Forget about going out on Valentine’s Day. Who wants to sit elbow to elbow and eat a crummy prix fixe anyway? Not us. This year, we’re staying in, and I’m cooking, of course. Dessert, though, is already made, and you’re looking at it.

This Citrus Pie with Chocolate-Pistachio Crust (which I’ve already made twice this week) actually came about by accident. I was all set to make Key Lime Pie for my father-in-law, but I ran out of limes as I was making the filling. Rather than run to the store to buy more, I decided to juice the blood oranges and lemons I had picked up at the farmer’s market to finish the filling. The resulting pie was incredibly delicious—if not very beautiful in color—and what I thought might sit in my fridge for a week was gone in two nights.

With another family gathering coming up, I made the pie again, this time purposefully using a variety of citrus, including my beloved blood oranges, which made the color much more palatable. Look at that gorgeous color!

I also swapped out the original almond crust for pistachio at my sister Paige’s request, and I think they added a nice touch.

It is Valentine’s Day, which means PINK! PINK! PINK! And I couldn’t help myself: I had to use neon pink food coloring to really make this pie stand out. And it was totally worth it, as you can tell. The color just sings, if I do say so myself.

The other thing that’s so great about this pie? It only takes 30 minutes of active time on your part, and you can always finish your other chores (or play on the Wii Fit, like I do 🙂 ) while it bakes. The pie does need several hours to firm up, so to think about making it tonight and then refrigerating it overnight. To make this recipe even easier, use a store-bought graham cracker crust and store-bought whipped topping.

Citrus Pie with Chocolate-Pistachio Crust

This recipe is adapted from one by Elissa Bernstein that appeared in the January 2012 issue of Food & Wine. Active time: 30 min. Total time: 1 hour plus 6 hours chilling. Makes one 10-inch pie. To make this recipe even easier, use a store-bought graham cracker crust. Click here for the handy printable.



Ingredients

CRUST

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing

1/3 cup sugar

½ cup finely ground almonds

1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs (from 9 whole crackers)



FILLING

2 large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon finely grated lime or lemon zest

1¼ cups fresh citrus juice, from a combination of about 10 lemons, limes, and blood oranges

Two 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk

5 to 6 drops red or pink food coloring

WHIPPED CREAM

2 teaspoons sugar

Key lime slices, for garnish (optional)

½ cup cold heavy cream

½ cup cold sour cream



1. Preheat the oven to 375° and butter a 10-inch glass pie plate. In a food processor, pulse the graham cracker crumbs with the ground almonds and sugar until thoroughly blended. Add the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the side of the pie plate to form the crust. Bake for about 20 minutes, just until the almonds are lightly browned. Let the crust cool to room temperature.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lime zest, condensed milk and eggs until smooth. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake for about 30-40 minutes, until set around the edge and slightly jiggly in the center. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until very firm, at least 6 hours or overnight.

3. In a bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the heavy cream and sour cream until soft peaks form, 2 minutes. Beat in the sugar until stiff peaks form, 1 minute. Mound the whipped cream on the pie. Garnish with the key lime slices and serve.