Throw In a Little Surprise With Your St. Patrick's Day Celebration!

We always got a kick out of St. Patrick's Day at our house. I'd make green milk, green butter, green pancakes, green apple juice, and green scrambled eggs for the family breakfast that morning. There was the usual pinching anyone who forgot to wear green, the corny Irish jokes ("What's Irish and stays outside all year long?" "Patty O' Furniture!" for instance), and a fun green dessert for dinner that evening.

One of the things the kids liked to do was hide their touch of green, so they could "double-pinch" anyone who mistakenly pinched them for what was assumed a lack of green in their outfit. They just delighted in fooling people. So it occurred to me this morning, why not insert a little surprise into a St. Patrick's Day dinner--why not fool folks at the dinner table? (You're probably thinking right now, "This chick's got a lot of time on her hands...")

Anyway, I found a recipe for an orange chiffon pie that I am going to add food coloring to. So the family will see it and think, "Oh, Key Lime Pie for St. Patrick's Day. Great idea." And then they'll bite into it and ha ha! NOT lime, but orange! I'll let you know how it all turns out (the pie and the reactions). Meanwhile, here's the recipe, and don't forget to share any fun St. Patrick's Day ideas YOU have--we're all in this together, remember, so let's share the good stuff. And as always, happy cook'n!

FLUFFY ORANGE (but we'll make it GREEN) PIE (makes one 9-inch pie)
2 C vanilla wafer crumbs (takes about 50 wafers)
1/3 C butter, melted
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 (6 oz) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 C (1/2 pint) whipping cream, whipped
Green food coloring (enough to turn the mixture a nice green)

Combine crumbs and butter; press firmly on bottom and up side to rim of pie plate. Chill. Meanwhile, in large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy; gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, then juice concentrate, until smooth. Add green food coloring and mix well. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into crust. Chill to hrs or until set. I would make extra whipped cream, color it green as well, to garnish pie with. You can't have too much whipped cream, anyway!