"his mama taught him that"

the food: No Bake Strawberry Pie...and margaritas

the song: "Whatta Man" Salt-n-Pepa*

I am very rarely on top of things enough to post a timely recipe. But today I have a good one for you, and it's just barely in time for Mother's Day. I really love this strawberry pie, which I got from an issue of Domino magazine (R.I.P.). The first time I made this pie, was several years ago for my in-laws. It was my first time to cook for them and it also happened to be the first time they saw the house the husband and I had just bought together. Hellooooo pressure! Thankfully everything turned out fantastic, including the pie.

Tomorrow I'm making Mother's Day brunch for the husband's mom (not a part of the in-law duo that test-drove the recipe for me) and I'm pulling out the ol' strawberry pie recipe again. For the main course, I'm making a mushroom asparagus strata loosely based on this recipe. Lots of cheese and eggs, so the strawberry pie will be a nice, light compliment to the heavy main course. It's oh-so-springtime and the perfect dessert to make when strawberries are $1.50 a pound.

As I was making this pie tonight (which has to chill for 8 hours) the husband spotted the blender and the strawberries and suggested "how about fresh strawberry margaritas?" Be still my heart. Am I the luckiest girl or what? So we continued (no) baking, chopping, and cleaning house while sipping margaritas. I can tell you right now that makes everything better.

Happy Mother's Day! And a huge thank you to all four of my moms. It takes all kinds, and I'm so lucky to have four amazing, strong, unique women to inspire and guide me. Hug your mama. And make her this pie.

No-Bake Strawberry Pie

recipe from Domino magazine  

2 lbs. fresh strawberries (about 4 pints), tops removed, plus 4 strawberries, reserved

1 1/4 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

5 TBSP cornstarch

3 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

2 1/2 cups graham-cracker crumbs

8 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

1 cup heavy cream

1 TBSP confectioners sugar

Place 2 pounds strawberries in a blender and blend on high until pureed, about 10 seconds (do in two batches if necessary). Combine milk, sugar, and cornstarch in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and whisk until dissolved. Add the strawberry puree and the lemon juice. Cook on high heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture is thick and bubbling (about 7 minutes). Remove from heat.

Place graham cracker crumbs in a 10'' x 1 1/2 deep pie plate. Drizzle with melted butter and mix until all crumbs are moistened. With the back of a spoon (or your fingers), press evenly into bottom and sides of the pie plate to form a crust. Pour strawberry filling into crust and cool completely (about 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, place heavy cream in a mixing bowl and, with an electric mixer, blend on high until stiff peaks form. Add confectioners sugar and blend another 10 seconds. Using a spatula, spread the whipped cream over the filling. Slice reserved strawberries, add to the top and serve.

~eeg 

*To be fair, the husband's mother did not teach him how to make margaritas. She did, however, teach him to be respectful, which in this case it meant making me a fruity drink. Also, he knows my name is not Susan.