Pecan Pie Recipe

Somehow in her years of cooking, my mom has come upon the perfect recipe for pecan pie (and given it to me). It seems to me that, since it's so incredibly easy to make pecan pie, I shouldn't be getting any acclaim for making it, but I get multiple requests in multiple circles to make it every Thanksgiving and Christmas, even from people who don't normally like pecan pie. So just in case you need a super easy, tasty and Southern pie recipe for any of your holiday gatherings, this one should do the trick. Happy eating! (PS - don't even think about counting the calories, just enjoy.)

Southern Pecan Pie

3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1+ tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup pecans
1 9" deep-dish pie crust

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients except pecans (and pie crust) and stir until well blended. Gently stir in pecans. Pour into crust. Bake 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Notes:

• As much as you may be tempted (like me!), don't add extra pecans! 1 1/4 cups is the exact amount that sits flat and beautifully on the top of the pie - any extra will make the top buckle and look ugly.
• The whole "until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean" thing will probably never quite happen, so just stick to the 50-55 minute time period, or a few minutes less if you have a convection oven. I tried waiting until the knife came out clean once, ended up baking the pie for something like 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 hours and ended up with a chewy, sticky mess.
• For the pie crust, homemade is always best, and it's actually not that hard. I would stay away from the recipes that call for vinegar and an egg, though - for some reason the flavor doesn't seem to go well with this pie (although it's great for apple or rhubarb). Recipe follows...

Simple Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening or butter
4-5 Tbsp cold water

Sift flour and salt together; cut in shortening or butter until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp water over part of mixture, toss with a fork and push aside. Continue until all is moistened. Form into a ball. Roll to desired thickness on a floured surface. Makes one (or possibly 1 1/2, depending on how thick you like your crust) single-layered crust.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday
B: yogurt
L: PB&J
D: leftover salad and some other totally random stuff because I didn't plan ahead :)

Tuesday
B: cereal
L: grilled cheese, fruit
D: pasta with asparagus and goat cheese, salad with cucumbers and carrots

Wednesday
B: cereal
L: crepes with lemon curd and whipped cream
D: dinner with family

Thursday
B: pancakes
L: PB&J, fruit
D: potato gnocchi with fontina, pancetta or bacon, green peas, mushrooms and shallots

Friday
B: leftover pancakes
L: grilled cheese, fruit
D: slow cooker Korean short ribs, brown rice, kale or broccoli

Saturday
B: protein shakes
L: open-face quesadillas with jack-o-lantern faces
D: leftovers

Sunday
B: cereal
L: hummus and tortillas
D: more leftovers

Monday
B: yogurt and/or cereal
L: PB&J
D: Slow-cooker Roasted Winter Root Vegetables, oven-roasted chicken

Sugar and Spice...

... and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday
B: yogurt (YoBaby, needs to be eaten since it's a few days past the date...)
L: PB&J, grapes
D: leftover chicken, mashed potatoes (Gavin gets mac & cheese or grilled cheese, since he doesn't like chicken or potatoes - crazy kid!)

Tuesday
B: cereal with milk
L: PB&J or grilled cheese, yogurt
D: grilled eggplant sandwiches with mozzarella and parmesan, corn on the cob

Wednesday
B: pancakes (fresh) or waffles from the freezer
L: tomato sandwich with mozzarella, cucumbers, carrots
D: with family

Thursday
B: cereal with milk
L: ???? (I need some easy lunch ideas!)
D: Cream of carrot soup (recipe from our CSA, we'll see how we like it), bread

Friday
B: leftover pancakes or waffles from freezer
L: hummus and crackers/tortillas, fruit
D: with family again, bringing ???

Saturday
B: eggs, toast
L: ????
D: Enchiladas Suisas, Mexican beans, rice

Sunday
B: cereal with milk
L: quesadillas, fruit
D: leftovers

Ukranian Red Borscht Soup

We have gotten some beautiful red beets in our farmshare for the past few weeks. The only problem? I hate beets. There are very few foods that I truly cannot stand, but beets are one of them. What on earth do you do with beets, then, if you can't stand them? Well, first we gave lots of them to friends. Then, we decided to try making borscht. Amazingly enough, I love borscht even though I hate beets and I'm not a huge fan of cabbage. Here's the recipe in case you find yourself in need of a huge pot of pink soup.

Ukranian Red Borscht Soup
adapted from Allrecipes

16 oz pork sausage
3 medium beets, peeled and shredded
3 carrots, peeled and shredded
3 medium potatoes (any kind is fine), cubed, peeled if you like
1 Tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6oz can tomato paste
3/4 cup water
1/2 medium head cabbage, cored and shredded
8oz can diced tomatoes, drained (or not)
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp white sugar, or to taste
sour cream and fresh dill for garnish

1. Crumble the sausage and cook over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Set aside.
2. Fill a pot with about 2 quarts water and bring to a boil. Add sausage and cover. Return to a boil. Add beets and cook until they have lost (most of) their color. Add carrots and potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Add cabbage and diced tomatoes.
3. Heat oil in a skillet and saute onions until tender. Stir in tomato paste and water until well blended. Transfer mixture to the pot. Add the garlic, cover and turn off the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and sugar.
4. Serve with sour cream and dill on top.

Recipe notes:

• Although you could omit the sausage to make this vegetarian, it really is the biggest flavor-enhancer of the whole dish (besides the dill, see below). I would suggest getting a good-quality sausage that has a little kick. The best pot we made was with "hot" sausage from a 1/2 pig we purchased a few years ago.
• Do not skip the dill. Even if you have to use dried, find some dill! The sour cream is a big deal, too, although I did have to forgo it while Gavin was reacting to my eating dairy and it was still pretty good.

Happy beet-eating!