I’m recently back from Florida, a brief respite from the cold with my family and an old friend. (No surprise: we rented a Hobycat so we could spend at least one day sailing.)

Before leaving, still on a quest to find the best key lime pie in the keys, we stopped by Mrs. Mac’s.

I’ve had key lime pies before that were so rock-hard from the freezer that you had to sit and stare at them for 10-15 minutes before you could eat them. But at Mrs. Mac’s, our forks slid through the custard.  I thought, these can’t have been frozen. But I asked the waitress and she said they were. In fact, she said, if they kept the pies in the refrigerator they would separate.

If anyone knows a recipe that captures Mrs. Mac’s secret, please clue me in.