Key Lime Pie

My friend and I ventured to College Park last night and had dinner at the home of our good friends Joe and Ewa. Dinner was excellent in all respects. Our main course was Cornish Hens baked over a bed of rosemary potatoes, and glazed with an orange glaze. It was "to die for." But this post is not about our great dinner, it's about our outstanding dessert.

Now to set the stage, I rarely eat desserts. I usually pass them by, or if a guest at family or friend's, I'll take the smallest possible taste or slice. Most desserts are just to sweet for me. Enter, Ewa and Joe's Key Lime Pie.

Florida Keys: Look Out! The Key Lime Pie last night was better than any I've ever had, either in the Keys or out. It was simply outstanding. They key: it was not overly sweet. Credit for the pie goes to Chef Ewa. Credit for the topping goes to assistant Chef Joe.

First the crust. It was indeed the typical graham cracker crust. I'm not sure what her secret ingredient was, but I'm guessing it was a lack of too much sugar. The taste we excellent. The butter made it very nutty. You could actually taste the crust. Yumm.

Next the filling. No canned or bottled lime juice here. They have a Key Lime tree and used them. Talk about fresh--how much more fresh you can you get. Some of the lime zest was also used, and condensed milk, none of that sweetened stuff. You could actually taste the lime--nice and tart without being bitter.

And then the topping. Now there was some debate over this, but Joe hand whipped the cream and added just a touch of honey. Right call, Joe. The bit of honey left the cream to stand on its own, but with the delicate hint of honey-sweetness--the perfect compliment to the pie. 

I ate every last crumb of mine and would have licked the plate, had no one been looking--it was that good. I hereby proclaim Ewa and Joe's Key Lime Pie to be the best ever, anywhere!