Pecan Pie

 Classic.

Probably the best pecan pie I ever had (even without the chocolate drizzle). One inconvenient side effect of baking is that my bar for sweets has been raised many-fold. Now when I eat store-bought goods, I can’t help thinking, “Mine is better.” Muhahaha! Legendary chef Jacques Pepin claims that his wife says the same thing about his cooking. So I guess there’s a bit of self-aggrandizement involved. But still, it’s good, and I attribute this to two factors.

First, excellent recipes. I love the recipes in the Pie Bible! Everything comes out rich (lots of butter, cream, and egg yolks!) and flavorful without being over the top. I don’t feel the need to reduce the sugar or fat as I do with, say, Paula Deen’s recipes. You can really tell Ms. Beranbaum did a lot of experimentation and test-eating to find the sweet spot with all the pies. This pecan pie, for example, was perfectly moist without being runny or bready (or downright hard like the filling in store-bought pies) and just the right amount of sweet. I say yummy!

Second, freshness. Fresh is always better. Well, I guess there are some exceptions where you want the flavors to mellow or mingle overnight. But, in most cases, nothing beats freshness, especially not freshly baked pie:) Now when I see the same cake at the bakery day after day, yet unsold… Well, ewww, that can’t be very good. I like my pies because they’re usually consumed the day they’re made.

I guess neither is entirely my doing. Perhaps what I really want to say is that homemade is best! I think I may become a ‘homemade’ fanatic.

 With Bokbunja-ju.

Who knew that pecan pie is great with black raspberry wine? Great alternative to the regular old coffee and whipped cream. Delicious new discovery, I’d say!