“We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” david mamet
When I am out and about trying restaurants or frequenting my usual haunts I usually do not order dessert unless someone at the table does and then share a bite here or there.
I appreciate them from afar, looking at them longingly. But, you know that desserts are loaded with calories and sugar so I abstain.
When guests sit at my dining room table they will be served from soup to nuts. Dessert will be a must and at time more than one offering.
I love the Key Lime Pie. I like it tart. I find it refreshing and the perfect way to end a meal year-round.
This Key Lime Pie recipe is so easy. Pretty much I think people enjoy it. I use bottled Key Lime juice. Those little key limes take forever to squeeze.
The recipe appeared in the school cookbook called A Collection of Recipes II that we all worked on when our kids went to Worcester Country School in Berlin, Maryland. It is now called Worcester Preparatory School.
Parents, grandparents, friends, restauranteurs, they were all so generous with their recipes. This particular one was given by Mrs. Anne Braniff. Not only is she an amazing baker but she is also a good cook.
Crust:
1/2 box Keebler Vanilla Wafers
2 ounces Macadamia nuts
1/2 stick butter or margarine
Filling:
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
3-4 ounces Key Lime juice (I put 4 ounces)
In a food processor (or blender) mix wafers and nuts until fine crumbs result. Melt butter; add to crumbs and process until moist.
Press crumbs into a 9″ pie pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Take it out of the oven.
To prepare filling, combine milk and egg yolks at low speed. Slowly add juice, mixing until well blended. Pour into pie shell and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. You may also bake the pie at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. I did not.
Garnish with whipped cream or meringue is optional.
I grated some lime to add a little green color on the top.
You may also substitute low-fat wafers and low fat or no fat condensed milk. I kept it traditional and full of calories.
Enjoy!! It is delicious.
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Back in 1997 I was the Chairperson for a cookbook called A Collection of Recipes II. It was a project of the Worcester Country School Parent’s Association. The school is now called Worcester Preparatory School and it is located in Berlin, Maryland.
We asked parents, grandparents, and local restaurants to give us their best recipes. And they did!! It took us many months to get everything compiled and many of us worked hours to bring this book to the community.
I love neighborhood cookbooks. To me these recipes are the center of someone’s kitchen. Recipes used over and over again for holidays, and family gatherings.
At Worcester a lot of the recipes showed up at the Teacher Appreciation Lunches. They are all good and I used this book frequently.
Better Cheddar is a recipe given by one of our grandparents. Mrs. Carol Cairo knew that this recipe, as simple as it was, would be a hit. It had a secret ingredient…..Liquid Smoke.
Serve the Better Cheddar with crackers or dipping pretzels.
Ingredients:
1 pound New York Extra Sharp cheese, crumbled
1 cup walnuts, chopped
6 scallions, chopped
1 cup of mayonnaise (I like Dukes)
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke (you can put a bit more after tasting)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
To crumble the cheese, first cut it in chunks and then put in a food processor until it crumbles. I have a very small food processor and I made it in a couple of batches. Easy.
The walnuts, you can also put in the food processor of a few seconds or pulse it so they are chopped.
I have yet to have a guest say they don’t like it. You really get hooked.
Hope you love it as much as I do. Great for appetizers!!
AboutMyBeaches is on Facebook. This blog was started in 2009. Come back often to find out about events, restaurants, reviews, where to shop and what to cook for dinner.
Have a great week.
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It has taken me almost a week to get this recipe. Chili for Super Bowl Sunday and Cuban Tomato Bread. I said, what? I have never heard of Cuban Tomato Bread. I had been served before in Puerto Rico a tomato bread with origins from Spain but, obviously, by the look of TC’s face I was probably making all this up and wanted to give credit to my Puertorican roots. I was not thinking such a thing.
The Cuban Tomato Bread was a hit. And, since so many asked for the recipe, TC decided on Friday to show me. In regards to what kind of bread to use, that could be your choice. The photo above was a French Bread but it looked a little different from the French Bread we had on Super Bowl Sunday. The bread is going to be toasted and it will taste so good no matter what. Following is the photo of the finished bread on Super Bowl Sunday. We had guests, so obviously we had the full baguette.
The ingredients you probably have on hand. Maybe a few things from the store you will need to get.
No measurements are necessary. Bare with me.
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
garlic salt
Red Pepper blend seasoning (Several to choose from store. Pick something you would like.)
Tomato (for 2 people one tomato will do)
1 yellow onion
Italian Parsley
Seasoned Salt like Larry’s
Mrs. Dash original
Mozzarella cheese (rounds or squares)
You will be using the broiler.
In a small saucepan melt butter, sprinkle garlic salt to taste, the red pepper blend seasoning and the chopped parsley.
Place on a cookie sheet the bread and with a pastry brush apply some of the buttery mixture above already melted. Then place in the broiler for a few minutes making sure you don’t let it burn.
The next step is to slice the tomatoes and onions. Sprinkle lightly with the seasoned salt like Larry’s and Mrs. Dash. Place in the broiler and let them cook for a few minutes, again watching that they do not burn.
Assemble the breads by placing the tomatoes and onions in a thin layer.
Put the slices of cheese on top of the tomatoes and brush with remaining melted butter/parsley sauce.
Back into the broiler until you see it coming out like the first two photos. It will not take long by any means.
Being that we were into the Cuban mode, the perfect pairing was homemade Black Bean Soup. It is cold in Southern Delaware so a soup, a chili, a stew will be great. On the other hand, by itself with a nice glass of wine would pair perfectly.
On my Begged, Borrowed, or Stolen recipes, at times you really have to beg.
Hope you like it, and make it your own, as well.
By the way the recipe was obtained many years ago in Key West, Florida.
AboutMyBeaches has a FB page. Leave me some comments there.
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Pies are comfort foods. When you hear the word pie immediately thoughts come to holiday pies. Apple Pie being the most popular pie.
Meat Pies and vegetable pies are very popular, as well. Some weeks ago I found a Crab Meat Pie and being that we live on the coast and crabs are all around us, I decided to make it. It, actually, makes 2 pies but if you want a pie with more height you can probably just put it in one pie plate and you will also have to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
I get my crab meat locally and at this time of the year to get fresh one you will pay the price. Thought about if it was worth to put it in a pie vs using it for crab cakes. What the heck, I wanted to do something different.
Ingredients:
1 lb of fresh crab meat (don’t like the pasteurized one)
4 eggs
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup mayonnaise (love Duke’s)
8 ounces of extra sharp Cheddar cheese
8 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
1 Tbsp. minced onion
1 Tbsp. minced green pepper
2 tsp. pimentos
2 9 inch deep dish pie shells or any other pie shell crusts you may want
A little Old Bay Seasoning
Instructions:
Combine eggs, flour, mayonnaise and milk in a bowl and mix well.
Stir in the rest of the ingredients but do it gently. You want that crab meat lumps to stay intact as much as you can.
Bake the pie shells at 350 degree for 5 minutes. Cool pie shells.
Spoon crab mixture into pie shells. Sprinkle a little dusting of Old Bay Seasoning because what good are crabs if you don’t have Old Bay, right?
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remember to adjust cooking if you will be using just one pie shell.
This crab meat pie goes well for lunch or dinner. It is tasty and so easy to make. Just add a salad or a green veggie and you are good to go. Enjoy!!
TGIF….Hope your long week-end is filled with fun.
AboutMyBeaches is a blog started in 2009 to promote our beaches and other cool places to visit. To discover the great foods around us. Check the Facebook Page and leave me a note.
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Henlopen City Oyster House is located in Downtown Rehoboth Beach, Delaware at 50 Wilmington Avenue. It is one of the few restaurants that, at this time of the year, are open for lunch and dinner. It closes on Tuesdays.
We sat at the oyster bar. Perfect seating watching the guys shucking oysters. We had 3 varieties….the saltier the better in my book.
You see that glass of wine there? We asked for a suggestion of what would pair well with the oysters. It was called Barbara Ohlzelt and it is a Gruner Veltliner type of wine from Austria. It was perfection with our oysters and seafood choices.
A New England Clam Chowder was ordered. It had plenty of clams, smoked bacon, potatoes and veggies. Look how good it looked.
Up and down the beaches I have my favorite restaurants for a particular food. Henlopen City Oyster House is a favorite of mine for scallops. Any which way they fix them, I love them. Always perfectly cooked. So my choice last night was Seared Massachusetts Scallops with saffron migas, tangerine-meyer lemon emulsion, butternut squash, and sage and speck. Speck is a pork fat with or without some meat in it. It is sort of a type of prosciutto. My review? Excellent!!
I usually rave about the grilled octopus in another local restaurant in town. So I was very excited when the Grilled Octopus was order at Henlopen City Oyster House. I tasted a little bite and it was up there with my other favorite one. Tender and very well seasoned. Braised in red wine, with bay water purple sweet potatoes, bravas sauce, crispy capers, olive oil and parsley. Both the octopus and the clam chowder were appetizers that were ordered as a main entree.
Even through a Pandemic, Rehoboth Beach continues to be a foodie’s destination with our restaurants offering really good food. There is something for everyone in this town.
AboutMyBeaches has a Facebook Page. Leave me a message will you?
TGIF
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In the winter there is nothing like a warming bowl of soup. It was cold on Sunday. But, today at the Delaware Beaches the temperatures will rise to the upper 40’s. I’ll take that.
Over the years I have bought tons of magazines. A lot of them have been food oriented. I go through them many times and then I start cutting recipes out and putting them in folders. With a morning coffee I go through them and if something catches my eye, I take it out.
I picked an Onion Soup Recipe that got my attention back in 2013 in a Food & Wine Magazine. It is a healthier version of the traditional French Onion Soup. Traditional soups are fantastic but making them healthier while conserving flavor it’s the trick. That hunk of bread and thick layer of melting cheese makes it high in calories and sodium. Sorry, but it is true.
For Meatless Monday and being that it is a cloudy day this onion soup might be just what you need. I made it yesterday and it is a keeper.
Meatless Monday is a worldwide organization trying to have folks like us eat meatless at least one day per week.
The Recipe
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, (sweet or regular) halved and thinly sliced
Kosher Salt
1/4 cup of dry white wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
6 cups of beef stock or low sodium broth
Baguettes (either cut your own or buy prepared ones) I used small ones for my large bowl.
Gruyere shredded cheese. I packed that cheese on the baguettes.
In a large pot heat oil until shimmering. Add the onions and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened and just starting to brown. Maybe about 7 minutes or so. Taste the broth and add a bit of salt and continue to cook over moderate low heat, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and golden. I would say 20 minutes?
Add the wine and soy sauce to the pot. Cook for a few more minutes.
Add the stock and bring to a boil. Then, simmer over low to moderate heat, again stirring occasionally until the onion broth is well flavored and slightly reduced. Taste again and if needed add more salt.
You can make the soup ahead of time until this point.
Then pre-heat the broiler and arrange the baguettes on a baking sheet and top with the Gruyere cheese. Broil until melted.
To serve this onion soup, ladle it into bowls and top with the cheese toasts. You may sprinkle a little bit of cheese all over the soup prior to placing the cheese toasts, as well.
Hope this will be a keeper for you too. Remember AboutMyBeaches has a FB page just in case you want to chime in.
This blog started in 2009 with the idea of offering the readers who want to be in the know about events, restaurants, reviews, where to shop and what to cook for dinner.
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Don’t you love those recipes that you keep making them year after year. At times they are only made at certain times. Could be holidays, birthdays, or just because.
I call these recipes Keepers. We keep them close and even though they may not be an original recipe, then you make it your own by adding a little bit of this or a little bit of that.
In 2007 Rachel Ray shared one of her mother’s recipes. It is called Elsa’s Cider Beef With Smashed Cheddar Potatoes. Over the years I have made it and truly love it.
Following is the recipe for this comfort food, more so on a chilly winter night like tonight.
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons of butter
2 lbs. top sirloin, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
salt and black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped (I added an extra carrot)
1 lb turnips, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons of all purpose flour (If you make this recipe gluten free you need another type of flour. It will work.)
2 cups good quality apple cider (dark and cloudy) 100% cider, not juice
1 15 ounce can of beef stock
3 lbs of Idaho potatoes. I did half and half adding sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped.
1/2 cup milk (I used fat free half and half)
1/2 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
2 cups shredded sharp white cheese (I used extra sharp)
3 tablespoons chopped or snipped fresh chives.
Pre heat oven to 425 degrees.
Place a large stew pot or Dutch oven with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and butter. When the butter melts, season the beef with salt and pepper. I used rock salt. Add to the pot. Brown on all sides about 7 to 8 minutes.
Add the onions, carrots, and turnips and cook for about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the veggies and meat with the flour and stir to combine for about 1 minute.
Stir in the apple cider and the beef stock, bring to a boil, cover the pan and transfer to the oven. Braise it for 45 minutes.
In 15 minutes boil the potatoes in salted water. Make sure the water covers the potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat a bit. Cook about 15 minutes until tender.
Drain the potatoes, return to the pot and add the milk, sour cream, and cheese. To mash the potatoes I used a hand blender, then added a bit of salt and pepper (optional) and the chives. Cover and keep warm. If they cool off then place in microwave and reheat.
To serve, ladle the stew into bowls. Make a well in the center and fill with the potatoes. I put the potatoes first and made the well and then fill with the stew. Your choice.
It is delicious. The combination of beef, turnips and apple cider gives a distinct flavor.
Hope you like it.
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Hello there. It is Saturday, January 9th. Life continues as it should and here in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, we continue to experience great food even through a pandemic.
The Rehoboth Foodie, our local celebrity when it comes to restaurant reviews has a weekly radio show on 92.7 FM where he invites guests and have a one on one chat. I was honored to have been invited for today’s show. It will take place at 2 p.m. If you are a local then you can tune in but you can also stream it on http://www.wgmd.com.
My talk with Bob included the traditions of my Puertorican heritage. It was Three Kings Day or the Epiphany when we taped so I was able to bring him some pasteles, fried plantains, mojito, arroz con gandules (pigeon peas) and Puertorican famous Coquito which the eggnog.
It was a lot of fun and I got to know Bob better and experience his sense of humor.
Also on the radio show you will hear from SoDel Concepts’ Corporate Pastry Chef Dru Tevis and Baywood’s Head Pastry Chef Ellie Keck for a behind-the scenes peek at how they keep 12 restaurants in fresh, new desserts.
Have a beautiful day. It is chilly in Southern Delaware but the sun is out!!
Remember AboutMyBeaches has a Facebook Page where you can read what’s going on and leave me some comments.
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