Tasty Tuesday-Pie

Today marks the anniversary of the premier of one of my favorite shows, the short lived odd ball cult classic Twin Peaks.  I was too young to watch the show when it first aired in 1990, but after watching it on Netflix I quickly became addicted.  The show had a beautifully creepy look, with plenty of stylish vintage elements:

 

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Personally my favorite was the log lady, I'd love to dress as her for Halloween:



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The other great thing I love about Twin Peaks?  The non stop talk about food, particularly pie, coffee, and donuts. Certain sayings from the show like this one have become famous: 





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In honor of this wonderful show I am sharing a recipe for pie, of course if I were really being Twin Peaks appropriate I would have made cherry pie, but sadly cherries are not in season.   So instead I prepared a retro style pie that still seems like it could have come straight out of Norma's Diner

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Best of all?  Its very easy to make:

Coconut Cream Pie with White Chocolate

Ingredients

For the crust
5 ounces (40 cookies) vanilla wafer
cookies, crumbled
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted
butter, melted
1/4 cup (2 ounces) sugar

For the filling
1/2 cup (4 ounces) sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups (16 ounces) heavy cream
1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsweetened
coconut milk
3 extra-large egg yolks
4 ounces white chocolate,
coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) sweetened
shredded coconut, toasted

Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the center position.
To make the crust, place the crumbled cookies in the work bowl of a
food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse until the cookie pieces
are reduced to small crumbs, then add the melted butter and sugar.
Pulse until the butter is evenly dispersed among the crumbs. Press the
crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
Bake the crust for 18 to 20 minutes, or until it is fragrant and light
brown, and it is slightly firm to the touch. Remove the plate to a wire
rack to cool. Turn off the oven. (The crust can be made up to 2 days
ahead. Cover well with plastic wrap and store at room temperature.)

To make the filling, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a 2-quart, heavy saucepan. Whisk the mixture together, then whisk in 1 cup of the cream and the coconut milk. Add the egg yolks and whisk vigorously to combine. Set the saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly, making sure to reach into the corners of the pan, as the mixture thickens
and comes to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir or whisk the mixture very well, then return the pan to the heat. Simmer the mixture, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the custard from the heat and
stir in the white chocolate and vanilla. Stir until the chocolate melts. The mixture will be very thick and slightly oily looking. Transfer the mixture
to a large metal bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap onto the top, and refrigerate until cold.
When the custard is cold, beat it with an electric mixer on high speed for
1 minute, until it is smooth. Add the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream
and beat on high speed until the mixture is thick and fluffy like whipped cream. Fold in 1 cup of the toasted coconut. Pour and scrape the filling
into the prepared crust. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/4 cup
toasted coconut. Refrigerate the pie until ready to serve.
The pie can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 days.

For the toasted Coconut

To toast coconut in the oven, spread it on a shallow, rimmed baking sheet and place
it in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 10 minutes. Use a metal spatula to stir the
shreds, then bake for another 5 minutes, or until the coconut is a very light
golden brown.

It Came from The 90s (1990s)

The July issue of American Vogue had an article on the return of the grunge look.

 

Now I don't have a problem with the grunge look, I actually kind of like it, although its definitely not something I'd wear myself.   Its return does make me feel a bit old as I distinctly remember being 14 years old and being excited that clothing very much like what I was already wearing was in the countries biggest fashion magazine.   

Anyway, there are plenty of things I loved about the 90s, and wish could be brought back.  Including the hilarious and quirky show Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (MST3K),  in which a guy and his robot palls are trapped in space and forced to watch some of worst movies ever made.  Sadly, Mystery Science Theatre was canceled in 1999 after 11 seasons.

 

The good news is that MST3K, or a version of it, is back with Riff Trax.   The new version consists of digital downloads of either complete movies or commentary soundtrack that you can play in concordance with a popular film and hear the actors from MST3K riffing away.  Anyway, it was through Riff Trax that I discovered something that should most definitely stay in the 90s.   The movie Cool As Ice.

 This hilariously horrible movie stars the rapper Vanilla Ice wearing some of the most hideous clothing ever conceptualized.

Riff Trax has it in their online catalog and you can download it and watch every unbelievable awful moment while listening to the MST3K writers side splitting commentary. My favorite part being the abandoned construction site love scene montage.

 If you are a fan of MST3K you really should check out Riff Trax and even better get tickets to the Riff Trax live showing of Star Ship Troopers on August 15.  

I can't wait!