Potluck aftermath 2

This is our other contribution to the potluck, a key lime meringue pie. We've made key lime pies before, but this is the first time we tried to make a meringue. Meringues are usually harder when toasted, but we probably didn't do it right, so it was a little soft. But it looked nice, though, because it still got that light brown tinge after we toasted it. Lynette thought it'd be nice to include the recipe for this pie, so here goes:

For the crust, finely crush 9 rectangles of graham crackers (thought they used to come in squares, which would make it 18 squares, but the ones we got were rectangles), then combine them with six tablespoons of melted butter, 2 tablespoons of sugar and some lime zest. Press the crust into a 9-inch pie pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for eight minutes. Let it cool while making the filling.

For the filling, combine half a cup of lime juice with a 14 oz. can of condensed milk and five egg yolks. Mix it well, making sure you don't beat it full of bubbles, then pour the mixture into the crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. This filling recipe comes from allrecipes.com.

Well, you now have five egg whites after making the filling, so why not whip it up into a meringue? Whip it until you get "stiff peaks" then fold in about 6 tablespoons of sugar. Actually, we'll probably have to work on this to get the meringue right, because ours turned out too soft, so, um, take it with a pinch of salt. Just did some reading up, and it seems like wiser people add cream of tartar and cornstarch to beaten whites. Anyway, after you get the meringue, spoon the meringue onto the pie and put it back into the oven for about 10-15 minutes until the top browns. Kenneth likes the way browned meringue looks - it seems epic somehow. Like snow-capped mountains.

Oh, it's fun to sprinkle some lime zest over the meringue also after it's toasted. It's a lime pie, after all.