Photo: VirtualErn, flickr

• What's more Southern than pecan pie? At Thanksgiving time, it's a blackberry jam cake with a dollop of Charlotte custard sauce.
• Festival goers at Mamma Mia, Daphne's annual edible celebration of the Alabama town's Italian heritage, will be able to weigh in on their favorites this year, selecting a People's Choice winner.
• Experts reveal a fail-safe recipe for deep-fried turkey: three minutes a pound at 340 degrees (and, for best results, don't bother with a newfangled electric turkey fryer).

I'm not a big pecan guy. My tastes run more towards pistachios and cashews, but don't let that stop you from celebrating Pecan Day!

Here's everything you need to know about pecans from the National Pecan Shellers Association. Of course, no Pecan Day celebration would be complete without a recipe for pecan pie. Here's one from Rachael Ray, one from AllRecipes, and also one from Simply Recipes.

But there's more to do with pecans. Here's a recipe for Caramel Pecan Cheesecake, and here's one for Wild Rice Cranberry Pecan Salad.

Deb from Smitten Kitchen says that these Pecan Squares are the most fattening thing she has ever made. I don't doubt her for a second because, although it looks like she made a fairly large batch, she also used almost 9 sticks of butter in the recipe. That's 1,017 grams, 4 1/2 cups and 72 tablespoons of butter for those of you not familiar with the notion of it in stick form. Of course, the recipe comes from Ina Garten and because she is known to use at least as butter as the lovely Paula Deen, this isn't all that surprising. Ina doesn't say how many servings this makes, but if we assume that you can cut it into 54 bars (2-in. squares), you're looking at around 17 grams of fat per bar - and more if you take Ina's suggestion to dip them in chocolate!

The squares are essentially a caramel pecan pie filling that is baked on top of a buttery shortbread base. It is baked in an unusually large pan (18 by 12 by 1-in., as opposed to the more standard home baking size of 9 by 13-in.), but that does give it the advantage of being a convenient, decadent and delicious treat to bake for a big holiday party. Just don't tell anyone the nutritional stats before serving them.

This is a pie that should have been part of our nut themed day yesterday. It is also a pie that should be a hit with math-lovers, food hackers and anyone who really likes pie. This is a fractal pecan pie.

A fractal is a recursive, self-similar geometric object that continuously reproduces into proportionally smaller shapes. This particular one is based on the Koch snowflake, which is made up of triangles. To put this all into layman's terms, these guys made a giant pecan pie that used the same amount of filling that would ordinarily be found in 21 normal-sized pecan pies. The ratio of crust to filling was the same as a standard pie, so the baking time was only a bit longer than average, despite the fact that it had to be done in a custom-built, propane-powered oven. Just make sure that you have enough volunteers to help you eat all the pie (and construct the tin and oven) before baking!

• It's the holiday season, and here are some ideas for throwing the ultimate party.
• What's the best beer to serve with various Thanksgiving foods?
• This year, don't just take some plain frozen biscuits and throw them in the over. Do something different.
• The quince is an ugly fruit, but great to eat.
• Add some bourbon to your pecan pie.
• Miss Conduct answers the question: is it rude to pour salt & pepper on your food before you taste it?
• This week's recipes: Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, Roast Turkey Breast with Cider and Apples, Quince Tart, and Chocolate Chip Walnut Banana Bread.

• I love holiday issues of cooking magazines (I collect them), and Rachael Ray's is no exception. This is the Thanksgiving issue, and she covers everything from Herb-Roasted Turkey with Dried Plums and Stuffing to the best Pecan Pie.
• Speaking of turkey: have you tried making it on the grill?
• Holidays, of course, are made for booze! Check out these recipes for the Pumpkintini and Cranberry Punch.
• Check out what House star Lisa Edelstein eats all day.
• More recipes: Double Chocolate Scones with Cinnamon Butter, Crunchy Breadsticks, Shepherd's Pie, and Oatmeal-Raisin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting.
• In the print edition (should be on the site too, bu the link is wrong): You might be making candy this season (and you're certainly making some for our Candy Day tomorrow, right?), so check out which candy thermometers work best.

This is good news for anyone who likes pecans, since the nuts are often overlooked in favor of almonds and other nuts that are slightly lower in fat, although the majority of the fat in pecans is unsaturated.

If you want to get a few more pecans into your diet, try adding them to salads or eating a handful as a snack. For a slightly less healthy - but possibly more delicious - way to eat a few more pecans, try:

• Pecan Balls
• Butter Pecan Cookies
• Maple Pecan Tarts
• Mexican Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
• Maple Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

If you have an excess of summer fruit and cannot think of what to do with it, I have only one word for you: pie. With a crust and some fruit you can do wondrous things and with the help of the recipes in Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie, you should be able to get your technique down quicker than you might expect. The book is nearly exhaustive on making and shaping pie crusts, from materials to methods, and even an experienced pie maker could learn a thing or two just from reading the introduction. It is worth noting that crust instructions are given for working by hand and with the food processor or mixer, so those who don't have "pastry fingers" don't have to worry.

Though I mentioned fruit pies to begin with, don't think that those are all this book covers. It has nut pies, cream pies, custard pies and ice cream pies - in addition to just about every other type of pie you can think of. If you like pie, it's a must-have. And speaking of "having," here are a few of the recipes you'll find inside: Watermelon Chiffon Pie, Cherry Pie (9 kinds!), Blackberry Silk and Chocolate Brownie Pecan.