This recipe is from Cook's Illustrated... and it truly is the best! And, it allows for either a whipped cream or meringue topping. KEY LIME PIE Serves 8 Cooks Illustrated LIME FILLING 4 teaspoons grated zest plus 1/2 cup strained juice from 3 to 4 limes 4 large egg yolks 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST 11 full graham crackers, processed to fine crumbs (1 1/4 cups) 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING 3/4 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup confectioners sugar 1/2 lime, sliced paper thin and dipped in sugar (optional) 1. For the filling: Whisk zest and yolks in medium bowl until tinted light green, about 2 minutes. Beat in milk, then juice; set aside at room temperature to thicken. 2. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix crumbs and sugar in medium bowl. Add butter; stir with fork until well blended. Pour mixture into 9-inch pie pan; press crumbs over bottom and up sides of pan to form even crust. Bake until lightly browned and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. 3. Pour lime filling into crust; bake until center is set, yet wiggly when jiggled, 15 to 17 minutes. Return pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours. (Can be covered with lightly oiled or oil-sprayed plastic wrap laid directly on filling and refrigerated up to 1 day.) 4. For the whipped cream: Up to 2 hours before serving, whip cream in medium bowl to very soft peaks. Adding confectioners sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, continue whipping to just-stiff peaks. Decoratively pipe whipped cream over filling or spread evenly with rubber spatula. Garnish with optional sugared lime slices and serve. If you prefer a meringue topping, follow the instructions in "No-Weep Lemon Meringue Pie" in the November/December 1994 issue. Bake pie only 7 minutes, then apply meringue gently, first spreading a ring around the outer edge, then filling in the center. Return to oven and bake 20 minutes more. Meringue Topping 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 cup sugar 4 large egg whites 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 8. For the meringue, mix cornstarch with 1/3 cup water in small saucepan; bring to simmer, whisking occasionally at beginning and more frequently as mixture thickens. When mixture starts to simmer and turn translucent, remove from heat. Let cool while beating egg whites. 9. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix cream of tartar and sugar together. Beat egg whites and vanilla until frothy. Beat in sugar mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; until sugar is incorporated and mixture forms soft peaks. Add cornstarch mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue to beat meringue to stiff peaks. Remove plastic from filling and return to very low heat during last minute or so of beating meringue (to ensure filling is hot). 10. Pour filling into pie shell. Using a rubber spatula, immediately distribute meringue evenly around edge then center of pie to keep it from sinking into filling. Make sure meringue attaches to pie crust to prevent shrinking. Use spoon to create peaks all over meringue. Bake pie until meringue is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature. Serve.

I immodestly report that I am "The Pie Lady" of my community. It's really probably because hardly anyone except me makes pie anymore at all. I do, because I am not good at making pretty cakes, so that's always been my signature dessert. But Grandma Frieda, whose secret is my trick, was a sensational baker, right down to REAL, stretch-it-out-over-the-table-and-read-the-paper-through-it, strudel -- and pie was still one of her most-requested items. And they are good. I had one sell for $50 at an auction about 15 years ago, and a friend who is a restaurant critic asked me to make 3 blueberry pies for the dessert table at his wedding. So I have my pie cred. (Just don't ask me to make a gorgeous birthday cake or a photo-op tart, let alone strudel.) My crust recipe couldn't be simpler; it's based on the old Joy of Cooking one. I don't like butter for pie crust, and I can't use lard, so mine is all Crisco. Don't skimp on the salt, especially if your filling is sweet. The secret trick, though, is from my grandmother. I think the purpose is to soak up the extra juices to keep the bottom crust just right. So this is for fruit (and I guess rhubarb) pies, not cream pies or pie shells that are baked and then filled with something you cooked separately. By the way, don't bother cutting crust recipes in half. Pie dough freezes GREAT, either already rolled and formed or in a ball. Gellchom's two-crust fruit pie crust 2 cups flour (I use unbleached white) 1 t salt 2/3 cup solid shortening (don't tell your cardiologist), divided.* about 5 T water Mix flour and salt in a big bowl. Cut in half of the Crisco with a pastry blender. Then cut in the other half. Sprinkle on the water and mix gently with a fork until it can be gathered into a neat ball. Try to handle as little as possible. You may need a bit more or less depending on the weather. Wrap in wax paper or something. If you have time, refrigerate the dough for at least an hour, or up to a few days. Take it out to let it come to room temperature before rolling. Divide dough into two slightly uneven "halves." Roll out the larger and line a greased Pyrex pan. Here comes Grandma Frieda's secret: Crumble (very coarsely) 8-10 crackers, saltines or Ritz-type, into the bottom crust. Then add your fruit filling right on top of it. I absolutely promise you that even you, who know they are in there, will not be able to detect the slightest trace of those crackers when you serve it. Roll out and affix the top crust. Make 6 Vs for vents. Trim and crimp the edges and re-roll the scraps to make pretty or amusing shapes to "glue" onto the top with a bit of milk or water.** *I used to use Crisco or "I Can't Believe It's Not Crisco!" (i.e., store brand equivalent), but the Crisco sticks are SO much more convenient, I use them now, even though they are more expensive. I make pie so rarely -- that's how I justify the extravagance as well as the cholesterol. **On Thanksgiving, I got tired of pictures of a turkey or an apple, so now I do stuff like the letter Pi and a map of Turkey. One year we did a skull and crossbones!

FYI - this is not a lemon meringue pie in the traditional sense. This is an old recipe that is more similar to the Key Lime pie made with sweetened condensed milk, but this is made with SCM and lemon juice, not lime juice. It is very rich - because of the SCM (sweetened condensed milk). I would not recommend that you make double the filling for one pie. I would recommend that you make two flatter pies in two 9-inch graham cracker crumb crusts instead. I love this recipe because it is delicously rich, lemony, easy, and can be made ahead. I also love this pie because it is the closest thing I can get to my beloved Lemon Ice Box ice cream of years gone by. Teresa

Michael: Here is my new recipe for Cheese Cake. Like a Creamy NY. You can top it with any fruit Sauce mix. - - - - - - - - - - - - Lous - Creamy Italian Cheese Cake Ingredients: 15 Oz. Container of Sargentos Ricotta Cheese (Velvety Smooth ) 8 Oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese ( room temperature ) 6 X large eggs ( Separated ) 1 Cup of Vanilla Ice Cream, Softened. 1/2 cup of Milk 1/2 cup of Orange juice 1 teaspoon of Lemon Juice 1 teaspoon of Vanilla 4 tablespoons of Softened Butter 1 cup of Sugar + 3 tablespoons 1 heaping teaspoon of Orange Zest 4 tablespoons of AP flour 1 tablespoon of Cornstarch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Beat egg whites, with 3 Tablespoons of sugar, until stiff peaks. Put aside until the batter is mixed. Place all the other ingredients , ( except the flour and cornstarch ) In a bowl large enough to hold beaten egg whites. Beat until smooth ( about 3 minutes ) Add the flour. Beat another minute. Add the Cornstarch beat 1 minute. Fold in the Beaten Egg Whites Pour into a 9 1/2 inch Spring Form Pan lined with a Graham Cracker Crust. Wrap the bottom of the pan and up the sides about 1 inch, with Aluminum Foil Bake on an upper oven shelf of a 350 Degree oven for about 1 hour, Or until the top is a Golden Tan. Leave it in the oven until it cools down. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Graham Cracker Crust: Put 14 Crackers in a one Quart Zip lock bag and crumble with a rolling pin, Place in a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of Sugar and 5 Tblspns of melted Butter. Mix and place in the Bottom of the Spring Form and up the sides about 1 ¼ Inches Bake at 350 for about 15 to 20 minutes until firm. Springform Pan tip: Flip the bottom over so the recess in facing down. You will be able to get the Cake out easier.