Southern Pecan Pie with Glazed Pecans

It was Thanksgiving weekend a little while ago here up north.  And it was also the last weekend Meow's parents were staying here before their big move into retirement.  So, one last dessert before they go to accompany a simple Thanksgiving dinner of halibut, farm fresh brussel sprouts, and organic candied carrots from the backyard.

Mr. Meow had been going on about pecan pies just a little, I think he was craving some southern, New Orleans style food because he was going on about gumbo as well.  So, that plus Meow's mother being a nut fan, plus Thanksgiving, Meow would try a pecan pie.

After scouring the internet for a good, reliable recipe, many of them I noticed contains corn syrup along with brown and white sugar, which equals to teeth rotten sweet.  Meow does not need that, so I found one that did not use corn syrup and still cut down on the sugar.

The overall process also seemed simple enough and hassle-free, and the modified bake times/temperature also gave confidence that a pre-cooked pie shell was not necessary.

With chestnut ice cream
Extra nutty

Cook First Apple Pie

"I feel like having pie!"

So Meow made an apple pie (mainly because I was a little tired of lemon meringue pies).

Like so

My previous apple pies all suffer from the following symptoms:

• runny fillings
• soggy crust
• half cooked apples
• half cooked crusts
• burnt edges

Mr. Meow suggested that I cook the apples first.  This gives it a few advantages such as:

• softening the apples
• raw apples will "deflate" as it gets cooked so you won't have a giant gap between the top crust and the filling.
• adding sufficient thickening agent to ensure the filling is not runny
• blind adding is like a shot in the dark, and causes chunks
• can pre-bake the crust so it is fully cooked
• shorter overall bake time

Having made the lemon meringue pie previously, I've learned that insane amount of starches can stiffen the filling nicely and it really wasn't a pain in the ass to pre-cook the fill and crust.  In fact, I prefer the results this gets me.  So I consulted the interwebs for the best thickening agent because cornstarch wasn't working out for me and found this site explaining what different starches will do; and how people cooked the apples before baking, then devised my own plan.

Miss Humble's Lemon Meringue Pie

I'll admit that a lot of recipes I do on here aren't original creations, but rather, trying out other people's recipes and making cooking notes about it.  It serves two purpose: one, a memorandum for myself shall I make it the next time; two, some advice for readers shall you attempt to make it yourself.

This week, I took on the challenge of making the lemon meringue pie that is the crown of Miss Humble's blog on Not So Humble Pie.  Pies have always challenged me, it's either too wet and soaked the crust, or the filling is too runny so the slice just leaks everywhere  I have also been leery of adding lots and lots of corn starch to stiffen up the filling, afraid that it will cause a poor texture and taste (gluey).  So, I decided to take on another pie challenge.  I love lemon meringue cake from my local fancy bakery, Duchess Bake Shop, so why not make a pie?  If I can figure out the pie, then I can tackle a cake next.  Wishful thinking.

Sorry, skimped on photos this time.

Miss Humble did an excellent job in explaining why lemon meringue pies tend to fail in slightly scientific layman terms.  But essentially, the trick in making this monster of a pie is to cornstarch it to hell, don't agitate it too much and don't overheat it.

Apple Pies and Butter Tarts and Oh My!

I had apples in the fridge that would go bad if I procrastinate on eating them any longer, so apple pie it is. I'm not a fan of pies per se, but how else am I gonna make myself eat my fruits and veggies?  Add sugar, and Meow will om nom nom.

Mr. Meow refuses to let me buy pre-made pie shells, tells me to make them myself since we have a chunk of lard at home.  Bloody hell.  I've always been intimidated by doughs - bread doughs, tart/pie doughs, puff pastry doughs...not sure why, I think doughs require some sort of magic to make it work I guess.  But since there is no Tenderflake to help me, but a chunk of lard staring longingly at me, I will satisfy the lard.

Stupidest question I've ever asked Mr. Meow: "Do you want a lard pie shell or a butter pie shell?"
Mr. Meow being all things buttery good: "Butter shell!"
Mr. Meow not realizing that I'm just asking to obtain approval: "But then I'd have to defrost the butter!  We're using lard!"
Mr. Meow pointing out my stupidity: "Then why did you give me a choice?"
Meow teaching Mr. Meow something about women: "Sometimes you just need to look around and then figure out all you have to do is tell me what I wanna hear."
I got a pat on the head.  *sigh*

Preamble

Fruit pies usually require a thickening agent to hold the filling together.  Flour will give a cloudy filling, while cornstarch and tapioca flour will give a clear one.  If using flour to thicken, it is usually double of the amount of cornstarch or tapioca flour.

Chilling the pie before baking is crucial because the fats in the shell will become solid and not cook as fast as the flour giving the flour a head start.  Warm fats will make the pie a fail and not the flaky shell that you're hoping for.  Though chilling the pie too long will allow the fruit juices and sugars to pool at the bottom soaking your pie crust, which is also a fail.

Chilling the pie before eating is a good thing too because it will allow the fruit to reabsorb some of the sugars in the filling.

from Sur la Table: Art and Soul of Baking

On to pie making.

None of my recipe books have a recipe that uses lard and lard isn't one of those things that you can use instead of butter.  So, I followed the recipe on the box of NoName Lard.

Basic Pie/Tart Shell


227 g of lard, chilled
343 g of all purpose flour
1 tsp of salt
1 egg
2 tsp of white vinegar
water