Praline or Pie?

There's very little that's better than a delicious Louisiana pecan.  That means someone has to go out and pick pecans and yesterday that someone was ME. 

I am sore from bending, squatting, and kneeling.  Rich and I decided that we'd go to my parents' old place and pick a few.  

We stopped on our way home from the cemetery last week and noticed that there were many small pecans on the ground.  One tree in particular has tiny pecans that are full, oily and delicious.  We started picking under that tree.

Unfortunately, when the pecans are so small, it takes many, many pecans to fill a bucket.  We filled a five-gallon bucket!  But these little nuts are going to make a wonderful pie around Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Of course, to get them into a pie, someone has to shell them.  That's been Richard's job so far.  He began shelling pecans last week and after three nights of shelling, he has enough for perhaps three pies.  Since I generally make three pies for each holiday, we'll need more if we hope to have pralines.  And, let's not forget pecan cake.....that is a pretty good treat, too.

I suppose I'll have to find some time to pitch in and help with the shelling.  At least Richard does the cracking.  He has a handy little gadget that makes it easy enough.  It can be adjusted for the different sizes of nuts so that the big ones are squashed to crumbs and the small pecans break.  Imagine trying to crack those little ones with your hands...not easy.

I wanted to add a tip for cleaning the pecans.  If you don't pick out the small pieces of  hull from the meat, it gives your dish a bitter taste.  Although you can use a toothpick or small knife, I just put the shelled pecans in a zip-top baggie and shake it hard.  

The hull pieces fall off the pecan meat and sink to the bottom of the baggie.  I transfer the pecans to a clean baggie before putting them in the freezer; just be careful separating the small pieces from the hull pieces.   

For recipes for an easy pecan pie and one for pralines, click on the recipes tab above or here.  I hope you have ample opportunity to taste Louisiana pecans and to use them in your favorite recipe.

Pinterest interest

I guess I should start with an admission: I'm kinda hooked on Pinterest.  Not hooked like I go there several times a day, more like I go there at least a couple times a week.  But there it is...I am hooked.  


Hooked like I have 39 boards.  One is this board on forgotten places that are falling apart but are so hauntingly beautiful.


Hooked like I have well over 700 pins.  


But then what kind of librarian would I be if I didn't have a board with pins of public libraries from around the world.  I'm not going to see every beautiful library in every city, but we can check out many of them by looking at this one board.  Why not take advantage of the work that so many people have already done?  Besides, look at the beauty and the books!


And if one is going to pin photos of public libraries, why not go the extra step and recommend a few of those books?  


So I got hooked on pinning books.  I was going with classics, but I couldn't leave out my favorite young adult authors, I am a high school librarian, after all.  So, there's Shakespeare right next to Jodi Picoult.  


Except that I haven't put them in alphabetical order.  I considered it, mind you, but I thought perhaps that's going a little too far.  Possibly not, but once I alphabetize I'd have to keep it up, and that (trust me, I know this for certain) would take way more time than I can afford.


Books need bookmarks, so there's a bookmark board.  And books don't just sit on the floor, so there's a shelf board.  But then I decided that I do have more in my life than just work.  So I thought of other ways to use Pinterest.


Then I realized that I quilt.


And I sew.  


And I play with other crafts. 


So, I needed a board or two on sewing/quilting/crafts.  I ended up with 16, so far.  I won't list them all, but you get the idea that maybe I am a little obsessed with pinning crafts.  


In my defense, I like organizing, so I had to organize the boards in ways that I would be able to quickly and easily find what I want to find.  Yes, there's one on organizing.  

I guess that pretty much covers it.  I did some smart combinging: grandchildren go with sewing because it makes so much sense right now.  And I don't post photos of my grandchildren on any social media sites.
  
Well, it doesn't completely cover it.  Long ago of the things I discovered I appreciate beauty.  So there are some boards--rather like the first one I mentioned--that exist just because I appreciate beauty: visual arts, lace, embroidery, ironwork, trees (yes, I know, trees!).  


At least I'm not considering my interest in Pinterest as part of my workout routine or my healthy lifestyle.  No, I've decided I'd be realistic and pin only those things that are really in my life, like pecan desserts.  Now there's a board!!!


What about you?  Have you done any pinning?  If so, please let us know what interests you've collected and give your Pinterest address so we can follow your boards.  I guess if I'm going to admit that I'm hooked on Pinterest, I can toss shame out the window and beg for more.....please!

Thanksgiving Dinner

The boys and their families are all coming to our house on Thanksgiving for dinner.  This afternoon Richard and I sat down to "plan" the menu.  We're having our traditional turkey and all the trimmings.  Here's the menu:

photo from fotosearch.com/

Roast Turkey

Pork Roast with Gravy

Rice

Cornbread Dressing

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Bake

Buttered Corn

Rolls

Pecan Pie 

We're cooking everything from scratch, so after dinner and movie with Will's family tonight, we finished up the grocery shopping.  

The only thing left is to straighten up the house and make room for the extra table.  

Because everyone in our family likes our pecan pies, I thought I'd share the recipe with you.  A couple of notes: I use ready-made rolled pie crusts, and I toss everything into the food processor to blend, chop and mix all at once.  Easy peasy!

Photo from aarp.com/recipes/pecan-pie

Easy Pecan Pie

3 cups sugar

3 cups pecans

1 1/2 sticks butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup evaporated milk

3 eggs

2 rolled pie crusts

Chop pecans, mix all ingredients and pour into prepared pie crusts.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Makes two pies.

Southern Pecan Pralines

Before I tell you how to make pralines, I think I owe you the story behind the recipe.  Every year for Christmas my dad would make these wonderful pecan pralines. 
It was a huge deal at our house.  Everyone pitched in to pick and shell the pecans.

When there were enough for "pecan candy," as my dad called it, he would put the big black iron pot on the stove and begin pouring in all sorts of sugars and butter and canned milk. Then the stirring began.

We each took a turn at stirring, but now I realize that it was only so we felt that we were a part of the process.  The candy in the pot is cooked at boiling temperatures and should it splash or splatter on hands and arms, it continues to cook and burn until cold water washes  it off.  That rarely ever happened, since daddy picked up each of us and allowed us to stir.

We'd give a big effort of stirring the pot of bubbling sugars squealing with delight. He'd set that daughter down and pick up the next one, each in turn so that everyone had a chance to stir.

At some point we were shooed out of the kitchen so that he could get to the serious business of stirring the caramelized sugars to keep the candy from  sticking or overcooking.  Once the candy was just the right consistency, he poured in the vanilla and pecans, stirring fast and hard to mix it all up, and then carried the hot pot to the counter or table where mom had spread out some waxed paper.

Together they ladled out the candy onto the paper to cool and harden.  We stayed close enough to smell the delicious concoction and perhaps get a finger into a dripped bubble, but far enough away so as not to be dripped on. 

Oftentimes, as sisters grew up and joined the service, their candy was bagged while still warm to insure that their care packages included the candy.  Now that grandchildren are away at college or stationed in some remote area as military personnel, we make candy to ship to them.

Over the years we've sent pecan candy to Germany, Iraq, Turkey, Afganistan, Guam, and all over the U.S.  And those are the places I can think of easily. Mom and dad sent candy and care packages around the world having had five daughters, as many sons-in-law and even more grandsons in the military.

So, mix up a batch of pecan candy, but get everyone in the house involved with the stirring.  You'll be glad for the assistance, and they'll have one more family memory to share.

Bourque Family Pecan Pralines
1 stick butter or margarine
3 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
2 cans evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 pound pecans (chopped, whole, or ground)

Melt butter in heavy pot or dutch oven. Add sugars and evaporated milk and cook at hard boil until reduced to thick syrup.  Stir continuously to keep from sticking to pan or burning.  May take 45 minutes to a hour.  Use a candy thermometer, if necessary, to register between medium ball stage and hard ball stage, or drop teaspoon of syrup into cup of cold water.  At soft ball stage the syrup will roll up between your fingers when you handle it in the water.  At hard ball stage the syrup will clump up in the water and easily roll into a ball between your fingers.  As you become more adept at making the candy, you will be better able to tell the correct stage.  When at the soft ball stage add the pecans and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir continuously until all pecans are coated. Remove from heat, add vanilla and stir quickly. 

Drop by tablespoons onto wax paper to cool.  Get a partner to help drop the candy onto the papers as it is crucial that it all be dropped before cooling in the pot.  If this happens, you can reheat the pot and candy to melt the sugars, but candy will be harder upon cooling.

If you give this recipe a try, let me know how it works for you.