Coconut Cream Pie

Coconut Cream Pie
I decided, since I had all of the ingredients, to make this as a snack for tonight. I was a little impatient with the thickening process, so it was slightly runnier than it should have been. It still tasted delicious though. The recipe is from a Revised Edition New York Time's cookbook (1990) that I own.

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 cups scalded milk (this means bringing milk to the point right before boiling)
1 tablespoon butter
2 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup grated coconut
Baked 9 inch or deep 8 inch pie shell

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix 1/4 cup sugar with the cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in the scalded milk. Then add the butter. Cook this mixture in a double boiler or you could use a glass bowl that is oven proof fit over top of a cooking pot with about an inch or so of water in it. Stir this constantly until it thickens. Beat egg yolks and then add a little of the mixture from the double boiler to temper it. Then add this to the mixture into the double boiler.Cook and stir until this is thickened. I believe that it should be of pudding consistency (please correct me if I'm wrong). Take off heat and let cool slightly.
Add vanilla and 3/4 cup of coconut; then mix it up. Pour into the baked pie shell.
Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff, but not dry. Spread this over the pie filling, making sure that the meringue touches the crust at all points. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of coconut and bake until lightly browned on top or about 15 minutes. Cool before serving.

Even though this tasted delicious, I feel like this was a flop for me, just because it was not of the right consistency. It's my fault for getting a little impatient sometimes, waiting for something to happen and tonight this seemed to take forever to thicken. Just part of the learning process for me; must be more patient. Anyway, give it a try and let me know what you think. Enjoy. :)

Sausage Gravy & catching up

Sausage Gravy
This recipe was from the Southern Cooking cookbook that I had been borrowing from the library. We had this the other night as part of a breakfast type dinner, which we like doing sometimes. I would have posted this way sooner, but things have been pretty hectic lately and I haven't had alot of time to get on the computer.

3/4 lb. ground pork sausage
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half & half or milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Brown sausage in a large, heavy skillet, stirring until it crumbles. Drain on paper towels, reserving 1/2 cup of drippings in skillet. Whisk flour into drippings until smooth. Cook over medium high heat, whisking constantly for 3 minutes or until browned. Stir in sausage. Gradually add milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Stir in salt and pepper. Serve over biscuits. Makes about 3 cups.

I cheated with the biscuits after a hard day's work. I just used the refrigerated type that you separate and bake. But this was our breakfast type dinner; scrambled eggs, sausage gravy biscuits, and fried potatoes. It was tasty. :)