Happy Pi Day: Key Lime

Happy Pi Day!! 3.14159... we love both Pi and pie around these parts, and always enjoy both on March 14th. Today, we had lunch with our buddies Karen and Alex at 1:59 because we're math geeky like that, and we made our own pizza pies. We followed this up with Key Lime Pie topped with strawberries, and whipped cream on the side. The Pi symbol on the top was the cut-out part from the top of the apple Pi(e) that I made too. It's sprinkled with Vanilla sugar.
I've been making this Key Lime Pie for years and it is beyond easy. You mix one can of sweetened condensed milk (I used the fat-free kind with the green and white label), 3 egg yolks, 1/2 cup Nellie & Joe's Famous Key Lime Juice, and (my addition) the zest of one lime. You mix it up (by hand is fine) and pour it into a pre-made graham cracker crust. Bake at 350-degrees for about 15 minutes. Then, cool, top and eat!! A homemade crust and fresh-whipped cream would be extra-special, but this way (whipped cream in the spray can), works too.

These three pie (and pi) - loving kiddos all agree on the greatness of this pie! Enjoy!!

Sous Saturday

They were beyond excited to get some knife time in tonight, and were very good at listening and minding. They also zested, pressed, stirred, juiced, toasted, buttered, drizzled, snapped, and set. Good team effort on an awesome dinner.
Gremolata for the Osso Bucco; delicious, and because he made it, the E man even tried the parsley-full (Green!) stuff. Love it!

Sous Chef Erik

When it comes to the kids helping in the kitchen, Erik is far and away the more enthusiastic helper. Madeline can be recruited, but Erik seeks out the sous-chef position on a regular basis. And, I say "You're welcome," to his future spouse, partner, and/or roommates. The boy knows what fondant and pesto are... and the difference between Miso and Phở , and he's four. This can (hopefully) only bode well for the future.

Here's the boy rocking some old-school English Muffin pizzas (that were a huge hit at our Dr. Seuss party this week)...
And, using gum paste to apply flowers to Sophia's castle birthday cake...

Amethyst luster dust? He approves!

Happy 6th Birthday to cousin Sophia! Erik loved pasty chef-ing it up with this fun creation. Especially the fondant. And, I was very pleasantly surprised by how easy and fun fondant was to work with too... easy to mold and shape, and much less messy to transport this cake on a 2-hr car ride when covered with sweet, smooth fondant rather than Swiss Meringue Buttercream.