Have you ever done something that you weren’t suppose to do…. but you knew it just HAD to be done? A while back I blogged and twittered about coming up with a better Pecan Pie recipe and I heard about how wrong this was… one person even (gasp!) referred to me as a ‘Yankee’ and that cut deeply…. y’all know what I am talking about.
First, many recipes call for a certain brand of corn syrup — some of you know who I am talking about. Unfortunately, I won’t use it … as it is a cheap substitution for something a lot better and secondly, it has been ‘cut’ with high fructose corn syrup. HFCS — we wizards know — has a dramatic effect of reducing our cooking powers… then, there is the fact that I don’t believe it to be too good for you. Alternatively,there are a wonderful variation of sweeteners that could be used… such as honey ( make sure you use a honey that is not ‘cut’ with corn syrup).
The next issue is in thickeners which detract from the dessert such as corn starch or flour… there is a better way (arrowroot). How many eggs is too many? What about using real vanilla beans and not just poor flavorings? The pecans themselves are sometimes soft, chewy or gummy as they are prepared, but steps can be taken to avoid this ( do we just toast them or do we further caramelize them?).
Lastly, a good pie need not have a bland or disappointing crust ( how about a little Mace?)… so we make this ourselves.
Ah, the work goes on…. if you want something better.
Roger