Key Lime Pie to Celebrate FATAL RESERVATIONS #recipe #giveaway

LUCY BURDETTE: Yippee! Yippee! This week finally marks the publication of Hayley Snow's sixth adventure, FATAL RESERVATIONS. If you started reading this series from the beginning, you might remember Hayley's first visit to the Key West police department. She insisted that she couldn't have delivered a poisoned Key lime pie to the victim because she was afraid of meringue. 

In other words, I was afraid of meringue...

this is one sheet

Since then, Hayley and I have both matured. And we decided to make our first Key lime pie topped with meringue to celebrate FINAL RESERVATIONS. We are also offering one book to a lucky commenter today, so read the post all the way to the bottom to be entered in the drawing.

This recipe is not difficult, but there are a number of steps so read carefully before beginning. (It's not so different from writing a novel--just takes a little planning and a touch of patience, and everything comes together...)

Ingredients for the crust

10 sheets of graham crackers, should measure 1 1/4 cups
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

Whir the graham crackers in a food processor until they make fine crumbs. Mix in the sugar and the butter. Press the mixture using the back of a spoon into your nine or 10 inch pie plate. Nine is probably better as my pie was a little low. Bake the crust at 350 for 10 minutes until it starts to brown. Remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 325.

Ingredients for the filling

1/2 cup key lime or lime juice, freshly squeezed
Four egg yolks
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons grated lime zest

Squeeze the limes until you have 1/2 cup of juice. (4-5 regular limes, more key limes.) Make sure to strain out the seeds. 

 


Whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and lime zest.  







 

Add the filling to the pie crust and bake for six minutes. Remove from the oven and set this aside while you make your meringue.

 


Ingredients for the meringue

Four egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
One half teaspoon vanilla

Using a clean bowl and mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until they hold soft peaks. Gradually beat in the sugar until the egg whites hold stiff peaks and appear shiny but not dry. Beat in the vanilla. 


 
Attach the meringue to the hot pie, beginning by adding globs all around the edge of the crust and smoothing them into a circle. (That's the  technical culinary term--add globs.) 

Then add remaining meringue to the center and smooth or shape into peaks as desired. Bake the pie for another 20 minutes. Cool on a rack. Refrigerate until serving.

And now serve yourself a nice piece of pie and start reading...

 
Fatal Reservations is available wherever books are sold, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Independent bookstores, and Books-a-Million. 

To be entered in today's drawing, leave a comment about a cooking fear you'd like to overcome...and don't forget your email!