Key Lime Pie and Bacon Potato Salad (no, not together....say what)

What is the best thing to put in a pie?
A fork.

 Last night we had a few friends over for your typical the-weather-is-so-beautiful-we-have-to-be-outside BBQ.  Along with turkey burgers, fixins, and bourbon beans, I decided to try my hand at some Key Lime Pie and Bacon Potato Salad.

Whenever we have guests over (and if I am doing the cooking), I like to get everything done ahead of time.  Sliced, Chopped, Whipped, Creamed, Diced, Covered, Smoothered.....(suddenly craving Waffle House) etc. etc.  This allows you to hang out (drink cocktails), enjoy each other and actually relax, versus being covered in crumbs and trying to talk and whisk at the same time.

Here's what you need for the Bacon Potato Salad:
1-2 bags of red potatoes
1 bunch of celery
4-7 slices of crispy bacon
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of mayo
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of sugar
kosher salt
pepper

Here's what you need for the Key Lime Pie:

graham crackers
1-2 teaspoons of white sugar, plue 1-2 teaspoons of white sugar for whipped cream
4-ish table spoons of unsalted butter
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup key lime juice
heavy whipping cream
lime slices (optional for presentation)

For the Bacon Potato Salad:  Get out you red potatoes.  Washum good and get them in a big pot with some salt on the stove.

Boil the potatoes til fork tender, or about 15-20 minutes (sorry, I was rushing around yesterday and didn't write down everything like I normally do).

Place bacon on a oven rack, on a pan, in a 400 degree oven.  MMMmmmmm...bacon.  Cook until desired crispyness achieved.  For this salad, I like the bacon to still be a lil on the chewy side, with crispy ends.

Get out some celery, chop, then dice up.

When done, drain your potatoes and let them cool down.

Make dressing: Whisk together 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of mayo, 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sugar, kosher salt(be a lil heavy handed, these are potatoes), and pepper.

Add diced celery, cooled chopped potatoes, and chopped bacon to a large bowl.  Pour dressing over. Mix. Taste.  Add more of anything (salt, pepper, vinegar, etc.).  Then, tuck it in the fridge to chill out until dinner.

Plate up and enjoy.  Sooooooo yummy and light.

For the Key Lime Pie: Make crust.  The goal is to have wet looking sand.  Start by adding a few grahams, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of butter.  Pulse down.  Add more sugar, and rest of butter.  Until you have wet sand.  If too wet, add more grahams, if too dry, add more butter.

Spray pan.  Glass dishes look the best, but our was tied up in the dishwasher so I used a cake pan (pie still came out delicious).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Press wet-sandy graham crust into bottom of the pan (I used my fingers).

Bake crust at 350 for 10 minutes.  When done, let cool completely on counter.

Make pie filling.  Add 1, 14 oz can of condensed milk to bowl.

Separate out 4 egg yolks.  I use separate dishes, because as you can see the first one broke and I couldn't save it.  I saved my excess egg-egg whites in the fridge and we made an omelette this morning for breakfast.

Add eggs to condensed milk and whisk together until combined.

Add 1/2 cup of Key Lime Juice. Whisk until combined.

Add filling to cooled pie crust.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Let cool completely, then cover and place in fridge.

Plate up after cooled.  Let set in fridge 3-5 hours.  If desired make up some fresh whip cream (drool).  Just add heavy whipping cream and 1-2 teaspoons of sugar to kitchen add mixer on high with the whisk attachment.  Add some lime slices for color.  Our local store did not have any key limes, so I just used a thinly sliced regular lime.