The Dragon Boat Races

So we ended up wandering down to the river yesterday for a while to watch the Chinese Dragon Boats race and to eat some Chinese food for lunch.

The boat races were exciting because the course was only a couple hundred yards long so it was over pretty quickly once it started.
We found some yummy Korean tofu mandoos (Bryan had pork and I had tofu) which were just grilled dumplings and also scallion pancakes for our late lunch.

We ate at the Harvard bridge and watched the show of children doing karate moves with weapons on a big stage (to the tune of Kung Fu Fighting *seriously kung fu fighting*)


And now for some yet unanswered questions:
1. The pie bird is not attached to my pie plate and was not used it the making of my tart tatin. It is used for venting pies rather than having to slit the crusts like you normally would, you can just put the bird right in the middle!

2. Strawberry-Lemonade Icebox Pie Recipe!

• For The Crust

  • Vegetable oil cooking spray
  • 9 to 10 graham crackers, broken into pieces
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • Coarse salt
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• For The Filling

  • 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
  • 2/3 cup strained fresh lemon juice (from 4 lemons)
  • 2 large egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue), plus 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • Coarse salt

• For The Topping

  • 12 ounces strawberries, sliced (2 cups)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 3 large egg whites, room temperature (2 reserved from filling)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the crust: Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Pulse crackers in a food processor until finely ground; measure 1 1/3 cups, and discard excess. Pulse cracker crumbs, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in food processor to combine. Add butter, and pulse until mixture is moist and holds together when pressed between 2 fingers.
2. Press crust evenly into bottom and up sides of pie plate using the bottom of a dry measuring cup. (Make sure the sides and rim of the crust are firmly pressed so they don't crumble when pie gets cut.) Freeze for 30 minutes.
3. Bake crust until firm and turning darker around edges, 10 to 11 minutes. Remove from oven, and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
4. Meanwhile, make the filling: Whisk together condensed milk, lemon juice, egg yolks and egg, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
5. Pour filling into warm piecrust. Bake until center is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
6. Make the topping: Sprinkle berries with 2 tablespoons sugar and the lemon juice. Let stand for 30 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, heat egg whites and remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar in the heatproof bowl of a mixer set over a pan of simmering water until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to mixer, and whisk on high speed until medium peaks form, 8 to 9 minutes.
8. Spoon berries over pie. Spoon meringue over top. Place pie under broiler, with rack in lowest position, until meringue is just browned. Alternatively, use a kitchen torch to brown the top.
   
   
   My notes:::
   Don't cook the egg whites. Just beat them in a cold bowl with the sugar. Mine, when cooked, turned to marshmallow goo consistency.
   You may not use all the berries and don't pour the strawberry juice on top. I used all the berries and juice and it was a little liquidy once sliced
   Definitely make sure your custard is completely set in the center before removing it from the oven. It can't support the weight of the berries if it's not completely set. I would also recommend refrigerating the custard overnight before adding the berries and meringue on top (which makes this an easy make-ahead dessert!)
   
   
   Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart Living June 2011 issue!