Thursday, February 18, 2010

Friday is Pieday or Pecan Pie & Golden Gate Bridge...A Love Story

Ok..I know it's only 7pm on Thursday...but it's Friday in Australia!!! 
                                      
Hello friends...guess what day it is???? You all are so darn smart, you make a blog mama proud! Yes friends it is Pieday and today I have a southern sweet treat for you. We are going to bake a rich, satisfying and nutty Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie with Honey Glazed Pecan topping.... now say that ten times fast ;-)
I have a little story to go along with this recipe.."of course she does" you say. Back in the 90's when I lived in Houston, I worked for Continental Airlines. Our Reservations office was home to what seemed like millions of women.. talk about raging hormones! At any given time you could identify at least 78 women PMS-ing and making plans to do away with their husbands and runaway with the pool boy. I also.. left many, many wonderful friends behind when I moved to Virginia (hello Steph, Judy, Veronica...). Ok, back to the pie... we were always having contest in the office and the typical prizes were things like: trips to Mexico, Europe, California and pretty much anywhere Continental flew. Yes we had many travel perks ;-)  Well one 4th of July, they announced a pie baking contest. Of course I had to enter.. that is my kind of challenge. I looked through my many cookbooks and found three pies I liked and could not decide between. I ended up taking the best part of each one and creating a whole new pie. I only baked the one pie and never even got to taste it. Well guess what?............ there you go being smart again! I Won first place! My prize was a trip to San Fransisco w/ accommodations at the beautiful St. Regis Hotel. It was a fabulous trip. Enough talking... let's bake!
                                                  ******click on pic's to enlarge******
For the filling of this pie you will need:
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 3 Tbl melted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla(real..don't you dare use imitation!)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup pecan chopped
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used minis, but any will work)
  • Prepare pie crust according to Feb. 4th 2010 posting. I thought I would do something a little special with this pie. After I placed my dough into my pie pan, I used a small circle cutter to make little round discs. I moistened the crust edge with beaten egg white and gently pressed them into place all around the pie edge. Brushed again with the egg white and sprinkled with sugar. Now doesn't that look so very Martha Stewart?
  •          
  • Next I beat the eggs in a large bowl at low speed until they were blended. With a spoon, stir in your sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla and salt, until blended.
  • Stir in chips and chopped nuts
  • At this point you can embellish the pie with 1 Tbl of good Bourbon or just embellish yourself with the Bourbon... whatever!
  •    
  • For your nut topping you will need
  • 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 3 Tbl butter.. please use real butter... don't make me come over there!
  • 3 Tbl honey
  • 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
  • In a medium saucepan, combine b. sugar, butter and honey.
  • Cook about 2 minutes or until the sugar dissolves, then add the pecans and stir until coated
  • Pour your egg mixture into you pie crust  and bake at 350 degree for 35 min. Cover edge with foil if needed to prevent over browning.
  • Now remove the pie from the oven and carefully spoon the pecan topping over the pie. You can arrange the nut halves to look pretty if you like. 
  • Back in the oven she goes for about 10- 20 minutes or until bubbly and crust is golden
  • See how pretty and professional your crust looks. It makes you look like you know what your doing..they don't need to know the truth ;-)
  • <<<<< does any one know how to get rid of these stupid bullets once you no longer need them!!!
  • Oh Darn..they are following me... go away!
  • <<< Just ignore him like a pesky little brother. I'll put the kettle on, you get out the vanilla bean ice cream and we'll enjoy our pie. Warning: This is a very rich dessert, so little slices are recommended .... do as I say, not as I do!
  • Until next time.. be kind and stay creative and I'll see you back here next week for Pieday! Next week I will be baking a wonderful savory pie, so do come back.

19 comments:

Kelly Ann said...

Yummo......
love the Foodista link...now that is super cool...

Dar said...

OMG Girl, talk about pounds of pleasure...you are so naughty to tempt us with such scrumptious pies....shame on you...but thanks for sharing. How's a girl suppose to lose weight...I put it on just reading the recipe and licking my lips. LOL
God Bless Ya anyway

Wanda..... said...

Janet, I just decided it was time to get back to eating healthy...with Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, & Valentine's day all in the past...and with spring near...but then, pecans are healthy aren't they!!!

OneCraftyFox said...

I got a cavity just looking at it, but I don't care :)

Annie said...

Yummy. This is one I just have to try.
A x

Jennifer Juniper said...

Pull up a chair because I'm comin' over for some pie with you!

Annette said...

Chocolate pecan pie is my favorite! Unfortunately, Mr. Memories doesn't like it and I have been known to eat most of it by myself! However, how can I not try a new version of my favorite?!

Tweed Thoughts said...

Yum, yum, yum!! And it's dinner time here too - aaaargh:D That is the best looking pie I've ever seen - I like Pieday!

Hilary said...

Thanks for your comments Janet!

That pie looks delicious - clever idea for the crust.
haptree :o)

Atelier Conti said...

Oh my golly gosh! That's a keeper.

Grandma Yellow Hair said...

Now I am hungry....Great post
I joined you tonight but I am I loosing it I thought I was already a follower. lol
Maggie

w said...

of course you won that contest.

also. that looks amazing. i'm still waiting for my slice. man. it's been what... 2 weeks now?

Twiglet said...

Wish mine would look like that! So beautiful and I bet its scrummy too!

Sarah AKA The Thriftress said...

That pie sounds amazing! Too bad I'm (sort of) on a diet...

Anonymous said...

HOW DO YOU SAY YUMMY IN AUSTRALIAN????
YUMMY!!!
MARCIA

Ana Popov said...

I like the Foodista link! And this pie recipe sounds great too. I have to make it for my husband - he loves pecans!

Patricia said...

Looks great! I think I can almost smell it!!!
Congratulations!!!
Thanks for sharing!

Patricia

The Little Fox said...

Oooooh that looks delicious!

EVA SB said...

Mmm pecan pie. I really need to make one soon.
I'll have to substitute for corn syrup though because we don't get that here.

No Bourbon either but I'm sure I can find something suitable with which to embellish the cook!