Bitchin’ Kitchen’s Pink Grapefruit Meringue Pies

Joseph and I were days away from canceling our U-verse subscription a couple months ago. Then we discovered Food Network and the Cooking Chanel.

Bitchin’ Kitchen airs on the Food Network in the US and Canada and is adapted from Nadia G’s web series.  It took me a while to get used to the show, and I think I made at least five tweets complaining about her. But Joseph finally talked me into watching an entire episode, and I fell in love. Nadia G is funny, strange, beautiful (seriously, she is hard to look away from), and she really can cook.  She has an obvious passion for quality of food, but the show doesn’t take itself too seriously. It fits right along with our sense of humor, and it’s the only cooking show on TV that makes Joseph and I laugh. It is seriously bizarre and hilarious.

So a few weeks ago I for the first time was inclined to make a recipe I saw on TV–BK’s Pink Grapefruit Meringue Pies.  They are perfect! I will definitely be making these instead of boring old lemon meringue pies from now on. The dark chocolate graham cracker crust is divine with the citrus filling, and the meringue is not too sweet.

Pink Grapefruit Meringue Pies from Bitchin’ Kitchen”

20 graham crackers
½ cup semi-sweet dark chocolate, grated
¼ cup brown sugar
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

4 eggs at room temperature, yolks and whites separate
1 Tablespoon grapefruit zest
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
¼ cup freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 ½ cups water
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
pinch salt
¼ teaspoon white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C).

In a re-sealable bag, crush graham crackers. Transfer crushed graham crackers into a big bowl and mix in: dark chocolate shavings, brown sugar and melted butter. Line 4 4-inch pie molds with the crust mixture. Note: I used a food processor to crush my graham crackers and only needed to use about half the mixture.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, then cool.

In a bowl, combine 4 egg yolks, fresh pink grapefruit juice, fresh lemon juice, a pinch of pink grapefruit zest, and a pinch of lemon zest.

In a heavy saucepan mix water, cornstarch, 1 ¼ cups sugar, and a pinch of sea salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat whisking constantly for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture thickens. Slowly add this mixture to the citrus-ey yolks.

Pour mixture back into the pot, reduce heat to low, add 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter and whisk for 8 more minutes, until very thick. Cover and refrigerate.

To 4 egg whites add 1/4 teaspoon of white vinegar, and 3 Tablespoons white sugar. Whip until stiff peaks form.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).

Spoon citrus filling into graham cracker crust and top with lots of meringue. Bake for 10 minutes, until the meringues brown slightly.

I love the show so much I bought a t-shirt!

Chocolate Bar Pie

The other day I had a sort of pie-related meltdown. I really needed for some reason to make a pie but had too many recipes. I was dying to use as many new appliances as much as I could. So that left me with any sort of cream pie (meringue in my new KitchenAid stand mixer!) or a Mocha Silk Pie (that requires 20 minutes of my KitchenAid mixer’s use). There were too many recipes, and I was battling having to buy ingredients since I’ve just moved here and haven’t yet found a grocery store I’m comfortable in.

Ultimately, I had to make this one. The fact that it’s basically melted milk chocolate with heavy cream and marshmallows intrigued me.  With whipped cream and chopped-up Heath bars?  Sign me up!  Plus, I got to use my new blender to chop walnuts and even whipped out my mixer twice!

If you like Rocky Road ice cream, you want this. Trust me.  I am not a big marshmallow fan, but having them melted brings out an incredible subtle flavor.

Everything in this pie is so ridiculously decadent and sweet. I don’t normally like nuts, especially walnuts, but the crust is perfect. I decided to make whipped cream to go on top, and my life has now been changed. I never knew the wonder of fresh homemade whipped cream… More on that later.  Also, my life nearly revolves around opportunities to eat Heath bars.  See why this pie is perfect for me?

Walnut Crust from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

6 oz. (1 ½ cups) walnuts, coarsely ground
3 Tbs butter, melted
2 Tbs sugar.

Preheat oven to 325F.  In medium bowl combine walnuts, butter, and sugar.  Press onto bottoms and sides of a 9-inch pie plate to form a firm, even crust.  Bake for 12-14 minutes.  Cool and set aside.

Bar Chocolate Pie from the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook
1 recipe Walnut Crust
6 1-1.5 oz. milk chocolate bars with almonds, chopped (I used about 7.5 oz total)
15 large marshmallows or 1 ½ cup tiny marshmallows
½ cup milk
1 cup whipping cream
½ tsp vanilla
Optional: Whipped cream, chocolate-covered English toffee or milk chocolate bars with almonds (I found a package of pre-chopped Heath bars that worked perfectly for this as well as for moderate (or maybe not so moderate in my case…) snacking)

Chill a medium mixing bowl and beaters.  Prepare and bake Walnut Crust; set aside.  Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium saucepan combine the six chopped chocolate bars, the marshmallows, and milk.  Cook and stir over medium-low heat until chocolate and marshmallows are melted.  Remove from heat.  Let the chocolate mixture stand until cooled to room temperature (about 30 minutes).

In the chilled mixing bowl beat the 1 cup whipping cream and the vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form.

Fold whipped cream mixture into cooled chocolate mixer.  Spoon chocolate mixture into crust.  Freeze for about 8 hours or until firm.

To serve, remove the pie from the freezer and let stand about 10 minutes before cutting.  If desired, garnish with additional whipped cream and chopped chocolate-covered English toffee.

As you can see I topped mine with fresh whipped cream.  The cream alone is oh so good and adds something great to the pie.

Fresh Whipped Cream from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbs sugar
½ tsp vanilla

In a chilled mixing bowl, whip ingredients on medium speed until soft peaks form.

Easy.  Especially with a stand mixer!  I stuck the bowl and beater in the freezer for a few minutes, poured everything, and turned it on.  Then I watched TV and came back to an incredible whipped cream!  So, so good.  I should also probably note that I halved the above recipe and had plenty left over (which went into the fridge to be eaten alone. It’s that good).

Cut a small slice and enjoy!

Chocolate Pie

Chicken spaghetti, cheesey green beans, and chocolate pie hold the spot as the best things of my childhood (what can I say? I am really devoted to food).

Chocolate pie is the best! Rich and Southern–the chocolate has a really distinct taste. I always expect to to taste something like chocolate pudding, but it’s nothing like it! I’m not sure what makes the chocolate taste so wonderful.  But let me tell you–it’s good.

This is the first time I’ve made it on the stove (Option A below), and even though I’ve made it many times it wasn’t quite thick enough! Usually the filling will be much taller.

This is my grandmother’s recipe card I stole from my parents’ old cookbook. I think they put together the book during their first years of marriage (they got married 38 years ago). So Me-maw, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry if stumbling across something you wrote 30 years ago startles you!

Chocolate Pie

1 prepared pie crust (I always use this one

1 c sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ c cornstarch
¼ c cocoa
2 c milk
2 egg yolks, whites reserved for meringue
1 Tbs shortening
1 tsp vanilla

4 Tbs sugar (for meringue)

Stir together sugar, salt, cornstarch, and cocoa. Slowly mix in milk.

Now, there are two different ways to go from here. My grandmother converted many of her recipes to be microwave-friendly, so you can do it the traditional way by simmering it on the stovetop, or by cooking it in the microwave.

Option A) In a saucepan, simmer over medium-high heat until thickened, stirring constantly. It takes quite a while and needs to be really unbelievably thick. It doesn’t thicken up at all in the oven, so it’s tough to tell when it’s ready to be moved from the stove unless you’ve made this before

Option B) Cook in microwave for 2 minutes, stir. 2 minutes more, stir, 2 minutes, stir, 1 minute, stir. (As I knitter I usually write it in my head this way: [2 min, stir]x3). Add in egg yolks, shortening, and vanilla. Cook for 1 minute, stir, cook for 30 seconds longer.
This is faster, and you don’t have to make a judgement call to tell when it’s ready.

Next, stir in egg yolks, shortening, and vanilla.  Pour into prepared pie crust.

Meringue:
Beat the egg whites until fluffy; then add in sugar and continue beating until it forms stiff peaks. I sometimes make it with three egg white (recipe).

Spread over pie. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until meringue browns. Cool on wire rack before chilling. Serve cold.

Key Lime Pie

The second half of my day’s adventures in pies–Key Lime Pie! Burnt out from making the banana cream pies in my too-small kitchen, I used a prepared pie crust. This recipe is very, very easy! Really, anyone could make this. I didn’t even have to write down the recipe! I halved it and ended up with six miniature pies, and they all disappeared within the day (Joseph had four, I had two). I think I’ll keep this around as a go-to when we’re craving easy sweets.

Key Lime Pie from Allrecipes.com

1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust (or 12 miniature ones)

3 cups sweetened condensed milk

½ cup sour cream

¾ cup key lime juice

1 Tbs grated lime zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, and lime rind. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of pie. Chill pie thoroughly before serving. Garnish with lime slices and whipped cream if desired.