Pecan Pie with Butter Crust

I have dreams about this pie.  Wicked dreams.  If I had to fight someone for this pie, I would.  And, if we’re talking last piece – it’s on like Donkey Kong.  No joke.  This is a serious pie.  Ever since I made this for Thanksgiving, I have been looking for reasons to make it again everyday since then.  

Oh this pie is the mac daddy of all pies and really just should have a holiday on its own.  Albeit usually seen during Thanksgiving, this pecan pie, my friends, needs a special place at your dining table.  I have held off making this pie in fear that I could not even compete with the store-bought version to which my entire family has grown accustom.  And, using a recipe that lacked corn syrup really made me nervous that people wouldn’t have the nostalgia of the ‘typical’ pecan pie.  Luckily I’m dead wrong and I will be making all pies for all future pie holidays.

Also, it’s not a looker per se, but it’s all substance.  Don’t judge this pie by my evidently rushed pie crust formation.

Oh, and the crust.  It’s the only time that flakey can be a marvelous thing.  It has taken me a while to develop this pie crust and I can say that I’m so happy with it that I declare (yes, declare) that I’ve done it.  Perfectly flakey and light without being too weak to hold oodles of golden brown sugar and toasted pecans.

Pecan Pie

yields 8 servings

Filling adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp half and half
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans and 1/4 cup whole pecans for decorations
• 1 9-inch unbaked pie crust, recipe below

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, and stir in melted butter.  Add in the brown sugar, white sugar and flour, and mix well.
3. Finally, add the half and half, vanilla and nuts.
4. Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell.  Top with pecans for decoration, if using.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
6. Then, reduce temperature of oven to 300F and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Pie Crust

yields one 9-inch crust

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes – keep it chilled
• 4 tbsp ice water

Directions:

1. Sift together the flour, salt and sugar together in a large bowl.  Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal with pea sized pieces of butter.  Pour the water over the mixture and using a fork until the mixture comes together into a ball.
2. Wrap in plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  You can make this dough up to 2 days in advance.
3. Roll out the dough, and place in a pie plate.  Fill and bake.

Nutella Bread Pudding

There are some things that are fairly universally liked.  For example – Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, Steel Magnolias, Jon Hamm, newborn baby smell, and Nutella.  Right now, I’m thoroughly enjoying the latter two.

Binks and I are now enjoying our newest addition to the family, Isaiah.  He looks a little like this right now.

He is perfect.  (Better pictures to come later.)

And, here is my Nutella.

And it is perfect.

When I saw this, I knew I wanted to make it for Thanksgiving dessert.  And, let me tell you, over the pies and through the moon, this dessert went quick!  We barely had any left overs.  And what we had, we enjoyed!

And it worked perfectly for the family gathering.  It wasn’t overly sweet so the parental units were able to enjoy without feeling they were going to into a diabetic coma and the younger adults were able to enjoy Nutella at its finest and most comforting.  I could totally make this and eat this for brunch any day.  Perhaps Christmas morning.

And it could not have been easier to make.

Nutella Bread Pudding
adapted from here

Ingredients:
-  1/2 package of 1-2 day-old Hawaiian sweet bread
-  3/4 cup Nutella
-  1/4 cup pecan halves
-  2 eggs
-  1 cup heavy cream
-  1 tsp vanilla extract
-  1/4 tsp salt
-  powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:
-  Preheat oven to 350F.
-  Roast pecans in a pan for about 5 minutes over med-high heat.  Be careful not to burn.
-  Slice each bread roll in half.  Spread with a heft amount of Nutella.
-  Place in a glass baking dish where there is no empty space after putting in all the sandwiched pieces.
-  Sprinkle roasted pecans over bread pieces.
-  Make custard:  Whisk together eggs,  cream, vanilla, and salt.
-  Pour over the bread pieces.  You can wait a bit (I waited 15 minutes) to make sure the bread pieces are soaked through.
-   Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.  I baked for about 12 because I like my bread pudding a little drier.  The bread pudding should be golden brown on top.
-  Remove from oven and let cool.
-  Prior to serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Post Gobble Gobble + Giveaway

Oh man, oh man!  What a week!  The vacation is coming up in T-3 days and I am getting very excited!!  As should you be because I’m doing my first ever giveaway!

Let’s recap the week.  Well there was Turkey Day! I won’t bore you with the food details, but let’s just say there was plenty!  The best part was that I got to celebrate with the most important people in my life!  Thanksgiving Day was a reminder of how blessed I am to have the family that I do!

If you remember, I contributed the following:  macaroni & cheese, mashed potatoes, strawberry pie and apple pie, and it turned out fabulously!  Let me tell you – the roasted garlic mashed potatoes – TO DIE FOR!  It was the roasted garlic that made it.

Garlic lurve:

I will be using roasted garlic way more than ever now that I know it’s so simple!

I don’t know about you, but I cannot do after-Thanksgiving leftovers.  My MIL made a kick-a$$ turkey but I cannot eat it the next day.  Something about reheated turkey (or chicken) does not work for me.  And luckily, because we’re taking a vacation soon, everyone was less insistent on us taking a boatload of leftovers!

So, for breakfast, I tried out Amy’s breakfast burrito.

and some pears with cinnamon:

Of course pumpkin butter had to be involved

And let’s not forget the answer to the case of the sleepies!

Do I grind my coffee every time I want to drink it?  Heck yes!

And, with all the work from yesterday, I forgot to eat lunch – I never ever thought I’d hear myself saying that.  So, I do what I do best and hit up the salad bar at Jason’s Deli.  I wasn’t kidding when it came to eating color.

Perfect for me and Binks to share

You won’t find anything in this salad except veggies, hummus and some balsamic vinegar!

And, I also got started on this:

Yep!  These are good ole’ dried habaneros!  I plan on grinding them into a fine powder – the uses thereafter are endless (use a tad in some Indian dishes, Mexican dishes, throw in someone’s face, etc.)  You would be surprised how a little goes a long way – not just in spice, but in flavor.

So now for the giveaway!

I have been planning for this vacation since I got engaged to my Binks.  This vacation means more to me than all the other trips we have taken (Rome, France, Tokyo, Chicago, and the list continues)!  And, it’s finally happening!

Can you guess?  If you do, you’ll be the the lucky person to receive a special treat – trust me, it’s a “Good Thing”!

Do you trust me when I say that it’s like eating a cloud of goodness?  What is it?  It’s my all-time favorite fall cookie, an adaptation from the great, the big M herself!  And do you think I’d leave you with just a baked good?  Heck no!

So, the rules:

Leave a comment telling me where you think I’m going (random, I know), and what your all-time favorite vacation location would be.

Tweet about this giveaway, and leave a comment saying you did the same.

All entries made by 11/30/2010 5:00 p.m. CST will be considered.

Make sure you provide your e-mail as I will be e-mailing the winner!

I will annouce the Winner on 12/1/2010 and let you all know where I will be going!  Can’t wait to read your entries!

Good luck!