Frozen Key Lime Pie / Gershwin Prelude

After taking a much-needed vacation to South America, I returned to the northern hemisphere desperate to enjoy summertime in a proper summer climate. And did I ever get it: Los Angeles was so oppressively hot that I found myself craving things that were light, refreshing, and (above all else) COLD. This frozen key lime pie fit the bill perfectly.

I've made it twice since we returned, with a few modifications the second time around. Since the first pie I made suffered from a tragically skimpy proportion of crust to filling, I added 50% more crust. I also mixed half a teaspoon of vanilla extract into the melted butter before adding it to the graham cracker crumbs - to which I added a 1/4 teaspoon of salt. (Because any self-respecting margarita lover worth her, well, salt knows that limes demand as much.)

{my kind of golden ratio}

Being a doctor's daughter, the consumption of raw egg doesn't sit all that well with me. (Salmonella: not the greatest secret ingredient.) So once I'd creamed the eggs and sugar, I put them over a double boiler with a half a cup of the lime juice, whisking constantly, until my handy little infrared thermometer let me know that the mixture had reached 140 degrees. After letting it cool, I added in the sweetened condensed milk and remaining lime juice/zest.

{fit for consumption}

And so as not to let 6 egg whites go to waste, I used 2 of them to make these.  (I threw the remaining four in the fridge to age for a few days in preparation for the macaroons' similarly named brother-from-another-mother, the macaron.)

Musical pairing: Gershwin's Prelude #2, arranged by the legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz. It's always reminded me of hot, humid, languid summer days. It's utterly American, and has a refreshingly simple yet rich sweetness to it. Enjoy!