Houston - key lime pie
Anyone recommend a Key Lime Pie in Houston?
I normally ask the restaurant if they make it "in house" and some don't!
I do realize this is probably not the answer you were hoping for... I don't know any restaurant in Houston that offers a good Key Lime Pie because I've given up ordering it in restaurants. Invariably, it's either too sweet (Key Lime Pie is supposed to be tart), or it has a weird texture because they have to cook it too long, or they use gelatin or some other such nontraditional ingredients. And so I make it myself, probably two or three times a month.
If you're a fan of Key Lime Pie, I wonder if you realize that it's so easy to make that a chimp could do it, assuming you start him off with a store-bought graham cracker pie shell. Yes, a home-made shell is better, but for ease and simplicity, just buy them at the store. And then you basically just mix together three ingredients:
Traditional Key Lime Pie
* 9" graham cracker pie crust
* 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk (like Eagle brand)
* 3 egg yolks (no whites; you can use the whites to make a meringue if you'd like, but I don't because it's too much trouble)
* 1/2 Cup key lime juice.(or more, to taste; we like a tart pie, so we add another 2-3 Tbls; you can either buy a bag of those small Mexican key limes and squeeze them - a lot of trouble - or buy a bottle of key lime juice from someplace like Central Market; there is no taste difference)
Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350º for 12-15 minutes, just until barely set. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating.
To serve, I whip fresh cream, lace it with Meyer's Rum, and put a generous dollop on each slice.
If you can't find bottled Key Lime Juice in the stores, which I've never had trouble doing, you can order it from these nice folks: www.keylimejuice.com
I know it's not traditional Key Lime Pie, but Dessert Gallery's Key Lime Cheesecake looks like it would be good.
Jaymes is right, Key Lime Pie is easy to make. I do make a meringue for mine, because it saves me the trouble of finding something else to do with the egg whites later. Whipping egg whites doesn't take any longer than whipping cream.
You're right that the egg whites take no longer to whip than cream. But then you've got to run it under the broiler for the proper amount of time, worry about separating, worry about weeping, etc. And I don't think the meringue lasts as long in the fridge, either.
I know meringue is probably a far wiser and more thrifty idea. But I sure do like having that tub of dark-rum-laced, brown-sugar-sweetened whipped cream in the fridge. Even if it kind of 'settles' after a day or two, it still tastes really, really good.