No-Bake Key Lime Pie: "Who You Callin' Green?"

Have you ever made a food faux pas?

You know, a bonafide blunder, like not knowing the proper way to eat a certain food, or asking what something is on the menu that is so common, the waitress looks at you like you're from Mars?

I don't know which is worse -- making the gaffe yourself, or being with someone who says, "excuse me, what does 'sauteed' mean?"  Either way, you want to crawl right under the table, or pretend you are with the people sitting next to you. 

I've been on both sides of the table...as the observer and the offender.

I remember going out to dinner once with Father-in-Law Goo Shoes (may he rest in peace) to a fancy restaurant. Everything on the menu was foreign to him.  That was understandable, given his age. That, and the fact that the only jaunts he frequented were those Early Bird Special places in the Borscht Belt-South.  

What cracked me up, however, was that Mr. Goo Shoes suddenly became this suave and sophisticated foodie who was explaining to his dad what things like penne and bolognese were.

I looked at Mr. Goo Shoes in disbelief...

"Excuse me, but who are you?"

All of a sudden, he became a food maven.

If you knew Mr. Goo Shoes, you would understand why I found that so hilarious cute. 

Although I am much more food-savvy than Mr. Goo Shoes, I've been guilty of a few food fluffs myself.

Like when I went to London for the very first time, and didn't know how to eat a scone.

Oh yeah, my friend and I, considering ourselves to be two young and sophisticated New Yorkers (we must have been in our late twenties), went to Harrod's for Tea. We thought the British were way too proper to eat a scone and clotted cream with their hands.  Not wanting to be crass Americans, we sat for so long waiting to see how someone else ate it, that the waitress came to ask if everything was ok. We finally picked up our forks and knives and dug in.

And by the way, they do pick them up and eat them.

Then there was the time that I ordered key lime pie, and told the waitress she brought me the wrong dessert.

"I ordered key lime pie."

"That's what I brought you."

"But it's not green."

Who you callin' green?  

Well, it was me who was green because up until I was a young adult...

I thought key lime pie was supposed to be green.

Like the color of lime jello.

And airy. 

Chiffon-like. 

Light and fluffy. 

I can hear all of you southern ladies laughing your juleps off. But what did I know? I was a kid from Joisey...

That was how the local restaurant made it when I was a kid, and it was my only point of reference.  

What did they know? They were a restaurant from Joisey.

After tasting the real deal, in all its pale yellowness, it quickly moved to the top of the my favorite desserts list.

Many years ago, while vacationing in Key West, I had key lime pie in every restaurant I went to.  I couldn't get enough of it.

So a couple of years ago, when we found ourselves back in Key West for the day, I headed right over to the Key Lime Pie Company, and got me a slice, while Junior and Mr. Goo Shoes went to rent a scooter or something.

I was so anxious to eat it, that I got halfway through before remembering to snap a picture.

Once I discovered the real key lime pie, I started collecting recipes, and whittled down my favorites to two. I do like the recipe right on the bottle of Nellie and Joe's Key Lime Juice.

But I am more likely to make this No-Bake recipe that I clipped from a magazine years ago, because, well, you don't have to bake it... 

...except for the crust, that is, but just for 20 minutes. And if you really don't want to turn on your oven in this summer heat, then you can cheat and buy a pre-made graham cracker crust. 

I can't remember the magazine this came from, but they attributed the recipe to one Jonathan W. Brown.  If you know him, or you are him, thank you very much. It's quite delicious.

When I do make my own crust, I find that there is more than enough, even for a deep dish pie, so I don't use it all. 

There is enough filling for a regular pie crust, but for a deep dish pie, I make a double batch. Whatever is left over, I either toss, eat it out of the bowl while no one is looking, or buy a package of 6 mini crusts and make some tartlets.

Sometimes, I use low fat cream cheese and sour cream, and non-fat sweetened condensed milk, and it comes out great. 

What's great about this no-bake pie is that there are no uncooked eggs...and...it is super-creamy. 

Are you ready to try it?

Key Lime Pie
(Adapted from a recipe by Jonathan W. Brown)

Crust

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1 stick (1/2 Cup, 8 Tablespoons) butter, melted and cooled

Combine the above ingredients and press into a 9-inch pie pan.  Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, until nicely golden brown, and set aside to cool. 

Filling

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 15-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup Key lime juice 
1/8 teaspoon lime oil (optional)
1 cup sour cream

In a medium-sized bowl, thoroughly mix together the cream cheese and condensed milk.  Blend in the Key lime juice and lime oil, if using; then beat in the sour cream and mix until smooth.  Pour the filling into the cooled crust and refrigerate at least two hours before serving. 

So please tell me...is Red Velvet cake supposed to be red? LOL!

Linking with:

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Ms. Toody