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| Try this easy, old-fashioned pie filling recipe with a graham cracker crust and meringue or whipped cream. |
Key limes,
the tiny little citrus fruits—more yellow than bright green and juicer (for their size) than the
typical Mexican or Persian variety—are a Christmastime treat for me. For the last couple of
years, I’ve had the pleasure of skipping a winter wonderland and spending the
holidays on Key Colony Beach, located on mile marker 53 ½ in the Florida Keys.
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| Burdine's famous fried Key lime pie. |
It’s here
where the produce section at the local grocery store stocks green mesh bags
filled with fresh Key limes. Where in the bottom of corner store ice
cream cases sit a stack of frozen pies ready to be thawed and served. And every
restaurant menu offers a classic slice or some variation on the theme. At
Burdine’s, a great waterside joint, with ice cold beer, spicy fries, and a
bucket on each table containing condiments and a roll of paper towels, they
serve fried key lime pie—a thin layer of pie dough, filled with Key lime
custard, rolled up like a little burrito, and deep fried. The Shell Man, a
novel shop with shells galore, sells slices, dipped in dark chocolate on a stick,
to enjoy while perusing aisles of souvenirs and curiosities.
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| Perfect for fresh key lime margaritas. |
It’s a nice
time, to spend my days away from the kitchen mostly and enjoy a weeklong life of
seaside escape. Where the key limes I bring home find their way juiced into
margaritas, or wedged on the rim of a rum and ginger ale, as I catch up some much needed reading and rays.
