Labor Day weekend. The end of summer. [Ed. note: Fact check = BOO] Baseball pennant races and the beginning of football season. [Ed. note: Fact check = YAY] During my childhood it was family gatherings, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon [Ed. note: Fact check = LADY], and literally the next day, the beginning of school. [Ed. note: Fact check = BOO REDEUX] A time many of you fire up the grill, and yet maybe some of you are looking for a healthy alternative.

It's not that I actively solicit requests (although to be clear, please never be afraid to reach out!), but for years this healthy chicken parmesan has been a hit with clients, friends, and family, and they all demand the recipe. The common comment usually revolves around how deceptively healthy this is. Sporting unbreaded chicken and loaded with vegetables, even the BF has said it feels like a pasta-inspired "cheat" that…really isn't. [Ed. note: Fact check = TRUE]

The dish is tasty any time of year. In summer, you can't beat a vegetable medley of zucchini, yellow zucchini, carrots and parsnips. In winter, instead of zucchini I substitute rutabaga, kohlrabi, butternut squash or celery root. Bonus: it's low carb, gluten free, grain free, and ready in under an hour. Perfect for weeknights, and if you are tending a summer garden as we approach Labor Day, this is a wonderful way to utilize those vegetables.

If you own one, you can use a Spiralizer, but I actually found it much easier to simply use a hand-held julienne peeler (see photo below). Last September, I used the same inexpensive tool to whip up the Vegetable Noodle Nest with Soft Boiled Egg. www.moveablefeast.me/blog/vegetable-noodle-nest-with-soft-boiled-egg  

Of note, almost all Spiralized or juilienned vegetables (especially root varieties) hold well for several days in the fridge, with the exception of zucchini, which tends to get a little limp and watery after a day. After Spiralizing the veggies, wrap them in a paper towel and place in a Ziplock bag. Get all the air out of the bag, and presto, you're done. For myself and the BF, the meal prep occurs at the beginning of the week, and all I have to do is sauté the veggies when dinner time comes around. To quote the immortal words of my spirit animal Ina Garten, "How easy is that?"

Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend, and repeating: if you see anything on the other sections of my web site (i.e., photos) that you'd like to see a recipe blog post for, let me know in the comments below or reach out on any of the social media platforms listed. [Ed. note: We also accept e-mail, snail mail, carrier pigeon, smoke signals, drums, etc.]

​

Inspired by: Giada De Laurentiis, FoodNetwork.com
Number of servings: 4

Ingredients
Chicken Parmesan

• 2-3 tablespoons extra virigin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
• 2 tablespoons Italian flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 lbs or 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut in half lengthwise to make 4 cutlets) 
• 3 cups marinara sauce or one 24-ounce jar of your favorite brand or homemade (my favorite sauce is Don Pomodoro; contains no added sugar and tastes incredibly fresh)
• 1 cup mozzarella, shredded
• 8 teaspoons parmesan cheese, finely grated
• Basil, julienned, or chopped

Vegetables

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium green zucchini (not the enormous-bigger-than-your-head zucchini)
• 2 medium yellow zucchini  
• 1  parsnip, peeled
• 2 carrots, peeled
• ½ teaspoon salt

Directions
Vegetable Prep

1. Julienne the zucchinis, and parsnip just to the core (do not go past that point). Julienne the whole carrot. If using a Spiralizer, do the whole vegetable, no need to worry about the core. Cut super long pieces into smaller strands, about 6-8 inches.

Chicken Parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 475 ˚F. 
2. Prepare a 9 x 13 inch oven-proof vessel and pour in marinara sauce.
3. Mix the olive oil and fresh herbs into a bowl and blend. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Gently pound chicken cutlets until even thickness.
5. Brush both sides of chicken cutlets with the herb oil. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add cutlets and cook just until brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.
6. Place cutlets over the marinara sauce and spoon sauce over chicken to lightly cover.
7. Top with mozzarella, sprinkle with parmesan.
8. Bake until cheese melts and chicken is cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. After baking, I like to briefly place under broiler to get the cheese a little crispy. Not essential, I just like it.
9. Top with basil.

Vegetables (While the chicken is in the oven​...)

1. Heat oil in large sauté pan on medium-high heat.
2. Throw parsnips and carrots into a pan and stir with tongs for approximately 30 seconds to one minute. Add green and yellow zucchinis, and salt. Sauté for approximately one minute or less. You are looking for veggies to be cooked, but not mushy.
3. Divide between four plates. Top with marinara sauce and chicken cutlet.

"Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride."
-Anthony Bourdain

My siblings and I did not grow up with macaroni and cheese. I know. It's like I have to turn in my "kid" card or something.

You see, Momala and Dad didn't exactly grow up with it either, so it never made an appearance on our dinner table. Not sorry at all, as she made the best spaghetti sauce I have ever had in my life. It took ten hours of cooking and, although it sounds odd, her secret ingredient was a cup of brewed coffee. It had a deeply exotic flavor and, as much as I have tried...never been able to replicate it.  

This particular recipe is a mac-and-cheese lover's dream. Four cheeses. [Ed. note: Turns up the porn music.] Over the years, I have made a metric ton of mac and cheese for my clients, and have over a dozen different varieties on my menus. Typically, after trying a recipe for the first time, notes sprout around the margins with any changes I personally make to the original script, i.e., "Do again," "awesome," "needs tweaking," "BF likes it," "add to client menu," or the killer "do NOT make again." On this recipe, well...

"Holy Shit! Great!!!!" [Ed. note: Take it from a guy who wrote and edited for a magazine that literally had its name, with one exclamation point, trademarked: Four exclamation points is serious.] 

Ooeey, gooey, stringy, melty goodness, with a crusty golden top and phenomenal flavor that both kids and adults adore. In fact, on my menu it's called "Adult Mac & Cheese." [Ed. note: Porn music continues.]
​
This recipe comes from the late Anthony Bourdain's Appetites. The BF and I are longtme fans of his books and television shows, and for me, personally, he had a monumental impact, instilling a great respect for food, the animals themselves, the restaurant business, and the people behind every aspect of meal creation.

A quick aside: two years ago Bourdain was on a spoken-word tour in San Francisco. On previous tours, I had tried to get tickets for the BF and I, but they had always sold out too quickly. This time, I was a redailing machine and scored the tickets. Excited as I was, my personal-chef schedule was so busy that I couldn't adjust my client for the night of the show, so the tickets ended up being given to my dear friend Maria, who of course loved it. Was disappointed that I didn't get to see him, but I assured myself Bourdain would come back to San Francisco again on a future tour.

Of course, that will not happen.

At the show, Maria was kind enough to buy me a copy of Appetites as a gift. Very thoughtful gesture at the time, but now, considering his passing, I cherish it more than ever. If you look at the picture below, you can see the ragged bookmarks and Post-It tabs demarking the dishes I have made and have yet to try. When I open it up now, I feel like hugging my loved ones a little tighter, for a little longer.

I may or may not be traveling to parts unknown anytime soon, with or without reservations, but hopefully channeling his spirit I will continue to share my table and break bread with people I love. Old friends and new. People who look, talk, dress, or vote differently than I. Am not one to want to sound as if on a soapbox, but I believe food brings people together in spite of any differences, and think Bourdain believed that, too.

Going to miss you, Chef.

​Adapted from: Anthony Bourdain, Appetites: A Cookbook
Number of servings: 8-10

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry elbow macaroni
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 ½ cups whole milk
• 2 teaspoons mustard powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper (if making for kids, decrease to ¼ teaspoon)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 8 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (divided)
• 4 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated
• 5 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 3 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
• 4 ounces cooked and thinly sliced ham, julienned (optional, was not used here)
• 2 teaspoons salt, or more to taste
  
• Freshly ground white pepper to taste  (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 ˚F.
2. In a large, heavy-bottom pot, bring salted water to a boil and add the elbow macaroni. Cook according to package instructions until just al dente, then drain and set aside.
3. Make sure you have both a whisk and a wooden spoon nearby, and something to rest them on. You will be switching back and forth between both utensils as you first make a roux and then build on that to make a béchamel.
4. In the still-hot macaroni pot, heat butter over medium-high heat until it foams and subsides. Whisk in flour, then switch to a wooden spoon and stir steadily over medium-high heat, until mixture begins to turn a nutty golden brown, about 2 minutes. Do not let the mixture scorch.
5. Whisk in the milk and bring mixture just to a boil, stirring with the wooden spoon and making sure to scrape each part of the surface of the pan so that hunks of flour or milk do not stick together. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook and stir until mixture is slightly thicker than heavy cream.
6. Whisk in mustard powder, cayenne, and Worcestershire, then add half the Parmigiano-Reggiano (you’ll sprinkle the rest over the top) and the rest of the cheeses and the ham (if using), and stir until the cheeses have melted completely. Stir in the cooked macaroni and mix well. Remove from the heat and stir in salt and optional pepper.
7. Transfer mixture to a glass or ceramic casserole, top with remaining Parmigiano, and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and mixture is bubbling slightly.
8. Serve hot, or refrigerate and gently reheat.​

NOTE: This makes a large amount of mac & cheese, but it's easy to cut the recipe in half for four servings.

"More people will come if they think we have punch and pie!"
~ Eric Theodore Cartman

Twenty-one years ago, four crudely animated foul-mouthed boys began their seemingly endless journey through grade school in the quaint, cozy mountain town of South Park. Through alien abductions, soul-singing chefs, cannabis-drenched towels, and commentary covering all possible levels of political incorrectness, one thing has been perpetually certain: Eric Cartman loves pie. Loves all desserts, actually.

Growing up, my siblings and I would ask my Mom, "Can we have dessert?" Her reply would often be, "Yes, you can have a piece of fruit." As if channeling Cartman, we would all bellow in unison, "But Mom, fruit is not a dessert."

Honestly, in this form, it really is.

Whenever I bake a pie, especially a blackberry pie, I recall the mother of my best childhood friend (Mrs. C). A master pie maker. She taught me how to make a pie from scratch.

We picked wild blackberries from her daughter's back yard. The berries were so plump, we filled the huge plastic bucket within 15 minutes. Of all the priceless baking tips Mrs. C gave, I'm most thankful for her method of thickening a pie filling with tapioca flour (a.k.a. tapioca starch) instead of cornstarch or all-purpose flour. Tapioca flour makes the filling bright and clear, whereas cornstarch or A.P. flour can give the filling a cloudy look and chalky taste.

This recipe is adapted from Julia Frey's blog Vikalinka. Besides some general streamlining, my changes include adding a bit of cinnamon to the filling, upping the amount of blackberries, and subbing tapioca flour in place of A.P. flour. I love her idea of topping the pie with honeyed creme fraiche (a favorite that really complements the blackberries well).

One note, if you're lucky enough to have wild blackberries in your backyard, use them (and I'm envious). If not, store bought will do just fine. If you're short on time, you can also use your favorite store-bought pie crust. Just don't forget the honeyed creme fraiche. More people will come if they think you have honeyed creme fraiche.

Adapted from: Vikalinka
Number of servings; 8

Ingredients
Blackberry Filling

• 5-6 cups fresh blackberries
• ½-¾​ cup sugar (depending on how sweet your berries are; I use less since I prefer a less-sweet pie)
• 3-4 tablespoons tapioca flour or cornstarch (use 3 tablespoons if making the pie with wild-picked berries, 4 tablespoons if making with store-bought very ripe berries)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg for the eggwash

Pie Crust

• 3 cups flour
• ¾  tespoon salt
• ¾ cup unsalted butter
• ¾ cup sour cream

Honeyed Creme Fraiche

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup creme fraiche

Directions
Blackberry Filling

1. Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
2. In a large bowl combine fresh blackberries with sugar, tapioca flour and lemon zest by lightly tossing them taking care not to mash blackberries. Let sit while preparing the pie crusts.

Pie Crust

1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.
2. Add the butter using a pastry blender, cut it into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add sour cream and work it into the mixture with your hands until it comes together.
3. Knead briefly, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out ⅔ of the pie crust to fit a 9-inch pie plate. It should be large enough so the sides hang over the edges of the plate. 
5. Drape the rolled out pastry on the rolling pin and carefully transfer it into the pie plate. Chill in fridge while rolling out the top crust.
6. Fill pie crust with blackberry filling.
7. Roll out the remaining pastry and cover the pie with it.
8. Pinch sides of the pie and brush the top with lightly beaten egg. Cut slits in the pie and sprinkle with additional sugar, if desired.
9. Place pie on baking sheet to catch any juices that might bubble out while it's cooking. Bake in  preheated oven for 30 minutes until golden. At this point, check it. If it's getting too dark, place a piece of aluminum foil over outer edge of pie and continue baking for 15-20 more minutes, until crust has browned and filling is bubbly. (It must be visibly bubbling or it won't set properly.)
10. Remove from oven and place on wire rack. Cool completely before serving.
11. Swirl honey into creme fraiche and serve with pie.

What is coulis? A coulis is a sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits. I personally prefer a very smooth sauce, so I strain it after blending. You don't need to do this. Notice the top photo with scallops, I strained that sauce. The bottom photo with halibut I did not. Notice the difference in texture. It's delicious either way.

​Around this time of year many of my friends have an abundance of bell peppers in their gardens. So much so, they're giving them away as fast as they can.

This Moveable-Feast-original yellow bell pepper coulis is one of my favorite dishes to make because it's easy to prepare, healthy (fat free) and very versatile. I can make a big batch at the beginning of the week (it keeps well in the fridge for days) and use it for three or four different meals, throughout. The sauce works well as a base for chicken, shrimp, scallops, halibut, any fish, pork, black bean cakes, mushroom meatballs, crispy tofu, anything. You can even serve it as soup.
​
Made the halibut meal (below) for the BF and he loved it. Made the scallop meal (above) as a special dinner for a friend celebrating her recent Life Coach certification, and her mother. Whether the meal was for two (former) or four (latter), the process was simple.

The zucchini roses might seem a bit labor intensive, but honestly they're not, and they add a distinctive flair to the dish. Enjoy this one while the bell peppers are still in season!

​Number of servings: 4

Ingredients
Yellow Bell Pepper Coulis

• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large yellow peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 oranges)
• 1 ¼ cup chicken broth (may use vegetable broth to keep sauce vegetarian)

Zucchini Roses

• 3 green zucchini
• 3 yellow zucchini

Scallops

• 16 large sea scallops (I used Trader Joe's frozen)
• 4 tablespoons butter (clarified if possible)

Garnish

• Microgreens, parsley, basil or fresh herb of your choice (pea shoots were used here)
• 6 ounces blackberries, cut in half

Directions
Yellow Bell Pepper Coulis

1. Heat olive oil in a saute pan and fry the bell pepper and onion until they begin to soften. Add orange juice and broth and cook until very soft.
2. Place bell pepper mixture into blender and blend until very smooth (2-3 minutes). At this point you can leave as is or place in a seive and strain into a bowl. I like my sauces very smooth, so I strained mine, but you don't have to.
3. Season to taste with salt and serve warm, room temperature, or cold. NOTE: you can make this up to 3 days ahead of time.

Zucchini Roses

1. Using a vegetable peeler, thinly peel zucchini on each side, and stop when you see seeds. Do not use the first slice, that much skin does not bend as well.
2. Place 5-6 slices on a microwaveable plate and nuke for about 15-20 seconds. You want it pliable enough to roll. Everyone's microwave is different power, so I recommend testing one slice at 15 seconds; if it rolls easily and ends stick together it's good, otherwise nuke in increments of 5 seconds.
3. Microwave one batch (1 plate) and then roll. Roll some tightly and others loosely for a varied look. Make sure the end sticks to the zucchini, too. Continue until you finish all the zucchini.
4. Place in fridge or set aside on counter until you finish the scallops.

Caramelized Scallops

1. Dry scallops well. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
2. Heat half of the clarified butter in a large stainless steel frying pan over medium-high heat until it ripples and begins to smoke. (You may be tempted to use nonstick pan, but a stainless steel pan will produce a more caramelized exterior.)
3. Sprinkle scallops lightly with salt and add to pan, without crowding. (Cook scallops in two pans or in two batches; if they touch, they will steam rather than caramelize.)
4. Without moving the scallops, cook until the bottoms are a rich golden brown, about 3 to 3 ½ minutes. Turn scallops and caramelize the second side.

 ​​Assembly

1. Spoon yellow bell pepper coulis onto plate. Place fish, meat or vegetarian option on top of coulis. Arrange zucchini roses and blackberries around your protein. Garnish with microgreens or fresh herbs.

NOTE: I have cooked a batch of Trader Joe's frozen scallops (defrosted), and fresh scallops from my favorite excellent local fish monger, and everyone liked Trader Joe's the best​.

"Life is short. Take the trip. Buy the shoes. Eat the cake."
- Unknown
​
​Today is mamala's birthday, and as with my BF-mom's birthday, we gather here today to celebrate their collective sweet tooth.

Mamala passionately loved root beer floats and "black cows" (made with Coke instead of root beer), quintessential summer treats. Are they as nostalgic for you as they are for me? If so, what was your first memory of them? (Feel free to comment below!)

​Even though I was lucky enough to grow up with an A&W in my hometown (it's still there), growing up we didn't frequent it too often. Mamala made her own floats at home, and oh how I loved watching her make them. One scoop of vanilla ice cream in a frosted glass. Root beer poured just so. The carbonation would foam up instantly, but never overflowed. She had the touch. I also remember she used a long, slender soda spoon to give it a slight stir.

I made it home for almost all of her birthdays, but one year it wasn't possible and the BF and I Fed Exed these root beer float cupcakes (frosting in a separate container, ice cream not included) to my sister and mom. They were delighted, and a little surprised, to discover what was in the box.

My first attempt at this was as a full-sized bundt cake, as was originally written in one of my favorite cookbooks, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, by Matt Lewis and Renato Polafito. When I spied the cupcake version on the Smitten Kitchen blog, knew I had to make it for mamala. I added the root beer fudge frosting.

If you don't have time to make individual cupcakes, make it into a bundt, frost it and serve ice cream on the side. Either way, you won't be sorry.

Adapted from: Matt Lewis and Renato Polafito, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking and Smitten Kitchen (cupcakes)
Number of servings: 22 cupcakes or one (10-inch) bundt cake

Ingredients
Cupcakes

• 2 cups root beer (do NOT use diet root beer). Or, as suggested in Baked, if you can find root beer schnapps, replace ½ cup of that instead of root beer for more pronounced flavor.
• 1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• ½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs

Root Beer Fudge Frosting

• 2 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), melted and cooled slightly
•  ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼  cup root beer
• ⅔ cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 ½ cups powdered sugar

Toppings

• 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream (Or canned real whipped cream like Reddi-wip to save time. Gasp! I know.)
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pint of vanilla ice cream (you’ll have some leftover, you’re welcome)
• Maraschino cherries (optional)

Directions
Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F.
2. Line 22 cupcake cups with paper liners.
3. In a small saucepan, heat root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
4. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Fold the liquid and flour mixtures together in the large bowl. The batter will be slightly lumpy, this is okay. If you overbeat it, it will get tough.
5. Fill cupcake liners about ⅔ to ¾ full (a ¼ cup scoop or measuring cup filled mine perfectly) and bake cupcakes, rotating trays back-to-front and top-to-bottom halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center of each comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Transfer from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Root Beer Fudge Frosting

1. Put ingredients into a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until frosting is shiny and smooth.
2. Place frosting in a piping bag.

Assemble Cupcakes

1. Whip heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until it holds soft peaks. You can do this with an electric mixer. Place whipped cream in a piping bag, if desired.
2. Use knife tip to cut a small cone out of the top-center of each cupcake; feel free to snack on these, I won’t tell. [Ed. note: I'm considering it.]
3. With the frosting piping bag, swirl a small amount around rim of each cupcake (don't cover the small hole you carved out).
4. Using a spoon or a small cookie scoop, nest a scoop of ice cream in each indent. Surround ice cream with dollops of whipped cream. Top with a cherry, if using.
5. To keep cupcakes in a holding pattern while you assemble remaining ones, you can put them in the freezer, but try to do so for no more than 5 minutes or the whipped cream will harden.
6. Eat immediately. [Ed. note: This is not a drill.]

NOTES:

• You can make this easy on yourself and bake in a 10-inch Bundt pan. Butter and dust pan with flour, knock out excess flour. Pour batter into bundt and bake for 35-40 minutes at 325 °F. Transfer from pan to wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen sides of cake from pan and turn it out onto rack. Use a spatula to spread fudge frosting over the crown of the bundt in a thick layer. Let frosting set before serving, with ice cream on the side.
• Tastes best to let the cupcakes/bundt sit overnight to let the root beer flavor intensify.​
• If 22 cupcakes are too much, you can easily halve the recipe down to 11 cupcakes. Don't halve the frosting though.

PS: One year ago...
www.moveablefeast.me/blog/lush-chocolate-cake-with-chocolate-malt-frosting

“Cut my pie into four pieces, I don’t think I could eat eight.”
- Yogi Berra

August 3 is the MIL/BF-mother's birthday (passed in 2016), and last year we got into some trouble with butterscotch (www.moveablefeast.me/blog/butterscotch-cookie-ice-cream-sandwiches), a favorite of hers.

She also loved anything with lemon or lime [Ed. note: Marie Callender's should have gone out of business, such was our love of their sour-cream varietals.], so this year I'm honoring her with a killer key lime pie adapted from Joe's Stone Crab restaurant in Miami. The BF definitely inherited the "tart" gene, and vociferously approves.

​Creamy, tart filling with a raft of whipped cream on top, utterly addicting. It's also very easy to make, as in under an hour to assemble. Why don't I make this more often? [Ed. note: Because my primary care physician will send you a personal note, "Please stop."] 

A perfect summer dessert, especially for those who possess the "tart" gene.

Adapted from: Joe's Stone Crab
Number of servings: 8

Ingredients​
Graham Cracker Crust

• 1 paper-wrapped package graham crackers (⅓ of a 1 pound box), or 1 cup plus 2 ½ tablespoons graham cracker crumbs (to save time and keep the food processor clean, I used ready-made graham cracker crumbs)
• 5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup sugar

Filling

• 3 egg yolks
• Grated zest of 2 limes (about 1 ½ teaspoons)
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• ⅔ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (key lime, if you can get it, otherwise regular lime juice is fine; Nellie & Joe's Key West lime juice was used here)

Topping

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled
• 5-6 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions
Graham Cracker Crust

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Butter 9-inch pie pan.
2. Break up graham crackers, place in food processor and process to crumbs (if you don't have a food processor, place crackers in large ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin). Add melted butter and sugar, and pulse/stir until combined.
3. Press mixture into bottom and sides of pie pan, forming a neat border around the edge. I like to use the outer edge of a heavy measuring cup to press in neat/firm sides, but use your fingertips if you prefer.
4. Bake crust until set and golden, about 8-10 minutes. Set aside on wire rack. Leave oven on.

Filling

1. With an electric mixer with wire whisk attachment, or a hand-held mixer, beat egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until very fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Gradually add condensed milk and continue to beat until thick, 3-4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add lime juice, mixing just until combined, no longer.
3. Pour mixture into the pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes or until filling has set.
4. Cool completely on wire rack, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 

Topping

1. Whip the cream and powdered sugar until nearly stiff. Pile on pie or place in piping bag and pipe as done in photos. Ideally, you should chill for another 2-3 hours.
2. Freeze for 15-20 minutes before serving.

NOTES:

• I doubled the whipped cream from the original recipe. If you are normal, go ahead and half it. [Ed. note: Being normal is breathtakingly overrated.]
• I used Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice., which has a wonderful key-lime flavor. Don't confuse this with the weird juice in the little lime-shaped bottle. This is not that.
• Ready-made graham cracker crumbs were used here. Total time saver.
• If you decorate with fresh limes on top of whipped cream, take off the limes after a few hours as they cause the whipped cream to taste bitter.
• Key lime pie keeps in refridgerator for one week, though certainly not around here. [Ed. note: HEY...]

PS: One year ago...
www.moveablefeast.me/blog/chocolate-pavlova-with-berries

BF's mom Kathy (far left) with friends, and Count Basie, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, 1961.