“Take Chances, Make Mistakes, and Get Messy!”

     Do any of you recognize this quote?  It is from everyone’s favorite teacher, Ms. Frizzle, from The Magic School Bus.  We watch all the episodes repeatedly at our house, by the way.  Yeah!  I tell  that saying to myself (in Ms. Frizzle’s voice performed by Lily Tomlin) often these days.
It’s been over five weeks since I began writing this blog, but it seems like a lot longer.  Part of the reason, I think, is that starting it was not an easy decision for me.  I was filled with insecurities:  No one would read it, no one would “get”  it, no one would like it.  Also, I’m not really a great cook, but I like to cook, and I like to eat great-tasting food (too much!)  But, it was an idea of mine that didn’t seem to ever go away, so I finally just did it.  I posted and I told a few people, even mentioned it on facebook.  Then, for what seemed like forever, I waited.  It took a while, but people finally started to tell me they read, some commented right on the site, some even became official followers.  I networked with a couple of friends that were already blogging for technical help and learned how to post pictures better.   My husband seemed to have mixed views from the beginning, mostly because he’s worried I’ll go on and on about him somehow.   So, I have tried to include him on my plans, ask his permission before taking a photograph of him (who could forget the chocolate chip cookie photo?),  and tried not to write every night so that I wouldn’t be neglecting anyone.  
So, I took chances, made mistakes, and got messy.  I still have the insecurities but I also have a sense of accomplishment.  I have filled, in a small way, a need I have to be creative.  And it makes me smile.   My inner dialogue (don’t worry, this part is not in Lily Tomlin’s voice, no auditory hallucinations here!)  continues to speak as loudly as it did in the beginning:  “You’re writing this for yourself, even if no one else ever reads it or tries a single recipe.”  That should be enough.
In this mood of being okay with taking chances, I decided it was high time I tried a brand new recipe and report on it, good, bad or ugly.  I found it through a link I was emailed from cooking.com, one of my favorite online stores to window shop for cooking gear.  (Yes, I actually do dream about new cookware from time to time.)  It’s for key lime pie, a summer favorite of mine, which I’ve never before attempted.
 
Key Lime Pie
crust:
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon melted butter (original recipe called for margarine
1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
filling:
Two 14 ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk
5 large egg yolks
grated zest of 1 lime
1 cup fresh lime juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat the inside of a 9 inch pie pan with 1 tsp. melted butter.  In small mixing bowl, combine graham crackers, sugar and 1/3 cup melted butter.  Press into pie dish bottom and sides.  Bake for 10 minutes.
In a larger bowl, whisk all the filling ingredients.  Pour into shell, bake for another 10 minutes.  Cool on wire rack until room temperature.  Chill well before serving.
My Recipe Review  - Graded as a B++
Overall, I am very pleased with the pie.  It was easy to combine, using not too fussy of ingredients.  I used about 10 limes (medium sized.)  I was worried about the baking time being too short but compared it to other recipes and it was in line.  The color of the pie was yellow (commercial bakeries must add green food coloring) and the green lime zest was a little off-putting visually.  I think in the future I would grate it more finely.  But the filling was creamy, tart, and tasty.  The crust was delicious and helped ground the pie.  Because of the richness, it probably should be for 10 or 12 servings.  Curt thought it could use a dollop (my interjected vocabulary word, obviously) of whipped cream or cool whip.
Below are pictures of the process:

Did you know that they sell already crushed crumbs?

The crust after baking

Pie filling in crust, before baking

Right out of oven, will set up a bit while cooling