The New Forgotten Holiday

Norman Rockwell's iconic Thanksgiving Saturday Evening Post cover.

I was at the mall just after Halloween and trees were up, Santa’s throne was assembled and “Jingle Bells” was playing in some of the stores. There’s a holiday we’re skipping over in our rush to buy and sell things. It’s called Thanksgiving. You know, it’s about being thankful for the stuff you already have. I know I am turning into that old guy on 60 Minutes, but I’ve got another rant to get off my chest. Just called me Ranty McRanterson – but seriously, what happened to that November holiday called Thanksgiving? Has it been eclipsed by a new holiday called Black Friday? Perhaps it's doomed to suffer the same fate as one of the other forgotten holidays. Arbor Day, anyone? My inbox has been inundated lately with sales offers about advanced Black Friday deals, special Thanksgiving hours and all manner of promotions for “the holidays.” It used to be that Thanksgiving was sacred. The true madness didn’t start until the morning after – if you’re crazy. Now, retail giants like Wal-mart, Target, Best Buy, Toys "R" Us and others are open on Thanksgiving so you can scarf your turkey down and hit the stores. Retail employees must forego any semblance of a holiday break for the next month as we spend ourselves into oblivion.

When I think of Thanksgiving I like to think of the Norman Rockwell painting or a Publix Thanksgiving commercial. I like to think of family gathered around the table sharing a home cooked meal. I think of Granny’s cornbread dressing – that I’m going to attempt to make this year – and a table full of sweets. I like to think of a warm house and lots of stories – of kids running around, the men gathered around a football game (even though I hate football) and the women chatting in the kitchen.  I like to think of Granny’s bright green countertops, the aroma of good food, tables set with dishes of every pattern and a little house filled with a lot of people. Even if you showed up with a store bought pie, there was no shame. I know that’s kind of an idealistic vision and that not everyone has that or can be with family. However, if you can’t be with family, you can be with friends or other human beings in some capacity. It’s a time to step away from the computer and actually carry on a conversation with another real live person.

Thanksgiving is also a time to think about what is important. My neighborhood is reeling right now from the sudden loss of a beloved chef and restaurateur, Ria Pell, who passed away suddenly yesterday. It’s particularly jarring to me because I saw her yesterday at the local farmer’s market. She was right behind me in line chatting with the bread guy. Then, apparently, a few hours later she was gone. Ria was only 44 years old. Her passing is yet another reminder that life is fleeting and fragile. It’s a reminder that we should value time with those we love and, as Ria would appreciate, take time to gather around the table and share a meal.

Tomorrow I will head into the kitchen to get a head start on all the cooking. With the passing of my grandparents this past year, we’ll be embarking on some new traditions. However, as I make Granny’s dressing and Papa’s favorite custard pie, I’ll think of them and we’ll be together. So I will wrap up this diatribe with a plea:  let’s not forget Thanksgiving. The best way to fight the insanity is to stay out of the stores!  And now, I leave you with a Thanksgiving recipe from years past: pecan pie (just click on the picture). If I manage to master Granny’s dressing, I’ll be sure to share it with you next. It’s also the main attraction at Christmas too. 

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Classic Pecan Pie

It's Pie Time (Again)

'Tis the season for pies. Today is apparently National Pie Day, so I could not let this pass without a post. I love pies -- custard pies, nut pies, meat pies -- what have you. And my family loves pies, too. Our Thanksgiving table was filled with pies (and a couple of cakes). My contributions were a pecan pie and a chocolate pie. We also had egg custard pie, French coconut pie, sweet potato pie and, of course, pumpkin pie.

Thanksgiving dessert spread. Yum!

I would love to share the recipe for the chocolate pie, which turned out wonderfully, but I have no idea how I made it. Well, I kind of have an idea, but I'm going to have to go back and try it again to see if I can recreate it. Basically, what happened is that I was trying to make a chocolate chess pie which called for a can of evaporated milk. I was in a rush, as per usual, and wasn't paying attention to the size of can I had. I poured my 12-ounce can of milk into the mix realizing that what I really needed was a 5-ounce can. Oops, time to improvise! I added some cornstarch and a little flour and microwaved it for a few minutes to thicken it. Then I poured it in the shell, crossed my fingers and said a little pie prayer. It ended up turning out to be a thick, dense, chocolatey custard just like I had hoped. However, it was ugly (bad ugly). So, I made some whipped cream and spread it on top -- and threw a few chocolate chips for good measure. Every single bite was devoured.

Now, to the pecan pie -- the star of the show in my mind. Being a Georgia girl, naturally, I love pecans. I say "pa-kahn," some people pronounce it "pee-can." How do you say it? Pecan pie is one of my all time favorite pies and an absolute must for Thanksgiving -- and Christmas, too. This year I think I made my best pecan ever. I cannot tell you how to make the crust because I am a failure at such things. I'm working on it. I even tried to cheat and use refrigerated pie crust and I couldn't even handle that without it breaking apart and causing a great deal of cursing. I ended up sending  my husband on an emergency mission to the store for some pie shells. I know, I know -- they aren't as tasty, they have bad things in them -- but sometimes you have to just keep your sanity. I did hand shell the pecans. Talk about losing one's sanity! Fresh-shelled pecans do taste remarkably fresher, though. Just be prepared to do a lot of digging.

Pecan Pie 

9-inch deep dish pie crust (homemade or frozen)
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup corn syrup (I like to use half dark and half light)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups pecans (halves or pieces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pie shell on a metal cookie sheet. Melt butter in a microwave safe mixing bowl. Whisk in corn syrup, sugar, salt and vanilla. Slowly beat in eggs until mixture is smooth. Place pecans on the bottom of pie crust and pour filling over them. (Don't worry, the pecans will rise.)

Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes. If you find the crust is getting too brown, cover pie loosely with foil and continue baking. It's somewhat tricky to know when it's done, but look for it to be firm but still a little jiggly in the center. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Tips and Tricks

• Consider using a mix of dark and light corn syrups for a nice balance of flavors. However, if I had to pick one, I'd go with the dark. 
• Using brown sugar as opposed to white sugar gives it a great caramel flavor. Again, dark is my favorite. This is the first time I used brown sugar for pecan pie and results were fantastic. 
• I must give credit to the October/November issue of Garden and Gun magazine for the idea of using brown sugar and placing the pecans on the bottom which allows them to get fully coated and toasted with the delicious sugary filling. The cover of the magazine featured a beautiful pecan pie from Wildflour Pastry in Charleston, South Carolina. While it did not contain the recipe, the article did contain these two tricks.

I hope all of you here in the U.S. had a wonderful pie-filled Thanksgiving. Happy Pie Day!

Peach Cobbler, The Lazy Girl's Pie

Today is a pie party! Thanks to Shauna Ahern, the Gluten Free Girl, bloggers, bakers and home cooks across the country are sharing their pie recipes today. Search for "pie party" on Facebook and you'll see what I mean. You will find all kinds of insipiration -- fruit pies, custard pies, nut pies, gluten-free pies, vegan pies, extremely non-vegan pies -- pies. Since I made a pie yesterday for our Fourth of July festivities, I thought I would join in on the fun.



Peach cobbler served warm with ice cream -- my favorite!



For some reason, many years ago, baking a peach cobbler on the Fourth of July became a tradition for me. Maybe it's because peaches are perfectly in season here in Georgia. Maybe it's because peach cobbler is an excellent foundation for a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day. Maybe it's because it's a Georgia version of "American as apple pie." I'm not sure, but when I think of the Fourth, I think of peach pie.

Cobbler is the perfect pie for me, let's call it the lazy girl's pie. There's little mixing, no rolling, crimping, layering -- none of that business. The hardest part it holding on the slippery peeled peaches while you cut them into slices. Many cobblers have a biscuit topped crust, and apparently its "cobbled" appearance gave cobbler its name. The deep dish pie traces its roots back to Colonial America where it was prepared in Dutch ovens over an open fire. So maybe it is more patriotic to eat cobbler instead of pie on the Fourth of July since it is truly an American dish!

There are many different varations on cobbler and it's adaptable to almost any fruit. You may also see it called a slump, grunt or pandowy. Some have rolled crusts, others a drop biscuit type topping. The recipe I use is based on my Grandmama's simple recipe -- you can probably find it in every Southern church cookbook under the sun. It's the version where you just dump everything in the pan and let the crust rise over the fruit. The end result is gooey, buttery, peachiness with a cake-like crust. Did I mention, it's magic?

This:

Turns into this:

Easy Peach Cobbler

1/2 cup butter

1 cup all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup plain, 1/2 cup white whole wheat)

1 cup sugar, divided

1 tablespoon baking powder

Salt (just a pinch)

1 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

4 cups fresh peach slices

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

Melt butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish or a round deep dish casserole. Combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk and vanilla, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir). In a separate bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice; pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired. Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.

* A note about peaches. Use the ripest and sweetest ones you can find. If you find that your peaches are a little tart, add 1/2 cup more sugar to your sliced peaches before pouring the mixture over the batter.

 

Enjoy, and Happy Pie Day!

Of Blogs and Pies

I just returned from my first blogging conference and am so amazed and impressed by the world of Southern food bloggers. My friend Niki (of Life in Recipes) and I jumped in the car on Friday afternoon and headed to Birmingham for FoodBlog South. We skipped the pre-party in lieu of laying in the hotel room, eating pizza, drinking wine and watching an expensive hotel movie. I tell you, this is a mother’s fantasy night away! Am I right?

We arrived at the conference on Saturday morning and met so many wonderful people who are passionate about food and preserving Southern foodways. I feel proud to be a newbie in this emerging field of writing where anyone can share – and we can all learn from one another. I plan on writing more about this later and share some of the blogs, organizations and personalities you should definitely check out.

However, seeing that is National Pie Day, I must write about pies for a moment. First of all, were you aware that there is a National Pie Day and an American Pie Council? I was not, but I think they are awesome and I wish they would hire me. According to experts, pies are the “new cupcake” – the next big food trend that will sweep the nation this year. Not that I ever think cupcakes will be passé, but I am happy to see the humble pie get its due.

In honor of National Pie Day, I made a buttermilk pie based off my mother’s egg custard pie recipe. Well, it’s kind of a hybrid. I LOVE buttermilk pie – the sweetness and tanginess of the custard on top of a buttery crust. We didn’t have a lot of buttermilk pies growing up because my papa always preferred egg custard pies. We have to have at least one every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Basically it’s the same concept – a sweet custard but with “sweet milk” instead of buttermilk. Egg custard tends to have nutmeg in it as well (but you can leave it out if you are not a fan like me).

Tonight I decided to see if you can make a delicious hybrid – a touch of tangy buttermilk, but maybe a little less sugar and a bit more “egginess.” I have to say that it turned out pretty well. I think buttermilk is still my favorite because almost cheesecake like flavor, but if you want something a little lighter – a little less rich, this in-between egg custard/buttermilk pie fits the bill. Here’s the recipe:

Buttermilk Egg Custard Pie

2 tbsp. butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup milk
3 tbsp. flour (I used white whole wheat)
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
Grated orange or lemon zest (just a bit, until it feels right)

Melt butter and mix together with sugar, milks and flour. Add eggs, vanilla and zest and beat until smooth and well mixed. Pour into 9-inch deep dish pie crust. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Lower oven temp to 325 and bake for 30-40 minutes more until top is puffy and set.

Now, I know I am going to get beaten up for not making my own pie crust, but I was in a hurry. Plus, I have to admit that I’m a little afraid of homemade pie crusts. It is a fear I plan to conquer very soon as I know homemade is far superior and less greasy.

Another quick thing to note is the trickiness of custard. I am still working on getting the perfect texture – sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. Custards tend to curdle if overcooked, but then if undercooked they can be kind of runny or watery. My best advice is to take it out when the top is golden brown, puffy and set – though still a little “jiggly.” It will continue to cook as it cools. And you want it to completely cool before you cut into it. I personally love it cold out of refrigerator the next day.

Happy baking and more on blogs and pies to come!