Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Pie Lady

Happy Belated Thanksgiving Everyone!

Brett and I went up to stay with my parents for Thanksgiving and visited with grandparents, cousins, and of course my immediate family.  We had a great time and Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful as usual.  My dad handles the turkey out on the grill, my grandma makes the cornbread dressing and giblet gravy and my mom makes the strawberry salad, green beans, and sweet potato casserole (I'm probably forgetting something else.)  My duty is the pumpkin pie.

I have been making the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie since I was probably 9 or 10 years old.  It has just always been my job.  I will say that I think my pumpkin pie is the best in the world because whenever I get it at a restaurant I am disappointed.  I would love to say that my recipe has all kinds of secret ingredients and a method that I've been perfecting for more than 15 years, but quite frankly, my recipe is anything but secret; you'll find it on the back of the can of Libby's pumpkin puree.  Those people at Libby's know what they're doing.  It is absolutely delicious!


On the Sunday after Thanksgiving I had the honor of making a pecan pie for my grandpa's 80th birthday celebration.  He still has a few days to go before he is actually 80, but we always like to celebrate together.  Happy Birthday Doc!  My mom actually suggested going to buy a pie and since I am on a big "why buy it if you can make it at home" kick I quickly volunteered to do the baking.  Pecan pie is extremely easy (and oooey gooey delicious) so I highly recommend making it.  Here is my grandma's recipe:


Pecan Pie
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup white Karo corn syrup
3 eggs, well beaten
1 unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, butter, and syrup.  Add beaten eggs and pecans.  Mix thoroughly.  Pour into pie crust.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  Cool.

I guess the next step in the pie lady's career is making her own crusts... I'll get there eventually. 

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