Clove and Tom Collins Pie

“$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling),” season 5, episode 10

We kicked off this foolhardy series with a funny looking but all-around delicious Marge creation—Little Meatloaf Men. That’s all well and good, but there have been plenty of gross Homer food concoctions over the years, and I think it’s time we got our hands dirty. There’s a great episode in Season 5 titled “$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling),” and it features a desperate Homer breakfast for the books.

I made the concoction as shown, a dish so gross even Homer wouldn’t eat it, and then made a totally delicious Tom Collins Pie with a clove crust. Read the rest of the article here and find the pie recipe below.

Spiced Tom Collins Pie

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cloves (plus extra for decorating)
1 pinch salt
7 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons gin (optional, I guess)
1-2 lemon slices, for decorating

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, clove, salt, and melted butter. Mix well, and dump into your pie pan. Press against the bottom and the edges until an even crust is formed. Bake for 10 minutes.
2. While your crust bakes, combine sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, juice, and zest in a mixing bowl and whisk until very well combined. Once crust is done baking, carefully pour mixture into the crust and smooth the top so it’s level.
3. Bake for another 10-12 minutes, until set but not brown. It should jiggle like Jell-O in the center, not like liquid. Let pie cool completely.
4. Once your pie is cool, pour cold cream into a mixing bowl and whip until cream starts to get extra thick (a handheld mixer works best here, otherwise your arm is going to get so very tired). Add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until soft peaks form, and add gin slowly, one tablespoon at a time. Continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
5. Spread whipped cream over the top of the cooled pie. Dust lightly with ground cloves, and decorate with a lemon slice or two. Chill until ready to serve, and store leftovers in the refrigerator.