Pecan Pie Recipe
I have one great pecans in the shell that I got at the farmers market, from the biggest/bet pecan grower in IL. I am looking for a good pecan pie recipe where you use pecan halves instead of chopped pecans and that isn’t gag-you sweet. I had the best pecan pie of my life at a memorial for an old friend last year, but I am not calling her husband for the recipe for the pie he baked for her memorial. I don’t want something from google, but if any of you have a tried-and-true pecan pie recipe, that will make me happy.
Pet Calendar Reminders
It’s not too late to get your pet pics in. Plus, there are issues with photos from about 20 of you guys, so please go to this thread to see if you are one of those 20 people. Please reply there if you are one of the 20.
Governor of Maine (and MomSense second cousin) Needs Our Help
Flash Fundraising: Fighting Back Against Last-Minute Dark Money Ads in Maine
Anything You’ve Been Wanting to Ask the BJ Hive Mind?
Here’s mine:
I’m on a Mac running Mojave and I use Safari. My ad blocking stopped blocking YouTube ads and it’s making me crazy. Is there anything I can use? You can’t use Ublock with the recent versions of Safari.
Nicole
Thank you for the reminder about checking the Pet Pics thread! I just saw your comment to me this morning- I’d be honored if you ran the note about Ripley. It was very cathartic to write it. :)
sdhays
I prefer this Mark Bittman recipe for Pecan Pie. No corn syrup. Delicious.
pat
I use adblockplus, I send them a couple bucks a month.
OK, now I have to make sure that you have Pablo’s picture ready to go. I remember there were some problems with what I sent originally, but you said it was all OK when I got the right stuff sent. A long time ago…………………..
2liberal
Games with Twitter nyms
oatler
@oatler:
interesting:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/nov/06/i-learned-so-much-about-life-and-love-from-my-cat-that-when-she-died-i-had-her-freeze-dried
WaterGirl
@Nicole: Oh, good!
@sdhays: Hmm, that one looks interesting.
WaterGirl
@oatler: That sounds hideous, I can’t bring myself to look at that.
Why would anyone freeze-dry a cat they loved?
sdhays
@oatler: Whatever that’s about, the headline is Onion-worthy.
TaMara
Had a laugh with my youngest brother the other day. We are all getting together for Thanksgiving, including the FL family, so everyone is ridiculously excited. It’s going to be a fight to see who gets to make what, because both my brothers and I love to cook.
I get to make the mincemeat pie, which is my dad’s favorite, and I’m sure will be nothing like what my mom made, but I’ll give it a shot. My brother said, “we’re having all the pies! Apple, cherry, pumpkin!” I said that sounds good, my favorite is blueberry, but I’m fine with a good apple pie, no need to include a blueberry.
His reply, “nope, we’re having blueberry pie then, too”
I just had this vision of a table filled with a pie for each of the ten of us. We’ll just roll ourselves home after that. But no one will be disappointed this year.
trollhattan
@2liberal: Well played, person who was once a household name, well played.
(Not snark, have not heard her name in decades.)
WaterGirl
@TaMara: That sounds lovely.
Do you have a good pecan pie recipe?
MagdaInBlack
@TaMara: I’m all in favor of a “pie only” Thanksgiving. Ice cream allowed, as a pie condiment.
TaMara
@WaterGirl: I wish I had a good pecan pie recipe for you, but usually they are, as you said, terribly sweet, I’ve never bothered.
But if you still have some leftover, pecan cookies are yummy.
And despite being rolled in powdered sugar, not horribly sweet.
TaMara
@trollhattan: She’s always on fire on twitter, fun stuff. This is just brilliant
sab
@TaMara: Blueberry pie is wonderful but so wrong for Thanksgiving! Not in season!
WaterGirl
@TaMara: I love russian tea cakes!
WaterGirl
@sab: Sorry, but no pie is ever wrong because of the season.
Juice Box
I have no pie recipe, but the last time I ate a good one, the pecans had clearly been toasted first.
sab
@WaterGirl: Silly person. Thanksgiving is a Harvest Festival. Of course it is seasonal.
I can’t type on my mobile.
ETA My husband wants pumpkin, but we still have apples. Lots of apples. I should chop and freeze for winter pies.
MomSense
@sdhays:
The one I make is similar, but I don’t toast the pecans first and I always add extra pecans. I think the toasting is unnecessary because they get plenty toasted from baking.
If you are looking for a simple salad that will use up your extra pecans I make one that is really easy and delicious.
Mixed greens with arugula, one thinly sliced apple (I like honey crisp), chopped pecans, thinly sliced shallot, chèvre and a balsamic vinaigrette. So simple and tasty.
Another Scott
CookLikeYourGrandmother.com – How to make Sorghum Pecan Pie sounds like it might be what you’re looking for.
I haven’t tried it myself – I know the proprietor from another corner of the intertubes.
Cheers,
Scott.
rikyrah
I am a sweets person. I have a big sugar tooth. I love me some dessert.
That said, I honestly have to ask…
How do you eat an entire slice of pecan pie?
The only thing I put into my mouth that was sweeter than pecan pie is an Indian dessert that I can’t remember the name.
I literally have only had one bite of pecan pie in my life. I couldn’t imagine anything tasting like pure sugar like it did.
So, I do ask…how do those of you who eat pecan pie do it?
Amir Khalid
@trollhattan:
You’ve never heard of Wolfgang Van Halen’s mother?
Scout211
I loved Mojave but my MS Word stopped updating with that OS. I am now on Monterey and really like the upgrade. There are so many apps and security features that will not update with Mojave so it might be time for you to upgrade, at the very least to Big Sur. Mr. Scout has a Mac book and desk top Mac running Big Sur and MS Word updates with that OS.
My two cents, for what it’s worth.
Dorothy A. Winsor
An Irish friend once asked me if we really eat turkey, pumpkin pie, etc. on Thanksgiving, or if that was just a TV trope. She’d been fooled one too many times
sab
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Of course not. It’s just another Thursday.
MomSense
@rikyrah:
I don’t eat the kind that uses corn syrup and is mostly jelly like nastiness with barely two pecans per piece.
Miss Bianca
@oatler: Does it count that when my cat died (at age 18, and I had had her from kittenhood), I was so depressed that I kept her body in the freezer for months? Till my (now ex) husband came home from his band tour and buried her in the backyard. (One of the reasons I was so depressed was that he was on the road for three months and I was stuck at home dealing with All The Shit, including the death of my beloved cat.)
Sure Lurkalot
@TaMara: A good friend used to host Franksgiving (Thanksgiving dinner on the Friday after) for her large extended family and friends. Her niece and later, grandnieces too, would bake ALL THE PIES. And a friend would bring her much loved chocolate pie (which truly was like a candy bar). An entire table full of pies with both plain and bourbon spiked whipped cream.
She stopped doing it a few years back…it got too much what with making several turkeys and stuffings and an ailing spouse. It was always a bunch of fun.
Betsy
@rikyrah: Well, pretty narrow slices are traditional for pecan pie, at least in my several decades of experience in the pecan pie region of the country.
To serve a regular pie-sized slice is usually a huge waste of good pie.
A pecan pie can really serve about twelve people. It’s basically like candy, so a sliver is enough for most people.
Folks experienced with pecan pie know this and start by offering narrow slices. It’s when people are unaccustomed to it and automatically carve off an apple-pie-sized slice that the trouble occurs (“trouble”).
They are known for being super sweet though. (I think it’s the combination of sweet and rich that really does folks in.)
rikyrah
Thread
Prentiss J. Haney (@prentisshaney) tweeted at 8:53 AM on Sat, Nov 05, 2022:
No matter what happens on election night in OH know this. The DeLoach Family pictured here made the difference in black voter turnout in SW Ohio. Through relational organizing, they have recruited over 1k volunteers & had them reach out to over 20k friends & family in Cincinnati.
Prentiss J. Haney (@prentisshaney) tweeted at 9:04 AM on Sat, Nov 05, 2022:
The DeLoach family has been talking to their social networks & have reached scale to a level most campaigns would hope to achieve. And because of the multigenerational nature of their family (youngest pictured here in early 20s/oldest in their late 50s). The reach is wide. /3
Prentiss J. Haney (@prentisshaney) tweeted at 9:04 AM on Sat, Nov 05, 2022:
The DeLoach family has been talking to their social networks & have reached scale to a level most campaigns would hope to achieve. And because of the multigenerational nature of their family (youngest pictured here in early 20s/oldest in their late 50s). The reach is wide. /3
Prentiss J. Haney (@prentisshaney) tweeted at 9:07 AM on Sat, Nov 05, 2022:
And the data shows it! Here a visualization of our over 50k relational contacts this year. The purple circles section are the overlapping relationships of the DeLoach Family. The friends and family that are reaching are getting multiple high quality voter engagement touches. /4 https://t.co/ws5J72L2ZE
(https://twitter.com/prentisshaney/status/1588895886721290241?s=02)
Scout211
@Scout211: Added:
It looks like you can use Ublock with Chrome for Mac. You might want to try that first. We are Mac OS and iOS people here and use both Safari and Chrome. It’s worth a try to see if you can use the UBlock program.
Nicole
@TaMara:
“There’s too much pie!”
Said no one ever.
Mincemeat was my grandfather’s favorite. :) Especially when served with a slice of cheddar cheese on top.
Betsy
I like a friend’s family tradition, which is to have Pie Day on Thanksgiving Wednesday – the bakers in the family get together at one sister’s kitchen (one or two or them having shopped for everyone’s needed ingredients in advance) and make all the pies all day, so that’s out of the way for T-Day cooking. Also a jolly time to be together. Tends to concentrate the distaff side of the family and they like that aspect, too.
TaMara
@WaterGirl: I just looked at that pecan pie recipe – and I don’t see why you couldn’t cut the granulated sugar down – use 3/4 cup instead of a full cup- and not notice a difference. The brown sugar is going to give you the body you need, so no need to have all that white sugar.
Just a thought. I cut the granulated sugar down in cookies all the time, while keeping the brown sugar at the recipe amount.
Betsy
@sab: The neigjbors heard me shriek. Thanks for the LOL :)
Miss Bianca
@Nicole: Mincemeat is my favorite too! I have a bag in the freezer for this winter – I like to make little tarts, instead of a whole pie.
The “cheddar on top” approach was the way my dad loved his apple pie. :)
Betsy
@rikyrah: WOW.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: There are two things that matter to me that I have to give up if I upgrade. So i keep holding off. One of these days something will stop working and I’ll have to do it, but I’m not there yet. :-)
Ohio Mom
Pecan pie is not something I like or care about but if you goggle “not too sweet pecan pie” there sure are a lot of recipes to choose from. “Too sweet” is clearly a common complaint.
I felt like I was coming down with something last night and today I definitely have something. Going to have to force myself to take a Covid test and give up pretending I have a mere head cold. I’ll report back.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: I’m with MomSense. You have to use more pecans and less sweet stuff.
Damn, the pecan pie at the memorial was the best I have ever had. Not too sweet.
Omnes Omnibus
@Nicole: @Miss Bianca: Woohoo! Mincemeat!
MomSense
@Nicole:
My grandfather loved mincemeat, too. He always put cheddar on his mincemeat and apple pie. I miss making pies for him.
Anonymous At Work
Best way to cut the taste of sugar in Thanksgiving sides and desserts is with my patented Triple Volcano Ghost Pepper Stuffing. Sweet, salty, sour, bitter? After a spoonful of stuffing, you won’t have a sense of taste for at least 12 days, possibly permanently.*
*Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico Bureaus of Tourism do not accept any legal responsibility for the effects of the recipe.
zhena gogolia
I make Fannie Farmer’s pecan pie recipe, and it is unfailingly delicious, but I’m not recommending it because there seems to be an orthodoxy that corn syrup is the stuff of the Devil. I don’t see what’s wrong with a little corn syrup in your pie that you eat once a year
And I just use less sugar than the recipe recommends.
Baud
@rikyrah:
👍
Everett
@sdhays: Great recipe!
I also like this one from King Arthur’s.
Nicole
@rikyrah: Growing up near Pennsylvania Dutch country (and descended from PA Dutch), shoofly pie was a big thing growing up. Talk about excessively sweet! The best way I could think of to describe it to people who’d never had it was pecan pie minus the pecans.
(I do like a teeny tiny sliver now and then, but more for the nostalgia factor than anything else. I did not like it as a child.)
zhena gogolia
@zhena gogolia: And there are lots of pecans in it so the corn syrup is just the binder.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: High fives all round! Man, I miss the little local grocery store in Canon City where I used to get my mincemeat – they made it fresh.
Now that little store is a combo game-processing plant/archery range. I haven’t stopped in to ask if they still have mincemeat.
narya
@Nicole: I’ll have to check my recipe (which is my mom’s); I don’t remember it being excessively sweet. I love shoofly pie, and have been known to eliminate the crust and adjust to make muffins with the filling. Mmmmmmm
ETA: I have made my own mincemeat a couple of times, especially one year when I was visiting my parents. Dad loves mincemeat pie, but no one else does, so it was more for him than anything.
mali muso
@Everett: I always start any recipe search at KAF. They not only have quality recipes but detailed instructions and live chat help that I’ve totally hit up and benefited from.
Current status: using up a surplus of avocados that I got in a flat-rate “veggie box” from the grocery. Just made some avocado brownies (smell good, have to wait to taste them and see if they will fool the kiddo), batch of guacamole, and chopped up and am freezing the rest for future use.
My mom’s family is from Louisiana, so pecan pie is a must for holidays. And it’s always tooth-achingly sweet and sumptuous. nom!
Ohio Mom
@Ohio Mom: Crap, the tell-tale pink line appeared.
I don’t feel that must worse than I did after my Shingles shot but I think I will leave a message for my internist anyway. Don’t want my asthma to kick in.
Glidwrith
@rikyrah: One delicious, roll it around your tongue and hold it in your mouth at a time.
ETA: swallow, maybe a sip of milk and repeat. Sigh in sugary sweet bliss.
Another Scott
@2liberal:
(via DougJBalloon)
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Ohio Mom:
Take care of yourself!
Nicole
@narya: If you have a less sweet shoofly recipe, I’m all for learning it! It probably varies; it was reeeaaaallllly sweet when I had it- my grandfather liked cheddar cheese on shoofly, also, and I suspect it was to cut the sweetness.
(Though, as I think back I’m starting to think the man just liked cheddar cheese on everything. ;) I miss him. )
MomSense
@Ohio Mom:
OH NO! If you can get paxlovid it is worth it. Hope you feel better.
trollhattan
@rikyrah: My SIL is a world-class baker, pecan pie included. Since there’s inevitably a second pie I get one mini-slice from both (call it one hour each, from the clock face). That is about as much pecan pie as I can manage in one sitting.
Agree that a full slice is quite the caloric mountain to climb.
Another Scott
@Ohio Mom: Good luck!!
Cheers,
Scott.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: My friend who is master baker makes chocolate pecan pie it is not as sweet.
What was Indian dessert that you ate? Not all Indian desserts are toothachingly sweet but some can be.
Usually Indian desserts are not eaten by themselves but as a part of meal. That mitigates some of the overly sweet notes.
Miss Bianca
@Ohio Mom: Oh, awk! That’s rotten. Hope you make it through with minimal discomfort.
oatler
@sdhays:
I, too, was struck by the Klickbaitzugkeit of it.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: The only problem with that is that I absolutely hate Chrome
I’m looking for a solution with Safari.
mali muso
@schrodingers_cat: I would guess gulab jamun. Sooo sweet! But I love it.
Nicole
@Ohio Mom: I’m so sorry! Did you say if is this your first go with Covid?
I know so many people who got it for the first time this autumn. Like, in the double digits of people I know. I was just texting with one yesterday; she said the paxlovid really helps her with the symptoms.
WaterGirl
@TaMara: I will definitely try that with the pecan pie. I do that when I make cinnamon apples, too. I do it because I want less sugar and brown sugar always seems richer to me, but I had no idea that brown sugar contributes body. Glad to know that!
I will definitely up the pecans, too. Do you think 1.5 times as many pecans would throw things off too much?
Alison Rose
If you need a good laugh, this dude did a video called “If dog breeds were people” and it’s fucking hilarious. My favorites are the Chihuahua, Great Dane, Doberman, and the French Bulldog :)
WaterGirl
@Ohio Mom: Fingers crossed for you. (that was before you took the test.)
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
I made this with a simple syrup I made with brown sugar (twice as much sugar as usual for thicker syrup) in place of the dark corn syrup. I had whole pecans the first time I made it, so that’s what I used, but crumbling them a little makes them fit better. The real secret is the cinnamon. You don’t taste it, but it takes the pie to another level, and cuts the sweetness. (also I use Pillsbury crust, not this recipe. What can I say, I’m lazy).
My Favorite Pecan Pie Recipe
This is my favorite pecan pie recipe for many reasons. A little cinnamon, vanilla, melted butter, toasty pecans, homemade flaky crust… I could go on and on. Classic and simple, traditional and sweet.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Make ahead tip/Freezing: Pecan pie is a wonderful dessert to make ahead of time. You can get started by combining all the filling ingredients (except the pecans) one day ahead of time. Keep it covered tightly in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the pie. You can also make the pie dough 1-5 days in advance since it needs to chill. If you want to bake the pie 1 full day in advance, bake it as directed, allow it to completely cool, then cover tightly and keep at room temperature until ready to serve the next day. Baked pie freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: That looks interesting, too!
Alison Rose
Also, since we’re talking about pie, anyone else on the West Coast a fan of ollalieberry pie? Holy hell. When I lived in Santa Cruz, there was a vegetarian diner that served it, and we’d always get it warm and a la mode, and it was amazing. I’m not sure if you can get ollalieberries outside of Oregon and California, and maybe Washington? But if you can track it down, do so. They’re similar to blackberries, but are more of a cross between those and raspberries, and they’re bigger and sweeter, and have more of a fruity flavor. Yum.
J R in WV
People talking about using sugar in pecan pie are already way off track.
Long ago I quit using karo or any brand of corn syrup, because today you can get pure Maple syrup at most any good big grocery store, and that’s what I use in my pecan pie, and the only sweetness needed. Otherwise I use the Joy of Cooking pecan pie recipe, substituting Maple syrup for the cane syrup.
It’s just as good with black walnuts instead of pecans, actually. I have won a lot of first place prizes at pie baking contests at fall end of summer parties around our rural hippy neighborhood. People would say “But MY pie uses whole wheat flour~!” and I would reply “So does mine!” You need to sift whole wheat flour more than traditional white flour, for one trick.
WaterGirl
@Everett: I don’t know why I didn’t think to look at King Arthur Flour for a recipe. They are my go-to for a lot of recipes, especially sweets.
Vinegar! I never would have guessed that!
Ohio Mom
@MomSense: Just called the doctor on call and he is calling in Paxlovid prescription. Ohio Dad will pick it up, he is still testing negative.
Next up, trying to figure out sleeping arrangements. The guest bed is buried under unfinished projects. Might be sleeping on the couch the next few days.
I am taking heart that very many people I know (including some here) have had Covid and got better.
WaterGirl
@Ohio Mom: Well, shit. Not what we wanted!
MagdaInBlack
@J R in WV: OMG black walnut pie. I can only imagine how wonderful that must be.
WaterGirl
@trollhattan: Have you called your sister to get the recipe to post here yet?
…
How about now? :-)
WaterGirl
@KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager)): That’s intriguing, too. Especially making your own simple syrup with brown sugar – I assume that replaces the dark corn syrup?
Barbara
@zhena gogolia: I’ve seen recipes substituting honey or maple syrup, generally without additional granulated sugar, and that have more “flavor” ingredients, like orange zest or bourbon. My mother never made pecan pie and I never developed the taste for it. I might try one of those recipes, but I would be more likely to make caramelized pecans and serve them as part of a sweet potato casserole. I feel like the taste of the nuts just gets buried in the sugar storm that is the hallmark of most pecan pies.
Geminid
@sab:
@WaterGirl:
“I’m as corny as Kansas in August,
I’m as normal as blueberry pie.”
Barbara
@Nicole: On a par with treacle pie . . .
J R in WV
@MagdaInBlack:
YES! You can mix the two kinds of nuts if you want. My grandfather loved hickory nuts in baked nut bread, they are so much work to gather, crack open, and pick the nut meat out of that so hard shell.
He had a tiny anvil made of RR track steel, and a little hammer he would hit it once and it would open up. Then he used an old fashioned hat pin to dig the meat out of the shell. Some day I intend to make a pecan pie recipe with hickory nuts instead!
My grandfather was raised in farm country in NE Ohio, was a Swiss immigrant, didn’t speak English until in grade school. Was orphaned at a young age, and found a job on a nearby farm. In late fall when harvest was over, they went into the woods and gathered nuts.
He had climbed a hickory tree and was jumping on a branch to knock down more nuts, when the branch broke, he fell quite farand broke his right thigh, which then developed gangrene, and he lost his leg at the hip, was sent to the county orphanage when he healed up, and taught to be a printer’s devil and type setter by hand.
Eventually he became a well to do newspaper man, a long but interesting story. Amazing that he still loved hickory nuts after that fall at the age of 11.
Another Scott
Remember the Janet Mills thermometer (Fighting Dark Money Ads Against the Governor of Maine), folks. It would be great to get this done soon so that it has the best impact.
Cheers,
Scott.
Donate
schrodingers_cat
@mali muso: The syrup should provide the sweetness not the gulab jamun themselves. BTW I think many Indian restaurants used prepared canned stuff which is just sweet and has no complexity.
The karanjis I make for Diwali are not too sweet.
MomSense
@Ohio Mom:
I’m glad you are getting the paxlovid. My mom didn’t think she needed it because she wasn’t that bad but I think it didn’t get worse because I made her take paxlovid.
Please rest even when you think you feel better and maybe download an easy/beach book type audio book. I found it hard to even watch tv with the fatigue and brain fog.
RaflW
@rikyrah: My dad’s fiancee (now widow) grew up in north Texas. She swears she makes her pecan pie — pronounced pea-CAN paaah* — from the karo syrup label, but hers is the only one I like.
I suspect she’s extra generous with the pecans, and her crust is a bit saltier than many, so it balances out.
Also, while I think an 8″ pie pan makes 6 servings of fruit pie, it serves at least 8, maybe 10 people if it’s a pecan pie.
*Kidding, slightly. She’s let her small town accent soften over the decades.
MagdaInBlack
@J R in WV: I was thinking about hickory nuts too. When I was a kid, we had 2 big hickory trees near the house, and I spent a lot of time cracking and picking. My grandmother once talked of evenings spent picking walnut meats til she had jars full. When I was married, we had a big walnut tree on the “farm” and I did the same.
dww44
@zhena gogolia:
Yep, a bottle of Karo Corn syrup was always in the pantry of my Mom and all of my aunts on both sides. Both the light and the dark stuff. Also no one ever made their version of pecan pie without using the halves. The chopped pecans versions came later with the addition of other stuff… like chocolate.
Pecan pie is sweet, but it is spouse’s favorite pie and he’s not a big sweet eater. I think a lot of what one loves is what one had growing up and here in this part of the South pecan pie recipes all use Karo syrup. The more pecans that one puts in the less sweet it becomes and agree that the syrup is the binder.
zhena gogolia
@Barbara: Not mine. The nuts are crunchy (because she has you bake it on a high heat for the first ten minutes) and very much evident in the flavor.
zhena gogolia
@dww44: Yeah. I’ve had the more “postmodern” versions and they seem just as sweet to me and not as focused on the nuts.
RandomMonster
Rumor has it there are layoffs at our company tomorrow. 8% of the workforce, over 3,000. Wish me luck!
Baud
@RandomMonster:
Good luck.
TaMara
@Anonymous At Work: Okay, that made me laugh.
TaMara
@Ohio Mom: Oh, I’m sooo sorry. I blew through 3 covid tests this week because I felt crappy, but no line.
May your symptoms be mild and a negative test soon.
WhatsMyNym
@WaterGirl:
Don’t use it? /s
Seriously, try Brave or Firefox.
Frankensteinbeck
@rikyrah:
The little brown balls in syrup? Which I guess is ‘gulab jamun’? I only tried those once. I couldn’t handle it. I’ve never tasted anything so sweet. I’ve never tasted anything even close to that sweet. For someone with an actual sweet tooth those must be heaven, but for me it was way, way too much.
Kathleen
@rikyrah: I just saw this on Al Giordano’s TL. Isn’t this a fantastic story? Makes me more proud to be in Cincinnati.
WaterGirl
@Alison Rose: Never heard of them, but now I want some of that pie.
Kathleen
@Ohio Mom: I had Covid back in May and I’m fine! Hoping you have an easy and swift recovery.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@RandomMonster: That’s nerve wracking. Good luck
TaMara
@J R in WV: That sounds yum! I make a walnut-maple topping for ice cream, pancakes, whatever, so I can imagine that pie would be amazing.
Barbara
@Ohio Mom: I hope your symptoms are as mild as mine were. I think any possible medical complication like asthma would be reason enough to call the doctor.
WaterGirl
@RaflW: Saltier crust is an interesting idea.
narya
@Nicole: I just tried to find it, and . . . the only thing I found was the muffins, which had a lot of sugar. I’ll keep looking, though; I know the pie recipe must be around somewhere, or I’ll just get it from my mom.
I have at least THREE notebooks where I’ve collected and rewritten various recipes. Each time, I think, oh, this will be The One, and I won’t need all the others. And then I start creating more post-it notes with this or that new recipe (I stick them on the cabinets over the counter as I cook), and some get shoved into a notebook, some stay stuck to the cabinet . . . whenever I want a recipe, I have to go to so many locations, and, if it’s something I’ve made a lot, I’m never sure whether the “best” version is this one or that one or whatever. This is amplified by my habit of adjusting recipes on the fly (e.g., reducing the sugar or butter) and not making a note. I keep thinking I”m going to change this habit, but evidence suggests otherwise.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: Yeah, I make a fairly salty crust too. It’s the Fannie Farmer tart crust recipe, but I used salted butter instead of unsalted.
Steeplejack
@TaMara:
I love mincemeat pie. It seems to be a dying tradition, but it was just a normal thing growing up in my Crackro-American family. Right in there with pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.
WaterGirl
@dww44: It looks like the recipe linked early (Mark Bittman’s recipe) doesn’t use syrup but it uses 5 eggs instead of 3. I guess the eggs there are doing the binding?
Steeplejack
@trollhattan:
Valerie Bertinelli has a pretty popular cooking show on the Food Network.
Dangerman
Can’t really help with a recipe …
… but does pecan pie use honey? I got some Manuka Honey at Costco the other day. It is insanely good. Bye bye regular honey (except during hay fever season where the locsl raw honey trick works for me).
WaterGirl
@RandomMonster: That’s distressing. That happened at the University I worked at for much of my career – year after year there were cuts, and you knew they were coming but you didn’t know whether you were going to be one of them.
On year 9 of that I said fuck it, took early retirement and hung out my own shingle.
It was so not fun, the wondering totally sucks.
Suzanne
My favorite dessert I ever made was apple tarte tatin, served with mascarpone on the side.
I kind of think traditional Thanksgiving food is lame (hot take: YOUR TURKEY SUCKS), so I might make tarte tatin again, because FUCK IT I LIKE IT.
Pete Mack
@sdhays:
Yeah, no custard, or 1/2 amount of molasses (not corn syrup) custard. Especially with dark chocolate added.
RandomMonster
@Dorothy A. Winsor: @Baud: @WaterGirl: Just what I need right before the election!
Thank you for the well wishes.
Steeplejack
@rikyrah:
It’s possible to make not-too-sweet pecan pie. That’s why I stick to home or family versions. I never order it out and about.
I also make a sweet-potato side dish that is not too sweet and doesn’t get within a mile of marshmallows. I put a crust of walnuts or pecans on top that is really nice.
Jess
Ad blocking: I use Brave browser and have been pretty happy with it.
WaterGirl
@Suzanne: Can you share your recipe for that? I thought it sounded good last time you mentioned it. I googled and there are a lot of different versions.
Would love to have yours.
WaterGirl
@RandomMonster: Not to mention that companies do this shit right before the holidays.
That must be the sweet spot for companies financially, somehow. They obviously don’t consider the impact on people. Maybe it’s like they say on old-fashioned cop shows when gangs kill each other or someone kills a prostitute. “No humans involved.” People are expendable, apparently.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: Do you have a recipe you like?
Suzanne
@WaterGirl: I used Anne Burrell’s recipe last time. The NYT has a version I also want to try. I made one a previous time from….Joy of Cooking, I think? Probably none of them are that different. It’s a fairly simple thing.
narya
@WaterGirl: There are a lot of cuts going on at my organization (it’s kind of a shitshow, IMHO, for reasons I won’t detail here). I doubt that they’ll come to my (very small) team, but if they do, well, I’m planning to retire soon anyway. I would take great pleasure in getting the cut to be delayed for a few months and then saying, “okay, my cut is ME. Good luck!”
Steeplejack
@Miss Bianca:
You just reminded me: my mother used to make mincemeat tarts. I loved those. She did apple ones, too.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
You should suck it up and get the recipe from the guy. Offer him one of your pies in exchange (a real one, not the recipe).
James E Powell
@Ohio Mom:
I’ve been testing positive for two weeks. Mild symptoms, mostly annoyed at its persistence. Can’t go to work, can’t go anywhere, can’t stand to watch any more TV.
Elie
Hi Watergirl!
I sent in my Pet calendar request but haven’t heard back so I will resend:
Pet Name: Nemo
My Name: Eliana Steele
NYM – Elie
Thanks for doing this and having my baby on the calendar
Elie
Elie
Hi Watergirl!
I sent in my Pet calendar request but haven’t heard back so I will resend:
Pet Name: Nemo
My Name: Eliana Steele
NYM – Elie
Thanks for doing this and having my baby on the calendar
Elie
Another Scott
Interesting.
Always follow the money.
IOW, the smart bet would be to expect for him to do everything to let people know he’s running without crossing the line and missing out on the free lawyer grift.
(via nycsouthpaw)
Cheers,
Scott.
Steeplejack
@narya:
Crosse & Blackwell mincemeat is pretty good for store-bought. A homemade crust, especially with a lattice top, goes a long way to perk up the pie.
Redshift
@rikyrah: I must have a world class set tooth, because I eat multiple slices of pecan pie when my baker friend serves it.
Also, one of my favorite things I’ve had while traveling is maple syrup pie in Quebec, which I describe as like pecan pie without the pecans, and with maple syrup instead of… something. (I’m not a baker.) If you think pecan pie is like a candy bar…
Suzanne
Here’s Smitten Kitchen’s tarte tatin recipe. I might try this one, too.
Redshift
Mincemeat pie was my favorite growing up. It’s been years since I’ve had it: it does seem to have mostly vanished.
marklar
@Ohio Mom: Ugh. I joined the Two Pink-lines club for the first time on Friday…it appears as if we have more than a neurodiverse son in common.
Refuah Schleimah!
Redshift
@Another Scott:
The smart thing, sure, but remember Trump’s Razor – the stupidest explanation is the correct one. I’m betting he actually believes that being a candidate means DOJ isn’t allowed to investigate him, no matter how far ahead of an election he declares. And also that the RNC will cave about paying his legal bills when he’s a candidate.
WaterGirl
@narya: Stressful for any organization. Your solution, if it comes to that, sounds very gratifying. Keep us posted.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: I haven’t called him in a year since Laura died; I just can’t ask for the recipe. Not now, anyway.
Steeplejack
@Suzanne:
Hard to go wrong with any apple dessert. I can’t think of a bad one off hand.
WaterGirl
@Elie: I do not have an email from you (assuming you used the email you use for BJ).
Please send email again to watergirl at balloon-juice.com
Until I have email from you I don’t have a way to reply to send the upload link.
Weapon X
@Redshift: replacing the pecans with salted roasted peanuts also makes a delicious, candy bar-like pie.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
For the pecan pie, I presume? (Nobody ever wants my sweet-potato casserole recipe.) I’ll have to consult with my brother, but he’s out of town right now.
rikyrah
@schrodingers_cat:
I don’t remember the name. It was yellow and orange. To the touch, it was sticky. It was like a small cake/ cookie. It was so sweet.
PaulWartenberg
Heya and opa and all that!
To all the fellow writers on Balloon Juice, it’s day 6 of NaNoWriMo, and I wanna see if anyone else is keeping up with the daily word counts! I am up to 10,000 words right now and hopefully getting about 2000 words more before 3 PM. LET’S DO THIS, WRITERS.
WaterGirl
@Suzanne: Ooh, that one looks better. I will try that one when I try this. I also like the looks of her extra flaky pie crust.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: Yes, for the pecan pie!
WaterGirl
I can’t believe no one else is mentioning that their animals are DEMANDING to be fed early because this time change stuff is bullshit!
BlueGuitarist
“Cute Election Update! Today we rescued kittens while out canvassing”
From Lorena Austin & Eva Burch in AZ super swing district
photo at
https://twitter.com/EvaBurchAZ/status/1589027306290688002
Shana
@TaMara: When I married my husband I had to learn to make pecan pie, his favorite. After researching a bunch (pre-internet) I discovered that recipes called for either white sugar and dark corn syrup or brown sugar and light corn syrup.
The one I make is pretty sweet so won’t share the recipe but have always had trouble telling when I should take it out. The rule for most kinds of pies is when the center is set but for pecan pie that means an hour almost in the over which is too much. Anyone have a rule of thumb for this?
narya
@Redshift: Not least, I suspect, because real mincemeat is made with beef fat. I’ve actually made it that way–got some suet from local fancy-meat purveyors.
@Steeplejack: King Arthur sent out a recipe two-three weeks ago for an apple cake that is stupid-easy. I’ve made it twice, and it’s really good–a ton of apples. Made some maple frosting, too, because Friend thinks frosting should be on nearly everything
ETA: Mostly Apples apple cake. I made it in a 8×8 pan instead of round. First time I sliced the apples, yesterday I chopped them.
SC54HI
@Nicole: Same here. Got it for the first time while visiting my mother. Fortunately, she did not get infected, AFAWK.
My case was mild, like a cold, with no fever or cough. Because I was away from home I decided to wait and see if the symptoms got worse before requesting Paxlovid from a doctor outside my network. Symptoms remained mild so I did not seek further medical care. I attribute this to having gotten the bivalent booster about a month before. I was able to remain isolated and wore a mask outside my room. Tested negative by Day #10.
@Ohio Mom – I hope your case is mild and that you recover quickly & completely.
p.a.
I like your basic pastry shop pecan pie, but the best I’ve ever had were in New Orleans. Not a baker, so I don’t know the differences. Maybe the sweetness doesn’t bother me because I have it with hot black coffee.
Worst I ever had was a holiday order from a bakery I liked but the pie was a first-time purchase there. The filling was chocolate pudding 🤢.
Steeplejack
@narya:
I’ll have to look up that Apple cake recipe.
Somewhere I’ve got a recipe for mincemeat without suet that’s very good. Haven’t used it in a long time because, as I said above, Crosse & Blackwell is good enough, especially with a homemade crust. (I don’t think C&B has suet in it, although there may be different versions.)
Suzanne
@Steeplejack: Agreed. Apple stuff is amazing.
WaterGirl
@Shana: The pie is supposed to wiggle when you take it out
Do you ever make custard? That is wiggly when you take it out, too.
WaterGirl
@narya: So chopping leaves you with smaller pieces, I am guessing?
mrmoshpotato
@oatler: No. Just no.
WaterGirl
@mrmoshpotato: I was repulsed by the URL, so I did not click on the article!
mrmoshpotato
@TaMara:
Sounds like Thanksgiving at my B-I-L’s aunt’s house.
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: I didn’t either. Thank you, disgusting, descriptive URL! 🤣🤢
Shana
@WaterGirl: Not usually. We keep kosher at home so I’m usually on the lookout for non-dairy desserts. I also have mild lactose issues and while yummy would probably make me miserable.
mrmoshpotato
@MagdaInBlack: Madness.
NotMax
Alternative — Butter Pecan Cake.
;)
Omnes Omnibus
@mrmoshpotato:
Or genius.
narya
@WaterGirl: Yes–and is somewhat easier to slice. I also added an additional apple, because “too many apples” is not a thing.
@Steeplejack: Yeah, the stuff in the jar is fine. My affliction is that I see something like the recipe-with-suet and think, hmm, I wonder how that would be?
I’ve also seen/had mincemeat used as a pasta sauce–doctored with various things–and if the original incarnation of the mincemeat isn’t too sweet, it’s actually good.
NotMax
@narya
Without suet it’s not mincemeat (IMHO), it’s spiced and brandied fruit filling.
Traditional mincemeat also requires currants. Good luck finding those at your corner market.
;)
Amir Khalid
No matter how much I loved a cat of mine, I would not have it freeze-dried on its passing to make a keepsake of its dead body. That’s just … weird.
Leaving weirdness aside, I had the pleasure of visiting a favourite YouTube channel, The Orphan Pet. Valia speaks of the animals she encounters, and of their inner lives with a moving eloquence and grace.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: Jalebi?
CaseyL
@Ohio Mom: @Ohio Mom:
Yikes! Sorry to hear you’ve come down with Covid, and good on your doctor for ordering the Paxlovid right off – and to OhioDad for going out to get it. (He should probably test himself in a few days, just to be on the safe side.)
Here’s hoping you have a mild case and recover completely – and that the couch is nice and comfy.
rikyrah
@schrodingers_cat:
Yes. That’s it.
And, I looked up the other dessert that folks were guessing-gulab jamun-, and YES, I’ve had them too, and oh my…SWEEET.
rikyrah
@Ohio Mom:
Ohio Mom – prayers for you.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Yes, actually. This is a matter of life and death. My wife will no doubt kill me in the next few days if I can’t sort this out.
I just upgraded the home WiFi. I had some ancient 75 Mbps plan from Verizon which had many issues, including a poor signal upstairs. I got a new bundle with a Gigabit plan that will actually be cheaper than what I was paying, and the signal is much stronger than the old router. It works fantastically well for my devices.
The problem? My wife’s computer, an older Mac laptop, can’t maintain internet access. It drops about every 10 minutes and she has to shut WiFi off and on again. She relies heavily on Zoom so this is causing her major issues.
According to the Verizon tech, the new router still has two networks like the old one did, but they aren’t shown to the user. It is automatically switching between networks to maintain quality of signal, and apparently that switching causes problems for older computers.
Short term fix was to use a hardwired LAN connection downstairs and an iPad upstairs. But our household will really be much happier if I can figure out a way that she can have at least the capability she used to have of using the computer in different parts of the house.
I guess the question is whether there’s a secret setting on either her computer (Mac, I think OS 10.12) or the router to make them play nicer together.
Any thoughts?
way2blue
@J R in WV: Yum!
rikyrah
@TaMara:
That sounds delightful. The vision of it…a whole table of pies :)
WaterGirl
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I doubt that this will solve everything, but on a mac she can set preferred wireless networks – I wonder what hers is set to.
MazeDancer
George Booth has died. At 96.
Brains behind, arguably, the best cartoon ever drawn for writers:
https://twitter.com/fifthhousesun/status/1589345873175408641?s=61&t=t2hDZWye3-DjsaSxLzyb4g
RaflW
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: A workaround to cut the LAN cord might be to use an older stand-alone router, if you have one laying abut, hooked up to the main Verizon device. We’re using a 15 year old 802.11g router at our cabin, and it’s sufficient for zooming
(We were force-upgraded to the newer Verizon device at our townhouse, and before the tech left I exclaimed “I used to have two different options 2.4GHz and 5Ghz, now it’s one” and he said it would switch based on better signal, but it took away the manual selectability which frustrated me.)
way2blue
@WaterGirl: In high school I had a job ‘exercising’ horses after school. And the day after the time change, Hellion, (of course he would be named Hellion) kept trying to turn around on our walk. When I finally turned back, he headed full blast down the middle of the road. And I was riding w/o a bridle, rather a hackamore, so he wasn’t slowing down even when I’d pulled his head to his neck. Finally I thought to starting turning his head gently from one side to the other and got control back… So. Yes animals are not fans of the time change.
Another Scott
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: It looks like with some Terminal hackery you can tell MacOS to use a particular WiFi channel.
BecomeTheSolution.com.
HTH! Good luck!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Kirk Spencer
Darnit, late to a cooking thread.
My method of making a less sweet pecan pie is to make a buttermilk pie, gently stir in half a pound of pecan halves before pouring the batter into the shell. Thing is, it’s going to look and somewhat taste like a custard pie so might not be what you’re looking for.
clpayne
@sdhays: Agree! This is the best
Hangö Kex
re adblock for Safari : this is different from ublock and looks like it should work (can’t try it though as no Mac handy)
https://www.getadblock.com/en/safari/
JPL
@RandomMonster: Fingers crossed. My son just went through that, and no matter your position, it’s scarry.
NotMax
Catchy pastry music from one of the oddest things ever to appear on the teevee machine.
:)
PBK
@Amir Khalid: What an incredible woman not just for her care of these animals but her perception and insight. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Suzanne
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Just buy her a new laptop. Everyone will be happier. What money you spend, you make up for it with lack of argument/hassle/grumpiness.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: One possibility, if your router is broadcasting both 2.4 gHZ and 5 gHZ networks: you can give distinct names to the multiple networks coming from the router, say appending “_24” to the 2.4 gHZ network and “_5” to the 5 gHZ network. That way, the computer won’t try switching from one to the other because it got confused because they had the same name.
Percysowner
I have always used the original Betty Crocker Pecan Pie recipe https://www.pinterest.com/pin/155726099589068638/ As a note I use salted butter and I always bought salted pecans. If you are using fresh pecans you could increase the salt in the custard a bit. Maybe 1/4 teaspoon to balance out the sweet?
WaterGirl
@Hangö Kex: Sadly, i already use that and one day it just stopped blocking YouTube ads.
WaterGirl
@Suzanne: That’s actually a pretty smart solution, if they can afford it.
AlaskaReader
Real mincemeat has meat in it.
It’s not called mincemeat for nothing.
WaterGirl
@Percysowner: Thank you! Salted butter is an interesting idea.
Suzanne
@WaterGirl: As someone who just needs their technology to WORK, I have found, often, if the fix is not really cheap/easy…..the fix is expensive and not worth it, and you’d be happier just replacing the damn hardware.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: In India its usually served as a part of a breakfast spread with savory fafda and condiments like whole green chillies.
schrodingers_cat
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Has she tried updating the Wi-Fi drivers?
Hangö Kex
@WaterGirl: If you haven’t already tried it uninstalling and then re-installing the adblocker seems worth a try. That might fix some mangled configuration and you might also get a newer version of the adblocker where some change in Youtube is taken into account (such a version might not exist (yet) though).
WaterGirl
@Hangö Kex: Yeah, I did that when it first started to happen. Didn’t help. Good thought, though!
Hangö Kex
@WaterGirl: Also, another adblocker different from the previous one that should work with Safari: https://adblockplus.org/en/download
WaterGirl
@Hangö Kex: Yep, I tried that one, too.
I was really hoping that someone with a Mac who uses Safari and successfully blocks YouTube ads could tell me what they use. Maybe none of them block YouTube ads anymore, which would be bullshit.
Hangö Kex
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I had a somewhat similar problem (with a Linux PC though): the router/AP was replaced with a fancier model and everything but that one old PC worked fine (or actually better) after that. I ended up disabling the built-in wifi of the PC and replacing that with a mini wifi adapter plugged into a usb port after which everything worked perfectly. My theory is that there was some incompatibility with the new router and the old PC’s built-in wifi. I seem to recall (this was years ago) that I could eventually go back using the built-in wifi of the problematic PC with the same router so there probably was a firmware update which resolved the issue.
Hangö Kex
@WaterGirl: That could well be as Google probably doesn’t like it and so would work to make it difficult. As you say this would really need someone chiming up with a working solution.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@WaterGirl: Only one name appears in the list. The tech told me there are actually two networks under the hood, but we don’t see those two networks any more. And that’s the problem, that the ROUTER is switching networks (according to him) and the switch somehow causes her WiFi to drop, though other devices can apparently handle it.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Suzanne: I think we’re leaning that way, and she knows it. We’ve had the conversation.
There are a number of reasons why she’s got a certain amount of inertia. One is that for some reason she’s been unable to do a Time Machine backup for many months.
But the amount of problems with this machine are mounting, so she knows that moment is coming.
Meanwhile she needs a solution NOW to stay online. I think we may have that covered with the wired LAN downstairs and iPad upstairs, but I hate to tell her she can’t use the laptop upstairs any more.
Scout211
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Our router has 3 bands. You can set all three up separately or set up the router as a “smart” router which will switch between them as it sees fit. If you switch back to “dumb” router, then all three bands are listed on your device’s WiFi separately and you can select which one works best for your device.
Apple always answers the dropped WiFi problem with upgrade to the most recent Mac OS. Dropped WiFi is not unusual. There are hundreds of posts on the Apple discussion boards. The next answer after upgrade is there is a local WiFi that is interfering with the connection. If that is the issue, go to your WiFi controls and reconfigure your router. Don’t ask me how to do that, though. I did find out how to do that on my router by goggling all the help pages.
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: The AdGuard for Safari on iOS page says that it works for YouTube ads, but that you have to reload the extension every time you use it.
:-/
More on blocking YouTube ads here.
I use uBlock Origin on Chrome, and pay Google less than $10 a month for 100GB of music, etc.,
storage and no ads on YouTube. It’s worth it to me.
YMMV!
HTH a little.
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: If I were you, I would rethink the choice to get my wireless through them.
Or I would buy a newer computer if the new computers can handle the new setup.
WaterGirl
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: with a new computer, you can transfer everything from old mac -> new mac. So she doesn’t need time machine to be working to get everything on the new computer.
Another Scott
@Hangö Kex: That’s a good idea. I’ve used USB to Ethernet and USB to WiFi thingies when the built-in ones became problematic.
Unfortunately, older Macs can be problematic even with newer external interfaces (, even from Apple, at least in my experience).
This $23 TP-Link gizmo might be worth a try. Read the MacOS comments and note that you may need to download the Mac drivers.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@Another Scott: Thanks, I’ll check that out after the election. :-)
Hangö Kex
@Another Scott: The one I used was really small physically, something like this:
Link
Although the antenna cannot be very good in such a small package It worked well enough and didn’t get in the way. In this case I’d go with a basic 2,45GHz-only model (like that in my link) to eliminate the band change.
Timill
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: If the cheap options don’t work, consider putting in a mesh network. We solved all our wifi problems (non-Mac) with one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084GTH5LL
StringOnAStick
This thread reminded me that this is the first holiday season I’ve had to deal with since realizing I can’t eat dairy anymore. Avoiding whipped cream is going to be hard to do.
ETtheLibrarian
My pecan pie recipe is pretty standard I think but instead of the full corn syrup amount use half that, and half pure cane syrup. It is still pretty sweet.
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
@WaterGirl: Yes the brown sugar simple syrup replaces corn syrup (sorry it took so long to respond). I also used maple syrup one year, can’t remember if I liked that as well, but I often use maple syrup as sub for honey and other sweeteners (I saw someone else mentioned it). It’s really the cinnamon that’s key though. You don’t taste it for some reason, but it makes all the difference.
schrodingers_cat
deleted
HeartlandLiberal
My wife makes the best pecan pie. I will ask her if she will share her recipe.
We come originally from Alabama. Where pecan pie making is sort of a religious experience.
One of her cousins once gave us a pecan seedling to bring and plant in South Central Indiana. I planted it back yard of house we lived in 30 years ago. I wonder if it is still there
WaterGirl
@HeartlandLiberal: I would love to have that recipe!
Baudolino
I have for many years used a Betty Crocker (1950s) recipe, with a bit of vanilla and blackstrap molasses and cutting the sugar in half. It uses three eggs and 2/3 of a stick of butter per pie, so it’s very rich, but not cloyingly sweet. Also using fresh Georgia pecans from my ancestral orchard helps. Leftovers are nice for breakfast.