Nothing says home for the holidays like homemade ‘egg nog’. There is something very ‘American’ about this favorite beverage. President Washington had his own recipe and — to me — it makes it all the more intriguing and special. George Washington combined rye whiskey, Jamaican rum, brandy (I use Armagnac) and sherry; however, he was vague about anything beyond the additions of milk and cream… so I had to improvise a bit.
Now, as for flavorings, I added about a teaspoon and a half of the following mixture to the egg yolks during preparation: nutmeg (4 parts), cloves (1 part), ginger (2 parts), allspice (1 part), mace ( 1 part) and cinnamon ( 1 part).
My favorite memories of people, places, things and events are often the subtle accents of those occasions and the right food always made it perfect. Whether we had resources or not, like Bob Cratchit, we would make the best meal we could with what we had… and the extra effort often made the difference. The Favorite foods of people around the world continue to fascinate me and when I learned of a pie made on one of the Greek Islands, I just had to learn all about it.
The simple Honey Pie made on the Island of Siphnos is called ‘Melopita.’ It is made with the by product of making cheese … referred to as whey. The cheese Myzithra is made from sheep or goat whey and is said — and I concur — to resemble the taste of Ricotta ( one of my favorite whey cheeses). Using this humble cheese, a pie is made with sugar , eggs and honey and a sprinkling of cinnamon on the top after the pie is baked. Traditionally, this is a dessert served during Easter, but I hear tell that you can find it almost all year round on the island now-a-days.
There are many variations of this pie. Some make it with lemon and dub it ‘Siphnopitta’ , others add a dash of brandy and some add raisins and almonds. You will find recipes that include baking powder and butter. Although I do not make it this way, I do like the recipes that use raisins soaked in brandy (like mybread pudding ). Nevertheless, regardless of the variation you choose to make, I can’t imagine making it with anything other than soft and sweet Greek Myzithra cheese.
Pictures from the Greek Islands. Siphnos in the upper left and located on the map. Laura is swimming on the Island Of Hydra.
The basic traditional recipe from the island of Siphos has the following proportions:
___________
39 ounces of Myzithra cheese
1 cup of sugar ( they refer to a ‘glass’ of sugar which is 200ml or roughly 1 cup)
6 eggs
3/4 cup of honey
cinnamon for powdering the pie after baking
Mix and pour into a precooked pie shell
___________
Basically, they instruct you to bake the pie for roughly50 minutes at 200 Celsius (392 F.)… however, I would bake it more in steps like a cheesecake with an initial higher temperature that is significantly reduced.
Although my pie is a bit different, it doesn’t vary too much from the essentials and I will post it around Christmas time.
Make some memories with your holiday cuisine… everyone will love you for it!
The truth is that I have always loved Key Lime pie. As a young boy in South Florida it was my favorite dessert. However, I do understand that it was originally developed in an age before refrigeration and air conditioning was commonplace. To prevent spoilage, the original key lime pies were made with sweetened condensed milk and key limes. The natural ‘souring’ process of the lime juice and condensed milk allowed the filling to solidify. This tradition continues to this day. The original pies were yellow in color and not green. The green color was added probably to distinguish key lime pies from lemon pies in the eye of the consuming public. The crust is varied: Graham Cracker, Oreo and or a nice flaky crust. The topping has been either whipped cream or meringue and both are nice.
So how would one build a better key lime pie? Oh, I would add heavy cream instead of condensed milk (which is 40% sugar) and prepare the pie more like my lemon pie. There was more to it than that… but it turned out wonderfully!
"always a family favorite!"
Ingredients for the filling:
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups cream
5/8 cup key lime juice or lime juice
2 teaspoons finely ground key lime zest or lime zest
1/2 cup corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 egg yolks ( save the egg whites for the meringue)
4 tablespoons butter
Preparation:
1) mix your sugar, sea salt and cornstarch together
2) wisk in lime juice
3) add egg yolks and mix thoroughly
4) stir over medium flame until mixture begins to form a shape
5) after it becomes custard like, take off the flame and add butter, vanilla and lime zest
6) pour in prepared pie pan
7) cover with foil and cool
8) add meringue ( see Meringue recipe)
9) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, checking often
Here’s how to make the MERINGUE:
a) In a small pan, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/3 cup water and 1 tablespoon sugar. The mixture will thicken after several minutes on the stove stirring constantly. Once thick, emove and allow to cool slightly.
b) Beat your 4 egg whites until frothy, add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar and 1/2 cup of sugar… beat until puffy. Add the cornstarch mixture with a blender at high speed until you can make peaks with the meringue.
Bake: 350 degrees for around 20 minutes… check often
"the perfect meringue"
Although this key lime pie is a bit different from what you are used to, I am sure it will bring a smile.
Roger Freberg
PS. if you can’t find the rare ‘Cal Poly Chicken’ for your naturally green eggs… place one drop of green food coloring into your egg yolks
Abebooks.com is one of my favorite on-line sites for… yes… books! Recently I found two books that were amusing. The first book is a look into how and why alcoholic beverages developed around the world and the importance of various berries and grains as well as honey. The author, Patrick McGovern travels the world to see exactly how various civilizations produced beers and wines… “Uncorking the Past” is an excellent buy for those interested in how things all began.
My second book is a simple cookbook from 1908 the Rumford Complete Cookbook by Lily Maxworth Wallace who went on to write through the 1940’s on cookery and etiquette. Rumford — as many know — makes baking powder including the ‘Clabber Girl” brand familiar to those here in California. One can already see the trend towards recipe simplification, cost reduction and minimization of preparation time. However, the book is fun in that it covers a wide variety of subjects not addressed in many cookbooks today… for example, how to properly bone a fowl.
Laura and I were up in silicon valley staying at a nice hotel. We came down to breakfast and ordered the love of my childhood existence…. cooked oatmeal with fruit, brown sugar and other good stuff! Laura looked at me after her first bite and said, ‘this is good!’ At first, Laura thought that something had changed in her that suddenly and inexplicably changed her attitude towards oatmeal from dread to anticipation? It was the quality oatmeal, it’s preparation and it’s presentation.
Anyway, when we returned I pulled out my favorite Oatmeal and threw it into a rice cooker… and it turned out perfectly! A note of caution, if you use a rice cooker, take the lid off and keep an eye on it until you find a routine that works for you.
By the way, after 37 years of marriage, it’s nice that we can still surprise each other.
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