Currently browsing: pecan

Not Your Grandmother’s Divinity

Recipe Source: allthingssouthern.com

Notes:

Sometimes it doesn’t pay to cut corners, but you have my word, this one is every bit as good as the “stand and stir the day away” recipe your grandmother used.

Ingredients:

4 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cups water
dash of salt
3 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
enough chopped pecans to suit your taste

Directions:

Mix first four ingredients in glass dish. Cook in microwave for 19 minutes, stirring every five. Should reach 250′ on candy thermometer. Cook to hard ball stage. Beat egg whites very stiff in large bowl. Gradually pour hot syrup over egg whites at high speed. Continue beating for 12 minutes until candy loses its gloss. Add vanilla and nuts and drop in bite-size pieces.

Author’s Disclaimer:

I’ve even been successful with this one on an overcast day, though the cooks in my family always admonished me not to even think about making divinity if the weather wasn’t clear and dry. If you choose to ignore their tried and true warnings too, well, you’re on your own.

Chocolate Chip Pie

Recipe Source: Wanda Oliver / allthingssouthern.com

Blend:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs well beaten
1 stick margarine melted

Stir in:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup pecans (I substituted chopped Macadamia Nuts–Yum!)
1/2 cup coconut (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bake in pie shell at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

Pecan Pie

Recipe Source: allthingssouthern.com

Yummy! Just like my mother used to make! — Nicki

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 cup dark Karo syrup
2 tsp. melted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
4 tsp. Carnation cream
1 cup whole pecans
1 (9-inch) pie shell

Directions:

Beat first 5 ingredients. Mix in pecans. Pour into pie shell in 9-inch pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Cranberry Chutney

Historical background: years ago (like in the late 70s-early 80s) I had a subscription to Sunset Magazine. One month there was an article about a lady who lived near the ocean in SoCal, and her love of canning all the wonderful produce available from the farmers’ markets. One of the recipes that was included was for the most yummy-sounding Cranberry Chutney – it was just mouth-watering thinking about it, seemed as if it would be better than any cranberry relish dish ever invented for Thanksgiving. So I cooked up a batch.

I WAS better than any relish dish ever. For the next umpty years I made at least one batch a year. Then somehow I lost the recipe, and for the last almost 10 years, I’ve been chutney-less. Since the advent of the ‘net and search engines, I’ve searched for it desultorily with no results; I even at one point called Sunset – but they couldn’t find it either.

Well, a couple of weeks back, I was doing my once or twice a year search for it – AND I FOUND IT! Bless Google…. so now I’m one happy camper – I made a batch of my chutney just the other day, and it tastes just as good as I remember.

I’d printed the recipe…. and it’s a good thing I did, because since then my boot drive crashed resoundingly, and anything in my documents newer than June is gone (because my last archive CD has disappeared as well, and I really can’t blame the cat….)

So without further ado, here’s the recipe for the best Cranberry ANYTHING you’ll ever have with turkey!

Recipe Source: Sunset Magazine (date unknown)

Prep/Cooking Time: about 1 hour, plus boiling water bath canning time at your altitude

Ingredients:

4 c fresh or frozen cranberries, picked over and stemmed
2 c sugar
1 c water
1 tsp whole cloves
2 3 inch pieces cinnamon stick
1 tsp whole allspice
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp salt
2 Granny Smith apples (about 6 oz each), cored, chopped
2 firm pears (any variety, about 6 oz each), cored, chopped
1 small red onion (about 5 oz), chopped
1 c golden raisins
1 c diced celery
1 c pecans, rough chopped

Directions:

In a large stockpot, combine cranberries, sugar, water, spices, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Cook until the cranberries begin to pop, about 10 to 12 minutes. Adjust the heat so the mixture simmers.

Stir in apples, pears, onion, raisins, and celery. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until thick, 15 to 20 minutes longer, remove from heat, and stir in pecans. Remove the cinnamon sticks and any of the cloves or allspice easily found.

Pack into sterilized half-pint jars, and follow your favorite directions to process in boiling water bath canner. Makes 11-12 half pints.

Enjoy!

Caramel-Pecan Pie

Recipe Source: Culinard

Ingredients:

1 9-inch unbaked pie shell
2/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 eggs
1 jar (12 ounces) Smucker’s Caramel Topping
1-1/2 cups pecan halves

Directions:

In mixing bowl, beat eggs slightly with fork. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Stir in topping and butter; mix well. Stir in pecan halves. Pour filling into pie shell. Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes or until knife inserted off-center comes out clean.

Cool thoroughly on rack before serving. Cover; chill to store

Sweet Potato Casserole

Recipe Source: bhg.com

Prep/Cooking Time: Prep: 45 minutes / Bake: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds sweet potatoes
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 beaten egg
3 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup pecan pieces
Pecan halves (optional)

Directions:

Scrub and peel sweet potatoes. Cut off and discard woody portions and ends. Cut potatoes into cubes. Cook, covered, in a small amount of boiling water for 25 to 35 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Combine hot sweet potatoes, granulated sugar, milk, egg, the 3 tablespoons butter, and vanilla. With a wooden spoon, stir to break up potatoes but not completely mash them. Put mixture into a greased 2-quart square baking dish.

Combine brown sugar and flour; cut in the 2 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecan pieces and sprinkle crumb mixture on top of potatoes. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven about 25 minutes or until set. Garnish with pecan halves, if desired.

Makes 8 side-dish servings.

Pecan Pie Sundaes

Recipe Source: foodnetwork.com

Prep/Cooking Time: Prep Time: 10 minutes / Cook Time: 1 minute

Ingredients:

2 cups crumbled ginger snap cookies or crumbled cinnamon graham crackers
2 pints butter pecan ice cream
1 cup caramel dessert sauce
1 canister whipped cream
1 (2-ounce) pouch chopped pecans
4 maraschino cherries

Directions:

Put a handful of cookie or graham cracker crumbles into a goblet or sundae bowl. Top with a scoop of the ice cream then add more crumbles and another scoop of ice cream. Take the metal lid off the dessert sauce and heat in microwave oven on high for 1 minute. Pour caramel sauce over the ice cream and top with whipped cream, nuts and a cherry.

Cajun Cheese Ball

Recipe Source: Emeril Lagasse

Prep/Cooking Time: Prep: 10 minutes, plus refrigeration

Ingredients:

8 oz finely shredded mild cheddar cheese
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
3 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
RITZ crackers

Directions:

Blend cream cheese, cheddar cheese, onion, red pepper, and Worcestershire sauce in bowl. Mix well; shape into ball or log.

Mix pecans and parsley. Roll cheese ball in pecan mixture until completely covered.

Refrigerate 1 hour until chilled. Serve with crackers. Makes 2 cups.

Cheese ball can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover. Refrigerate until ready to serve.