Here is something festive for your holiday eat-athon. Mine has already started… I was taken for a very posh lunch today at Hakkasan which is a Michelin starred restaurant in London. I feel thoroughly spoiled, and thoroughly smashed on Espresso Martinis… THANK YOU ANNA GAYNER!
The day before I was going to test cook Eva’s pie, I went to Battenburg Belle’s house for dinner, and by co-incidence, she had made a Pecan Pie for our pudding. It was soooooo good. She makes hers to Dennis Cotter’s recipe which has CHOCOLATE in it. Oh yum! But Eva’s pie is good too. More traditional, and more puffy somehow. I like them both!
I found something marked “Carole Lombard Pastry” in my freezer.
I can only imagine this was from an aborted attempt at a Carole Lombard Cherry Pie (which is DELICIOUS and I might make again sometime soon…). Carole, to my mind, is the most beautiful of all silver screen stars. As Bruce Forsyth might say, “she’s my favourite”.
Talking of bare midriffs, I stumbled upon this photo tonight which really made me laugh. I loved those trousers, and that top, and that belt, and that blue glass necklace, and that little see-through handbag, and the green PVC jacket that is in it….
Taken during my time training to be a film archivist, and poseur… I was 28 or 29 I think…
Anyhow, back to the pie. Pecan Pie is not something we Brits would have had on the table until fairly recently. Pecans weren’t readily available here until the 80s, or maybe even the 90s I’m guessing… But now, you can get them in most big supermarkets. Thinking about it, I’m not sure I’d ever had pecans until I started hanging out with Battenburg Belle.… Mmmmmmm! Now I love ’em.
I might have a big piece of this for my breakfast with a big cup of coffee. Let the festive eating continue! Here’s the pie about to go in the oven…
and here’s the pie cooked…
Recommended!
This “absolutely smashing pie” was made by Eva Marie Saint’s sister Adelaide at Christmas, hence the name…
Eva Marie Saint’s Christmas Adelaide Pecan Pie
1 cup dark corn syrup [I used Lyle’s golden syrup as it’s hard to get corn syrup in the UK – take note Yinzerella!]
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, slightly beaten (take out of refrigerator a few hours early)
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coarsely broken pecans
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell
Combine the syrup, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Boil TWO minutes (IMPORTANT – no longer than two minutes). Pour slowly over the eggs, stirring constantly. Pour a little in first, stirring like mad; then a bit more, and then all of the remaining syrup. Add butter, vanilla, and pecans; mix well. Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake in a moderate oven – 375 degrees [190 C, gas mark 5] for 50 minutes or until done. The pie should be completely puffed along the top, and firm. Spread it with sweetened whipped cream or dessert topping mix before serving if you like.
The nuts may be toasted slightly beforehand for a richer flavour. Just heat the pecans in a teaspoonful of butter in a frying pan over low heat. Stir until the nuts are lightly browned. Of course, you don’t have to wait until Christmas to whip up this fab pie.
Indeed you don’t Eva! But it is very Christmassy I think….
