There's a Coconut Cream Pie recipe here somewhere...
Well, it's the day after Thanksgiving. Whew! The last two days have been so busy, with all the preparations.
I decided this year to invite over friends that had been down on their luck. The next door neighbor is a good friend of ours and he just went through a not-so-nice divorce. My daughter, who is expecting her first child in January would be bringing her fiance. And then there is the family that we became friends with last year. They have a little girl about 2 years old and just had a little boy about 6 months ago and times have been tough for them. Then there was my 19 year old son who just got back from a skiing trip with his buddies and myself and my husband.
We smoked 3 turkey's, baked a ham, made mashed potatoes, homemade gravy...(what am I saying? everything was homemade), the yummiest butter beans ( a secret family recipe), baked beans, sausage dressing (another family recipe), corn grown from our garden, deviled eggs (that makes everyone go back for just 3 more), a huge vegetable plate with carrots, celery with pimento cheese, cauliflower, bacon-ranch dressing for dipping, my special pecan pie, and finally, rolls and pumpkin pies brought by my best friend Jill.
I was going to make my husband's favorite coconut cream pie, but I ran out of time. I had promised my daughter that I would make a sweet potato pie, but my friend offered to bring pumpkin pies, so I nixed that and offered her my pecan pie instead.
On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, I had my turkeys thawed, I put the biggest one in my blue roaster pan with water, salt, pepper and onions, threw it in the oven for one and a half hours. I prepared the smoker, washed the grills, added the water and the smoke and finally, the turkey. Back in the house to put the second turkey in the oven with its batch of water and seasonings. And later, the third turkey went in the smoker and the first one came out. That was about 11:30 pm.
Why was I baking the turkey before smoking it? Because I wanted to make gravy. Gravy that tastes like smoke isn't tasty at all. I tried that one year and was very disappointed. So I was getting 3 large batches of turkey flavored water base to make my gravy.
During the time of adding water and hickory to the smoker, I made the devilled eggs, baked rolls (for sandwiches of leftover turkey), made the pecan pie and drank some beer. Time for bed.
Thursday morning, I get up at 7 a.m., ( I overslept) made coffee, dressed, went into work to close out registers and complete the previous day's accounting books, prepared the register (wine shops do not close on Thanksgiving), and drove home to finish preparing the food for the feast later on that day.
I forgot all about the ham, so I threw it in the oven, baked my dressing, mashed the potatoes (my husband peeled them the night before so I could boil them and refrigerate them for the next day), started warming up the corn, prepared the two types of beans and started stirring and stirring and stirring the gravy. Had time to throw in the smoked turkey to reheat. I washed the vegetables for my husband to cut up and arrange on a dish for snacking.
The neighbor came over with his beer. Two hours early. I was glad I cleaned out the fridge in the dining room. An hour later, or maybe two, hubby appears in the kitchen with a beer in hand for me. It was wonderful. Two beers later and our other guests show and they take the turkey and ham out of the oven to carve. Everything is warmed up and ready to go, so I holler at everyone to make their plates and I went out into the backyard with my 3rd beer and sat down, had a smoke (we don't smoke in the house when little children come over) and played fetch with my two puppies. Tazzi, is a miniature chihuahua and Daisy is a miniature dachshund who are both overfed.
I realize, I've been sitting there quite a while, so I sneak back in through the laundry room and into the kitchen. I had everything set up buffet style so plates could be filled and everyone could sit in the living room, eat and watch football.
The food was wonderful and many went back for seconds and thirds. One plate did me. I was saving room for another beer.
After dinner, my daughter heads to the kitchen after announcing that she brought tupperware so she could take food home. They had to leave soon as we were not there only stop for the day.
I had smoked a second turkey, that I halved, for my daughter and my friend to take home as leftovers. Each got plentiful helpings of dinner that they could enjoy later.
Feeling as if I had rested enough, I asked my friend if she wanted to help me make the coconut cream pies. I had promised I'd make it for her family. She had my recipe, but lost it before she could try it. She was up to it, so we headed off to the kitchen. One hour later, we had 2 pies, one for us and one for them.
I started to write this so I could put my coconut cream pie recipe on here, and instead of just posting the recipe, my mind wandered and a zillion words later, here I am. So, here's the recipe. It's a bit of work, but well worth it. I strongly suggest reading the recipe and getting all of your ingredients measured and ready to add before you start. Have fun! LynnH
I decided this year to invite over friends that had been down on their luck. The next door neighbor is a good friend of ours and he just went through a not-so-nice divorce. My daughter, who is expecting her first child in January would be bringing her fiance. And then there is the family that we became friends with last year. They have a little girl about 2 years old and just had a little boy about 6 months ago and times have been tough for them. Then there was my 19 year old son who just got back from a skiing trip with his buddies and myself and my husband.
We smoked 3 turkey's, baked a ham, made mashed potatoes, homemade gravy...(what am I saying? everything was homemade), the yummiest butter beans ( a secret family recipe), baked beans, sausage dressing (another family recipe), corn grown from our garden, deviled eggs (that makes everyone go back for just 3 more), a huge vegetable plate with carrots, celery with pimento cheese, cauliflower, bacon-ranch dressing for dipping, my special pecan pie, and finally, rolls and pumpkin pies brought by my best friend Jill.
I was going to make my husband's favorite coconut cream pie, but I ran out of time. I had promised my daughter that I would make a sweet potato pie, but my friend offered to bring pumpkin pies, so I nixed that and offered her my pecan pie instead.
On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, I had my turkeys thawed, I put the biggest one in my blue roaster pan with water, salt, pepper and onions, threw it in the oven for one and a half hours. I prepared the smoker, washed the grills, added the water and the smoke and finally, the turkey. Back in the house to put the second turkey in the oven with its batch of water and seasonings. And later, the third turkey went in the smoker and the first one came out. That was about 11:30 pm.
Why was I baking the turkey before smoking it? Because I wanted to make gravy. Gravy that tastes like smoke isn't tasty at all. I tried that one year and was very disappointed. So I was getting 3 large batches of turkey flavored water base to make my gravy.
During the time of adding water and hickory to the smoker, I made the devilled eggs, baked rolls (for sandwiches of leftover turkey), made the pecan pie and drank some beer. Time for bed.
Thursday morning, I get up at 7 a.m., ( I overslept) made coffee, dressed, went into work to close out registers and complete the previous day's accounting books, prepared the register (wine shops do not close on Thanksgiving), and drove home to finish preparing the food for the feast later on that day.
I forgot all about the ham, so I threw it in the oven, baked my dressing, mashed the potatoes (my husband peeled them the night before so I could boil them and refrigerate them for the next day), started warming up the corn, prepared the two types of beans and started stirring and stirring and stirring the gravy. Had time to throw in the smoked turkey to reheat. I washed the vegetables for my husband to cut up and arrange on a dish for snacking.
The neighbor came over with his beer. Two hours early. I was glad I cleaned out the fridge in the dining room. An hour later, or maybe two, hubby appears in the kitchen with a beer in hand for me. It was wonderful. Two beers later and our other guests show and they take the turkey and ham out of the oven to carve. Everything is warmed up and ready to go, so I holler at everyone to make their plates and I went out into the backyard with my 3rd beer and sat down, had a smoke (we don't smoke in the house when little children come over) and played fetch with my two puppies. Tazzi, is a miniature chihuahua and Daisy is a miniature dachshund who are both overfed.
I realize, I've been sitting there quite a while, so I sneak back in through the laundry room and into the kitchen. I had everything set up buffet style so plates could be filled and everyone could sit in the living room, eat and watch football.
The food was wonderful and many went back for seconds and thirds. One plate did me. I was saving room for another beer.
After dinner, my daughter heads to the kitchen after announcing that she brought tupperware so she could take food home. They had to leave soon as we were not there only stop for the day.
I had smoked a second turkey, that I halved, for my daughter and my friend to take home as leftovers. Each got plentiful helpings of dinner that they could enjoy later.
Feeling as if I had rested enough, I asked my friend if she wanted to help me make the coconut cream pies. I had promised I'd make it for her family. She had my recipe, but lost it before she could try it. She was up to it, so we headed off to the kitchen. One hour later, we had 2 pies, one for us and one for them.
I started to write this so I could put my coconut cream pie recipe on here, and instead of just posting the recipe, my mind wandered and a zillion words later, here I am. So, here's the recipe. It's a bit of work, but well worth it. I strongly suggest reading the recipe and getting all of your ingredients measured and ready to add before you start. Have fun! LynnH
Coconut Cream Pie
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
4 eggs
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/3 cups Baker's flaked coconut
Meringue for Pie
Pastry for Single-Crust Pie or Premade Graham Cracker Crust
Prepare and roll out pastry. Line a 9-inch pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge. Flute edge, prick pastry. Bake in 450 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or till golden. Cool thoroughly. I have used premade crusts and graham cracker crusts in a pinch.
For filling, in saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir until the mixture is thickened and bubbly. Reduce the heat now and cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Be careful not to burn this. You cannot leave it unattended on the stove. Remove from heat.
Separate egg yolks from whites, set whites aside for the meringue. Beat egg yolks. Gradually stir in 1 cup of the hot pudding mixture into the yolks. Return this egg mixture to the hot pudding mixture in the pan. Put back on stove and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring constantly for 2 more minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Next, stir in 1 cup of coconut. You can now pour this mixture into your baked pie shell. Add your meringue and top the meringue with the remaining coconut and bake in a 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes to brown the coconut and meringue to your liking. Cool, refrigerate and enjoy. It'll be gone in no time.
Meringue
4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
6 tablespoons sugar
Beat egg whites, vanilla, cream of tartar at medium speed for about 1 minute. Gradually add the tablespoons of sugar, mixing at the highest speed of your electric mixer, until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Immediately spread on your pie and bake as directed.
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