A Menu for Father's Day

We invited my parents over for a quick Father's Day meal last Sunday.  Everyone was either coming from somewhere or headed somewhere afterwards, so I wanted to serve a meal I could put together quickly, and of course, was made up of foods my Dad really likes.

I started by making a pitcher of lemonade from fresh lemons, sugar and filtered water.  For the first time ever, I made a caesar salad with the dressing from scratch and toasted my own garlicky croutons from a french bread round.  We also had baby back ribs cooked slowly in the oven and then finished on the grill with a really sweet and vinegary barbecue sauce.  On the side was some buttermilk cornbread and for dessert, I made my Dad a Key Lime pie!

Of course, my Mom and I needed a cocktail, and since we had fresh lemonade, I created a spicy chili lemonade for us with Absolut Peppar, lemonade and a dash of hot sauce.  YUM.  The hot sauce sank to the bottom a bit, but it still flavored the drink nicely.

My Dad loves Key Lime Pie.  When I was a child, I fondly remember trips with my family to Sanibel and Captiva Islands in Florida.  Very recently, my local grocery store had been carrying bags of the tart little Key limes.  I was mentally prepared to squeeze a million of them to get the 3/4 cup of juice I needed for the pie recipe, just to get that authentic taste my Dad loves.  But when I did my shopping, there were none to be found.  I ended up using a bottled Key Lime juice which actually worked out pretty well.  It tasted great and ultimately my tendonitis thanked me for not doing the squeezing.  I also decided to make the crust of the pie from ground shortbread cookies mixed with a little melted butter rather than the graham cracker crust.  I like the way the sweet shortbread and the tartness of the pie go together, but a regular graham cracker crust works just as well and is more traditional.

I want to share the pie recipe with you.  It's a very basic recipe and quite delicious!  Enjoy!

Key Lime Pie

1 9-inch graham cracker crust
3 cups sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup key lime juice
1 tablespoon grated lime zest

Preheat oven to 350.  In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine condensed milk and sour cream, beating until no lumps remain.  Add the lime juice and lime rind, beating until mixture is smooth. Quickly pour into the crust.  Bake the in preheated oven for only 5 to 7 minutes, just until pie begins to set up. Do not allow the pie to brown. Chill pie well before serving, preferably overnight. Garnish with whipped cream and a slice of lime.