Florida Citrus Pie Food

FLORIDA CITRUS BARS

Steps:

• For the crust: Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang for easy removal.
• In the bowl of a food processor, add the vanilla wafers, butter, granulated sugar, zest and a pinch of salt. Pulse until the mixture is a very fine crumb and is starting to clump together. Press the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Chill the dish in the freezer while you make the filling.
• For the filling: Add the cream cheese, condensed milk, confectioners' sugar, grapefruit zest, lemon zest and orange zest to a large bowl. Whip together with an electric hand mixer until completely combined and there are no clumps of cream cheese. Fold in the whipped cream. Remove the crust from the freezer and pour in the filling, using a spatula to smooth it into an even layer. Return to the freezer and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• For the topping: When the filling is set, remove the whole bar from the baking dish and place on a cutting board; removing the parchment. Decorate the top with the orange, grapefruit and lemon rounds, then carefully slice into bars. Serve immediately.

FLORIDA CITRUS MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Line unpricked crust with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice., Bake until bottom is lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake until golden brown, 5-8 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350°., Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in water and orange juice. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer (mixture will be thick). Remove from heat., In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Gently stir in lemon juice, butter, and lemon and orange zests., For meringue, in a large bowl, beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until soft glossy peaks form., Transfer hot filling to crust. Spread meringue over filling, sealing to edge of crust; swirl top with the back of a spoon., Bake until meringue is golden brown, 13-16 minutes. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour. Chill 3 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

FLORIDA CITRUS PIE

Steps:

• For Crust:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely chop nuts in processor. Add ground cookies, sugar and butter and blend in using on/off turns until moist crumbs form. Press mixture firmly onto bottom and sides of 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass pie dish. Bake crust until golden, about 10 minutes. Cool.
• For Filling:
• Boil grapefruit juice and 1/4 cup sugar in heavy medium saucepan over high heat until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over lime juice and let stand 10 minutes. Add gelatin mixture, white chocolate and 1/4 cup cream to grapefruit mixture and whisk over low heat until white chocolate and gelatin melt and mixture is smooth. Pour into large bowl. Refrigerate until cool but not set, whisking occasionally and scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula, about 2 hours.
• Beat cream and sugar to stiff peaks. Spoon whipped cream into pastry bag fitted with large star tip. Pipe 15 rosettes of cream around edge of pie. Place 1 lime slice rounded side up between each rosette. Fill center with chocolate curls if desired. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Refrigerate.)

FLORIDA ORANGE PIE

Steps:

• Beat egg yolks in a bowl.
• Add yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup orange juice to a saucepan; stir to combine.
• Cook and stir constantly over low heat for 10-12 minutes or until mixture reaches 160°; take off of heat.
• Sprinkle gelatin over the remaining orange juice; stir to combine, then let stand for 1 minute.
• Add gelatin mixture and grated orange and lemon rind to egg yolk mixture; stir to combine.
• Chill until the mixture has the consistency of unbeaten egg whites.
• In another bowl, beat 1/2 cup whipping cream, 2/3 cup powdered sugar and salt with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.
• Fold whipped cream mixture into gelatin mixture.
• Fold in coconut and orange sections.
• Spoon mixture into pie shell; chill until firm.
• In a mixing bowl, beat the remaining whipping cream until foamy.
• Gradually add in 3 tablespoons powdered sugar and beat until soft peaks form.
• Spread half of whipped cream over pie.
• Pipe or dollop the remaining whipped cream around the edge of the pie.

SIMPLE CITRUS PIE

Steps:

• Wash the oranges, lemon, and lime thoroughly and slice as thinly as possible. Combine the sliced fruit, 2 cups of the sugar and the nutmeg in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Let stand for at least 2 hours or up to overnight, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Beat eggs in a small bowl. Line a 9 inch pie pan with one half of the prepared pastry. Remove the sliced fruit from the bowl and arrange in the crust, leaving any accumulated juices behind. Pour the beaten eggs over fruit.
• Place the top crust on the pie, crimp the edges, and poke decorative holes to vent. Brush crust with milk and sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees F and bake pie until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 additional minutes.
• Allow pie to cool and refrigerate. Serve cold.

FLORIDA CITRUS MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450*. Line an unpricked crust with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice.
• Bake until bottom is lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake until golden brown, 5-8 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven setting to 350*.
• Meanwhile, in a saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in orange juice. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer (mixture will be thick). Remove from heat.
• In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into beaten egg yolks; return all to pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Gently stir in lemon juice, butter and lemon and orange zests.
• For meringue, in a large bowl, beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved.
• Continue beating until soft glossy peaks form.
• Transfer hot filling to crust. Spread meringue over filling, scaling to edge of crust; swirl top with the back of a spoon.
• Bake until meringue is golden brown, 13-16 minutes. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour. Chill 3 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

FLORIDA CITRUS PIE

Steps:

• For the Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Toast until fragrant, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool slightly, then finely chop. In a large bowl (or a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), whisk together butter, egg yolk, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Stir in flour and walnuts to combine, then knead mixture with your hands a few times to form a soft, pliable dough.
• Press dough evenly into bottom and up sides of a standard 9-inch pie dish. Prick at 1-inch intervals with the tines of a fork; refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes or, covered, up to 1 day.
• Bake crust 15 minutes; if it's puffing in places, flatten it with the bottom of a dry measuring cup. Continue baking until crust is golden brown and set, 10 to 12 minutes more. Let cool on a wire rack.
• For the Filling: Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt to combine. Whisk in juice, 1/3 cup water, and egg yolks until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Boil 30 seconds; remove from heat. Stir in orange zest, lemon zest and juice, and butter until smooth. Immediately pour into baked crust; smooth top. Let cool slightly, then refrigerate until cold and set firmly, at least 4 hours or, loosely covered (once cold), up to 1 day. Cut into wedges and serve cold, with whipped cream.