Fresh Strawberry Pie with Vanilla Crust

I had a lot of vanilla wafers left over from another recipe. While I was wondering what to do with those, along came the big, bright and juicy strawberries of the season. What more do you need to bake a pie ???  
30 minutes later I am back home from the store with a big box of .....yes, you guessed it right - Strawberries :)

The pie turned out pretty good - its a very soft pie since I used crushed vanilla wafers for my crust and a strawberry glaze over fresh cut berries. It wasn't very heavy and since my wafers were the reduced fat kind, It made it easier to believe that I wouldn't have to spend extra hours at the gym - not that it helps in any case :)

Pie Crust:

Ingredients:

vanilla wafers - about 50

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter - melted

2 Tbs sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Crush the wafers in a food processor until its coarse. Add the sugar and the melted butter and mix well.  Press the wafer mixture into a 9 inch pie plate and press down and along the sides of the pan. Bake it in the oven for about 8-10 minutes or until slightly brown and set.

Remove the the baked crust from the oven and set aside. Let it cool completely before filing.

Filing:

Ingredients:

6-8 cups strawberries washed
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn starch
2 Tbs butter
 
Directions:
 
Combine the sugar and corn starch in a sauce pan. Mash or grind about 2 cups of strawberries to make a thick paste - It doesn't have to be smooth. Add the strawberry mixture to the sugar and corn starch mix and cook over medium heat. Keep stirring until the strawberry mixture thickens. Once its done, remove from heat and add the butter and mix well.
 
Slice the remaining strawberries and place them in the cooled crust. You could also arrange whole strawberries but personally I think that sliced strawberries are easier to eat. Once the strawberries are arranged in the pie crust, pour the strawberry glaze over them to cover completely. Chill for 2-4 hours and serve with whipped cream.
 
bon appetit !!!

Coconut Cream Pie

'Coconut', 'Cream' and 'Pie' -- there is something irresistable about those 3 words. Coming from the 'land of Kera' which means coconut, It is almost impossible to stay away from it. Its a lifelong addiction to coconuts :)
I also love homemade custard - so here is the end result of it.

Ingredients:

1 9-inch pie shell
2 1/4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for the egg whites
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups toasted coconut
1 Tbs butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bake the pie shell as per the instructions that came along with it and let it cool while you proceed to make the custard filling.

In a saucepan, whisk together 2 cups of milk and 3/4 cup sugar and bring the liquid up to a simmer. Whisk the egg yolks together and temper the hot milk into the egg yolks. Add the egg mixture into the hot milk. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining milk, and then add this to the hot milk mixture. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until the filling is thick

Fold in the vanilla, toasted coconut, and butter. Mix well. Pour the filling into the prepared pan and cool the pie completely. Using an electric mixer, whip the egg white to soft peaks. Add the remaining sugar and whip the egg white to stiff peaks. Spread the egg whites over the top of the pie. Place the pie in the oven for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown.

Tips: If you are not a big fan of egg whites you could use a whipped cream topping. Also I kept my custard plain. You could always add any flavors you like to it to suit your taste.

bon appetit !!!