Coconut Banana Lemon Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

Coconut Banana Lemon Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

Graham Cracker Crust

1 c. graham cracker crumbs

3 Tbs white sugar

5 Tbs melted butter

Pie Filling

3 eggs

1/2 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 Tbsp. Grated Lemon Rind

1 (14 oz) can sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 c. grated sweetened coconut

2 fresh sliced bananas

1 cup heavy whipping cream + 1 Tbs white sugar for whipped cream

1-2 Tbsp. Grated sweetened coconut for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Mix graham cracker crumbs with sugar and melted butter. Press into 9 inch pie plate and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool

Separate 2 of the eggs, placing the two egg whites into a mixing bowl. Whip the egg whites stiff. Reserve the yolks in another bowl.

To the yolks, add one whole egg, lemon juice, grated lemon rind, coconut, and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk until smooth. With clean mixer blades or a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until stiff, but not dry. Fold whites into filling mixture. Slice bananas and place on top of cooked pie crust. Pour filling into crust over the sliced bananas. Sprinkle additional Coconut on top of pie

Bake in preheated 325 - 350 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until set. Let cool at room temperature, then freeze 4 hours to overnight. Just before serving, whip cream to form stiff peaks, add a Tbsp of sugar to sweeten. Serve decorated with freshly whipped cream whipped cream.

Slice bananas on top of baked cruse

Bake Pie in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Place Baked Pie in Freezer for at least 4 hours or Overnight.

Serve with freshly whipped cream

The frozen consistency of this pie is like eating an incredible banana, coconut, lemon ice cream. I can honestly say you will enjoy this pie very much!!

Happy Cooking,

Melissa

Mushroom Lemon Marsala Chicken on White Rice with Steamed Asparagus or Why My Husband Married Me!

Mushroom Lemon Marsala Chicken

on White Rice with Steamed Asparagus 

or

Why My Husband Married me!

It's true this dinner is one of my most delicious dinners in my make a quick dinner repertoire. You must have focus and concentration for doing  Saute and for me that means keeping everyone out of the kitchen while I pull it together. 

The results are worth it and spectacular.

Serves 2 - Ingredients List

4 chicken cutlet pounded thin between layers of waxed paper or saran wrap, you can use a mallet designed for the porpose or an old wooden rolling pin works well

1/2 c. white flour in a bowl

1 c. marsala wine

6-8 mushrooms slices

1/2 c good quality olive oil

3-4 Tbsp. butter

juice of one small lemon about 1/3 c.

Cooked white rice about 1 1/2 c.

12-14 Asparagus Spears steamed in a cup of boiling water

2 plates being kept warm in 200 degree oven

2 well seasoned cast iron skillets or other favorite heavy pans

Table set and ready..

For best results have everything ready to go before you start cooking. I use 2 frying pans for this. If you have cast iron, they work well. Melt butter in one of the skillets and add muchrooms and saute at med-med hi heat for 5 minutes. Remove mushrooms to a plate and save. Pour 1/2 the mushroom butter liquid into the other pan heated on med-med hi heat. Then add olive oil to both pans. Dredge pounded thin chicken cutlets in white flour coating well. When oil and butter mixture is good and hot place 2 pounded chicken cutlets in each pan. Make sure its hot but not too hot. I use number 7 on my stove, just a notch up from medium. Do not fuss with the cutlets by turning them over and over. Let them cook well on one side so they are browned nicely. You can shake the pan but be careful not to splatter hot grease on yourself. Watch them closely, this is not the time to get into a long conversation or let something take you away from the pans. When browned on one side turn. Add mushrooms and then juice of one lemon. At this point I might put all four cutlets in one pan and pour the marsala wine over the top and shake the pan a bit. You will see a wonderful sauce start to thicken. If you like lots of sauce, pour in more wine to suit your taste. Dredge pounded thin chicken cutlets in white flour coating well. Meanwhile as the chicken is cooking steam up your asparagus and make sure your rice or pilaf is ready to go. You can put on rice 35 minutes before starting this dish so it will be all done by the time your chicken is ready. Take warmed plates out of oven, place 1/2-3/4 c. cooked white rice on each one of the warmed platters and put two of the chicken cutlets, mushrooms and sauce beside and a little over the rice. Garnish with parsley all ready chopped. Place 6-7 spears of Asparagus next to chicken. I pour a little Marsala sauce over the Asparagus for taste. Serve immediately. This is why I have my table set with glasses and wine already on the table. The chicken only takes a few minutes to pull together when you have all the ingredients prepped and ready to go. 

Enjoy! This dish is so good, I swear it is why my husband married me. When he eats it he gets this glazed look in his eye.... it's a favorite :) I make sure I use some nice plates for this one.

Happy Cooking - Better then going Out!

Melissa

Easterly Inn Popovers - recipe from my book: Legacy of Three Melissas

EASTERLY INN POPOVERS

This is my Grandmother's (Melissa C. Smith) Recipe from her restaurant, The Easterly Inn, circa 1960's and 70's in Gloucester, MA. A generous basket if these popovers and a platter of Cape Ann Blueberry Cake were placed on each table at both luncheon and Dinner. They also offered a small loaf of hot Anadama Bread on a cutting board too! No wonder the place was so popular!! Many people remember these popovers fondly and ask me for the recipe. I make these at home often and it can take any ordinary meal and transform it into something extraordinary! They are way to make but can be touched with humidity. A nice hot oven and cold pans seem to work for me, but I know some people believe in using warm pans. Don't open the oven while they cook!! You can use commercially available aluminum popover pans but the very best popover pans are Cast iron popover pans. I actually bought one on ebay which I believe could be 70-80 years old.

At Easterly Inn, they always heavily greased the popover pans with lard and butter!! These days I like to spray or brush on my own good Olive Oil because I don't want the extra calories and it doesn't seem to make much of an impact either way taste wise. Basically, you just don't want them sticking which they can do if you're not careful. Do this recipe exactly h0w I tell you for best results even if it seems counter intuitive, it works.

Easterly Inn Popover Recipe
preheat oven to 400 degrees

4 eggs
2 c. milk
1 c. flour
blender or food processor
greased popover pan (6 popovers) or you can use 6 custard cups with great success if you don't have a popover pan. Put them on a cookie sheet.

Mix eggs on high in the blender to the slow count of 10. Stop blender. Pour in 2 c. milk and turn blender back on high again and slow count to 10. Turn off Blender. Pour in 1 c. flour and turn on blender and slow count to 10. Turn off blender immediately.

Pour batter into heavily greased pans and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. If you oven is slow you might want to turn it up to 425 (this is a trial and error thing). After 15 minutes, do not open the door, turn the oven down to 350 degrees. If you have a slow oven, meaning it doesn't seem to get as hot as the temperature, turn down to 375 degrees.  Bake popovers for another 45 minutes. Don't open the door. I know you want to open the door, but don't. This is why an oven with a light and a window is so good!

Serve Popovers HOT with lots of butter. Exquisite!

Because of all this not opening the door during the cooking of popovers, this is why people like to have 2 ovens in their home. One specifically for the Popovers or Yorkshire Pudding and the other for actually cooking dinner.  It's worth the juggle but just be aware that if you are planning on cooking a roast, the popover oven may be too hot for your plans. If you are doing fish or something and it only takes 1/2 hour at 350 and you HAVE to open the oven to slide in the fish on another rack, you CAN do it if you do it really gently and really quickly.... but just be aware not to get a draft in the oven or your popovers will fall.

Here's to the Popover!! Here Here!!

Happy Cooking - Melissa Abbott

My Book Legacy of Three Melissas

available on Kindle and as a Book at:

http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Three-Melissas-Authentic-ebook/dp/B00405R6MQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361542744&sr=1-2&keywords=legacy+of+three+melissas

A CLASSIC Florida Key Lime Pie

Florida Key Lime Pie

These are real Key Limes

1 c. graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbs white sugar
5 Tbs melted butter
3 eggs
1/2 c. key lime juice
1 (14 oz) can sweetened Condensed Milk
1 pinch salt
1 cup heavy whipping cream + 1 Tbs white sugar for whipped cream
1 sliced lime for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Mix graham cracker crumbs with sugar and melted butter. Press into 9 inch pie plate and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool

Separate 2 of the eggs, placing the two egg whites into a mixing bowl. Reserve the yolks in another bowl.

To the yolks, add one whole egg, lime juice and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk until smooth. With clean mixer blades or a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until stiff, but not dry. Fold whites into filling mixture. Pour filling into partially baked crust

Bake in preheated 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 10 to 15 minutes or until set. Let cool at room temperature, then freeze 4 hours to overnight. Just before serving, whip cream to form stiff peaks, add a Tbsp of sugar to sweeten. Serve decorated with whipped cream and lime slices.

Add caption

squeeze key limes

Crust

Bake and then put in Freezer

Serve with Plenty of Whipped Cream

Melissas Beer Battered Coconut Chicken

Melissas Beer Battered Coconut Chicken

1 egg 

1/2 cup all-purpose flour 

2/3 cup beer

 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/4 cup all-purpose flour 

2 cups flaked coconut 

2 skinless chicken breasts cut into strips

salt and pepper to taste

 2-3 cups olive oil for frying 

Directions In medium bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, beer and baking powder. Place 1/4 cup flour and coconut in a separate bowl and mix well. Dip the salted and peppered chicken strips in egg/beer batter; allow excess to drip off. Roll chicken strip in coconut/flour mixture, and place on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap or wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat a good amount of oil in a frying pan. You may have to make 2-4 batches depending on the size of your frying pan. Fry chicken in batches: cook, turning once, for 2 to 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Using tongs, remove chicken to paper towels to drain. I kept the chicken warm on platters lined with paper towels in my oven at 200 degrees until ready to serve. I served with my own backyard Honey and some Chili Sauce. You can use any favorite dipping sauce but a combination of something sweet and something spicy is nice.

I served this with rice and french green beans. My husband went wild for it. I think you could do this with Shrimp, Vegetables, Scallops or Lobster with very very good results. I used a dutch beer and it was cold. I used the cold one because someone was going to have to drink it after all, 2/3's of a cup is only 1/2 a beer.

Happy Cooking, Melissa :)