"pecan pie" news and stories

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose life and work we celebrate today, was born in Atlanta and was a southerner to his roots. The Rev. Willie Barrow, who worked with Dr. King in the 1960s, once told Ebony magazine that when Dr. King was on the road, he'd go out of his way to find a great soul food joint. Among his favorites? Good ribs and a pecan pie.

As we remember the inspiration of Dr. King, we find ourselves drawn into the kitchen to bake something he would have loved, and which, if we listen to his words, especially those we've quoted below, we may just give away.

Recalling a trip that he and his wife had made to India, where they had witnessed extreme poverty and hunger, Dr. King had this to say, in a sermon he entitled "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution": "As I noticed these things, something within me cried out, 'Can we in America stand idly by and not be concerned?' And an answer came: 'Oh, no!' Because the destiny of the United States is tied up with the destiny of India and every other nation. And I started thinking of the fact that we spend in America millions of dollars a day to store surplus food, and I said to myself, 'I know where we can store that food free of charge -- in the wrinkled stomachs of millions of God's children all over the world who go to bed hungry at night.' And maybe we spend far too much of our national budget establishing military bases around the world rather than bases of genuine concern and understanding." (From A Knock At Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by Peter Holloran and Clayborne Carson.)

Gail Simmons has cooked up a bunch of Christmas dessert ideas for us, among them this variation on the pecan pie that will make fans of even those folks who say it's delicious but too sweet. Gail's solution is to add flaky sea salt to the sweet caramel, which supplies a lovely contrast. She even sprinkles a bit over each warm slice, then adds a fluffy dollop of whipped cream.

Click the links below for Gail's recipes, and a video visit to her Pantry Project, for great tips on using everyday ingredients.

Gail's recipe for Salted Caramel Pecan Pie

Gail's Christmas Dessert Recipes

Gail Simmons's Pantry Project: Salt

Every Thanksgiving I bake a pecan pie for our family dinner, and every year I get the same comments, "How did you do it? It's so rich and delicious." (Either my family is incredibly forgetful, or they're just plain nice.) The secret, which is really no secret at all, is that the pecan pie is one of the easiest desserts to make, its luscious taste far outweighing the effort you have to put into it. Bascially, it's nuts, eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and vanilla (plus a crust that, if you're a lazy baker like I am, you can buy frozen, or, if you're like my mom and sister, you can make from scratch). In this recipe for Southern Pecan Pie, the added bonus is, ta-da, bourbon. And if that doesn't sell you, I don't know what will.

For more pie recipes, and a whole lot more dessert ideas for Thanksgiving, head over to Kitchen Daily.

• Pumpkin? Check. Apple? Check. How about pecan pie?
• Pie gets all the attention this time of year, but a walnut cake can hit the spot.
• On Friday, when you're faced with a mound of leftover stuffing, consider a savory bread pudding.
• All this Thanksgiving preparation makes you thirsty, doesn't it? Here, some easy wine choices.

Happy National Pecan Pie Day!

One of the most famous desserts of the American South, pecan pie is rooted deep in U.S. tradition. Although legend says that Thomas Jefferson is largely to thank for dispersing pecan trees across the country, en route to gifting some Mississippi trees to George Washington at Mount Vernon, pecans had long before been a staple in the diet of Native American Indians.

Because of their abundance throughout the American Midwest, South and Southwest, pecans were increasingly integrated into sweet desserts, most notably that of pecan pie. According to local tales, the pie was first created by the French upon their arrival in New Orleans in the early 1700s.

For a traditional pie fit for your Thanksgiving table or a sunny picnic afternoon, we'd recommend that of the Homesick Texan, a recipe passed down from her great grandmother. She swears they're divine when using local pecans.

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