pan using your actua 9" pan as a template to draw a circle on a square of parchment larger than the cake pan. Cut out the circle and lay it on the bottom of your greased pan. There. The bottom is done.

Do the same thing with parchment strips cut wider than the sides of your cake pan. Adhere the strips to the greased sides of the pan. It doesn't have to look like Martha Stewart, just stick them on as best as you can, keeping it wrinkle free if you can. I use two smaller strips to line the sides so it's easier to get them in place, but do what you need to do so that the bottom and sides are lined.

After you put the batter into the 9", set it gently inside the larger cake pan and put the whole "nest" into a cold oven. With a measuring cup or something with control, add very hot tap water to the larger cake pan being careful not to drip into your cake batter pan. You only need the water to go halfway up the sides (1 1/2" if using a 9x3 round pan).

Baking:
Bake at 250 degrees for an hour. Turn off oven open oven door for a full minute and leave to cool in oven for one more hour. 

Cooling:
Refrigerate until cold. This will help us get the cheesecake out of the pan with minimal damage. Trust me, I was leery, but the cake will literally come out easily if you are gentle by flipping it out onto a large plate or platter and then flipping it back out onto the serving dish or plate. It will not harm the top, much to my total surprise. Just make sure the cake is thoroughly chilled. I let it rest in the fridge overnight before trying this part.

Final Touches:
Once you have gotten the cake out, gently peel off the strips of parchment. Don't worry about the one on the bottom. That will actually help the pieces come out nicely once you cut it and it will help protect your serving tray or platter.

Using the rest of the crust crumbs, just pat it all around the sides, pressing gently to adhere it to the "naked" sides of the cheesecake.  This gives a crust that is tender, easy to cut and looks quite beautiful. It also helps cover up any blemishes that may have happened during the "un-panning" process.It sounds like a lot of work, but really it was quite easy as long as you just go slow and don't freak out because there are seemingly, a lot of steps to this. Perfection, after all, is and should be a slow and steady pursuit. Happy Baking!