“Waiter there is too much pepper in your Paprikash, but I would be proud to partake of your Pecan Pie.” I always think of Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan saying that with a silly accent in “When Harry Met Sally” when I have Pecan Pie. I love that movie and have probably seen it 50 times. I think this is one of which Harry and Sally would proudly partake. I really like the flavour of this because I am not really a fan of the gooey, gaggingly sweet pecan pies made with corn syrup. I like the flavour of the nuts and some brown sugar, caramelized buttery goodness in this Pecan Pie.  Just saying…

Pecan Pie

• one unbaked 9-inch pie shell of Gabi’s Best Pie Crust
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 Tablespoons Lyle’s Golden Syrup ( Real maple syrup can be substituted for a slight twist of flavour. Do not use pancake syrup!)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 Tablespoon whole milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups chopped pecans, plus about 40 extra pecan halves to decorate top
• egg wash for crust : 1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk or cream

Preheat the oven to 375F. In a medium bowl, combine the sugars, salt, and  flour, mix in the melted butter and stir until smooth. Add the syrup, beaten eggs, milk and vanilla and beat by hand with a wooden spoon until all is smooth. Add the chopped nuts. Pour into the chilled pie crust and decorate the top with the pecan halves. I like to do concentric circles or a basket weave pattern. Make it the way you like it. Brush the crust with egg wash taking care to not drip down into the pecan filling so it stays pretty. Place in the pre baked oven and bake  for 10 minutes then reduce the heat with the pie in the oven and bake for about 50 more minutes until the filling puffs and seems set in the middle. Remove from oven and cool completely on a rack.

Serve with vanilla flavoured whipped cream or vanilla ice cream “on the side” for Sally, if you wish.

Enjoy!

Today I am making pomanders. Do you remember them from childhood? They always make the house smell like Christmas memories to me. Just get some oranges and whole cloves and push the pointed end of the clove into the orange’s peel. That’s it. You can add a ribbon or whatever if you want to get fancy. MMM. Smells good!

FYI I find that my local Asian market usually has the best and least expensive whole cloves. The ones I just bought were 99 cents for about a half cup of cloves. Good deal!

The pictures are of my work in process. You have to go a bit slow since pushing the clove in can be hard on your thumbs -unless you want to wear a leather thimble.

The recipe is Dorie’s. I am not going to post it here but show you my journey. Get a copy of “Around My French Table” for the recipe. I highly recommend it. The recipe is on page 78 and 79. I will give you a recipe below for my own Cuban Bread that you can have baked homemade by the time the soup is ready.

SO, I grew the squash and some leeks in my garden and then harvested them.

I prepared the squash and cut it up with the leeks.

Cooked them with milk, water, nutmeg, salt and pepper…

And cooked them all together until the vegetables were soft, then pureed them with an immersion blender.

Dorie tops hers with apples and nuts. I used an Ambrosia apple and some bacon-mmm (everything’s better with bacon) because I wanted a little smoky, salty contrast against the sweet apples and squashy pumpkin-chestnut backdrop of the soup. It was delicious!

Add a side of freshly baked bread and you have a heavenly cold weather meal. Voila!

Cuban Bread (two loaves ready in an hour and a half)

• 4 cups “00″ or bread flour
• 4-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons sea salt
• 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 cups hot water
• 1 to 2 more cups “00″ or bread flour

Mix the 4 cups of flour with the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle. Mix to combine then dissolve the sugar and salt in the hot water and add to the flour and yeast whilst mixing slowly. Beat for 3 minutes until well combined. Add the remaining 1 to 2 cups flour whilst mixing until the dough is well mixed and elastic and just slightly tacky. Change to the dough hook and knead my machine for 6 minutes until smooth. Finish kneading for 2 minutes on a lightly floured work surface. Put in an oiled bowl and let raise in a warm place for 15 minutes until doubled. Divide into two round loaves. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Cut and “x” on the top of each with a razor or sharp knife. Place another pan of hot water on the floor of your oven and the sheet pan with the loaves on the rack above it in the cold oven. Set your oven to 400F and bake for about 50 minutes or until the loaves sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. Place on a rack and cool completely for best flavour. Or just a bit for warm bread with soup.

Enjoy!

Sometimes there is a person in your life as a child who opens your eyes to the possibilities of a life lived with style and joie de vivre.  Hattie was just such a person for my husband Rick. “She had class oozing out of her marrow. Her being was effortless.” is the way he describes her. Hattie did things her own way. She was a family friend and as a teenager he worked for her doing yard-work and was rewarded with her homemade chocolate milkshakes which became his ideal. She is a legend that lives on past her years and we often drink to her memory when we are having a celebration. This is her recipe for pumpkin pie that my mum-in-law, Bobbie, has passed on to me. I added a bit of cloves and vanilla to it because I like that flavour and because I believe that’s what Hattie would do- add her own twist of style- so I think it honours her in that way.  Bobbie’s note on the recipe card reads: “This makes a dark pie because of the brown sugar. The Bourbon adds depth to the flavor. Good!”

Hattie’s Pumpkin Pie (with a bit of Gabi)

• one chilled unbaked pie shell, see last post
•  2 eggs, beaten
• dash of salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
• generous 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1-1/2 cups pumpkin puree, canned is preferred
• 1 cup minus 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons good Bourbon
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• My additions are: add 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Serve with softly whipped, vanilla flavoured and lightly sweetened whipped cream

Beat the eggs, spices, salt well and blend in the sugars. Mix in the pumpkin puree, cream, (vanilla)  and Bourbon. Pour into the unbaked pie shell and bake at 400F for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350F and bake for 45 minutes more or until set in the middle. 

Cool completely and serve with whipped cream if desired.  The pie will shrink a bit from the edges of the crust as it cools and inevitably it will crack in the middle. I like to make a little decoration to cover the crack such as the pumpkin and vines above. I baked the vines around a metal skewer to get the curl.

We had this pie as part of our second Thanksgiving meal with friends this year.                      I enjoy the tradition of including recipes from those who have touched our lives as part of our celebratory meals. It makes our lives richer and happier.  Hope you enjoy this pie if you make it and please, if you will- drink a toast to Hattie!