In Honor Of Mr. Gallini

I’ve gone back and forth about sharing this pie today, because if you’re anything like me, the mere thought of eating anything sends the entire digestion system into panic mode.  After celebrating four days of Thanksgiving, I had a hard time eating a simple brothy soup last night.  Ah, but it was four wonderful days of thankfulness, family and food.  And pie.  There was so much pie.  Sadly, there are even pies that were on deck to be made that didn’t get made.  Those may be bumped to the great Christmas celebration that is just beyond the horizon.

This pie though, would really be delicious any time of the year- and it was so easy!  I’ve never made a cream pie before, and let me assure everyone who had a bite, that this will hardly be my last cream pie.  The door has been opened, and the treasury of cream pies are now at my disposal.

The strange title for today’s post is really the entire reason that I wanted to make a Coconut Cream Pie.  Anyone who’s had a tween in their household, or just strange kids like mine has perhaps seen an episode or two of  iCarly.  The antics of Carly, Sam, Freddie, and Spencer are a regular feature in our household and it’s one of the rare TV shows that the whole family can agree to watch.  Many a dinner has been eaten with iCarly for company. In one particular episode, the whole gang went on and on about a marvel of a coconut cream pie from Mr. Gallini’s pie shop.  As the episode ensues, Mr. Gallini passes away, taking the beloved family recipe for the best coconut cream pie ever with him.  Every time we see this episode,  someone mentions a hankering for coconut cream pie.

And so it’s been made.  I turned to those who know pie- and tracked down a recipe on Epicurious, which happens to be from Bon Appetit magazine.  I made a few small changes to the recipe.  Namely, I didn’t make the crust called for.  I read the reviews of the pie, and someone had mentioned using a storebought shortbread crust.  I was all for giving that a try.  I thought a buttery shortbread crust would be the perfect vehicle for coconut cream goodness.  By all means, make your own if you want, but the purchased crust makes this pie even easier to put together.  I followed the directions precisely for the filling, only I did add a pinch of salt as it was cooking.  Then, when it came time to whip the cream to top the pie, I also followed the directions, only once again I added a pinch of salt, and a dash of vanilla to balance out the coconut extract.

This pie was pure heaven.  Everyone who tried it raved about it- in fact it was so good, that after we’d eaten the first pie on Thanksgiving Day, I ended up making a second one for Friday- everyone wanted more Coconut Cream Pie.  Abigail has most definitely found her favorite pie ever- although pumpkin still comes in a close second.  I’m not going to copy the recipe here since I followed it so closely off the recipe at Epicurious.  Instead, I’ll link to it there with a hearty, four thumbs up recommendation.

Coconut Cream Pie at Epicurious