Curtis Aikens Pecan Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Make the crust: Melt the butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until butter turns golden brown (nut colored), about 4 minutes (do not burn.) Pour the butter into a small bowl and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Butter a 9-inch (not deep dish) pie pan lightly with butter. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of the food processor. Cut the frozen butter into quarters and add it to the flour mixture; process until mixture resembles moist sand. Add the water and process just until moist clump form. Using fingertips, press the dough evenly onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Crimp the edges decoratively if desired. Make the Filling: Melt Butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until butter turns golden brown (nut colored), about 4 minutes (do not burn.) Remove from heat and let stand until cooled but not set, about 10 minutes. Position the rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Whisk the eggs, brown sugar, and salt until well blended in a medium bowl. Stir in both syrups, cream and browned butter. Mix in the pecans. Pour the mixture into an unbaked piecrust. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is set, about 35 minutes. Cool completely. (Pie can be made 1 day ahead. Cover loosely and store at cool room temperature.)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter, water, and cornstarch. Bring to a full boil, and remove from heat.
• In a large bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Gradually beat in cooked syrup mixture. Stir in salt, vanilla, and pecans. Pour into pie shell.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until filling is set.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Refrigerate while preparing filling., In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add pecans; cook, stirring constantly, until very fragrant and pecans start to brown, 4-5 minutes. Remove pecans with a slotted spoon, reserving butter in pan. Stir in brown sugar, maple syrup, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. In a bowl, whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into eggs; return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Stir whiskey, optional, and vanilla into brown sugar mixture; stir in pecans. Pour into crust. , Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 55-60 minutes. Cover edges with foil during the last 30 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary. Cool on a wire rack. If desired, top with whipped cream and cinnamon. Refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• A is for vitamin A. We all know that Vitamin A is found in carrots, but it's also found in green vegetables like Asparagus and Artichokes 1/4 to 1/2 pound asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces 6 artichoke bottoms (hearts) cut into quarters
• B is for Broccoli. Former President Bush was famous for not enjoying broccoli, but his wife Barbara loved it, and she was dedicated to the cause of reading, all across this country. I hope you'll join me in thanking Barbara Bush for all of her work with literacy. 2 heads of broccoli (and their trimmed stalks) cut into pieces
• C is for Carrots, yummy! I love carrots; they're sweet, crunchy and good for the eyes, teeth and bones. 3 carrots, peeled and cut into pieces
• D is for Daikon, a vegetable used a lot in Asian cuisine. It adds a wonderful flavor to soup. 1 medium daikon, peeled and cut into pieces
• E is for Eggplant, not usually found in soups, but eggplant works, especially if you can find the small green Thai eggplant. You don't even have to peel them, just remove their caps. If you don't find Thai eggplant, purple eggplant will do nicely! 12 small Thai eggplant or 1 purple eggplant, peeled, diced and slightly sauteed in olive oil
• F is for Fungi; that means mushrooms! Any mushrooms will work; White button or Shiitake or Oyster. 2 handfuls of mushrooms, chopped and sauteed with a little bit of olive oil
• G is for Ginger. A fabulous root spice, the best of which comes from our 50th state, Hawaii. 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Ginger root, peeled and very finely chopped.
• H is for HOT. If you like your soups spicy hot, you can add Habanero peppers, which is the hottest pepper of all. Not everyone appreciates Habanero; in this soup they are optional and should be handled by grown ups only! 2 to 3 Habaneros, seeded and finely diced
• I is for Ingredients. This is what cooks call all of the things that go into a recipe. I have never found a vegetable that starts with the letter I. If you can think of one, please let me know!!
• J is for Jicama, a delicious root vegetable, which is quite popular in the tropical regions of the world, and looks very much like a potato. 1/4 cup jicama, peeled and diced
• K is for Kohlrabi, a great vegetable that comes in red, green and sometimes white. The leafy top and globe shaped bottom are all good to eat. A few diced kohlrabi leaves or 1/8 cup kohlrabi bottom, peeled and diced
• L is for Lemongrass, which is used a lot in Asia. If you can't find it, you can substitute a little lemon juice, or a little of its peel. 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass or 1/2 teaspoon yellow lemon peel, grated
• M is for Maize, the Native American word for corn Kernels of 3 ears of corn
• N is for Nutmeg, a wonderful spice that smells good too! 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Steps:

• Make the crust: In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter and blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl combine the egg white and ice water. Add liquid to dry ingredients and toss to combine. Form dough into ball and chill 1 hour.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a round 1/8-inch thick and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate, crimping the edge. Chill 1 hour more.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prick bottom and sides of shell, fit it with a round of wax paper and weight it with rice or beans. Bake shell for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. In a small bowl whisk together egg yolk with 1/4 teaspoon water and brush bottom and sides of shell with mixture. Return shell to oven and bake for 2 minutes more.
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. In a bowl set over simmering water melt butter. Remove bowl from heat and whisk in sugar, salt, eggs, one at a time, corn syrup and vanilla. Return bowl to heat and stir until mixture is shiny and warm to the touch. Add finely ground pecans and chopped pecans. Bake in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until center feels set, but still slightly soft. Cool at least 4 hours.
• Recommended Wine: Australian Muscat

Steps:

• For the dough:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Using the large holes of a hand grater, grate the butter into the mixing bowl with the flour mixture. Lightly blend the butter and flour mixture with your fingertips until the texture is like coarse cornmeal. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Add the ice water and blend until thoroughly incorporated. Form the dough into a ball and place it on a floured cutting board. Roll out the dough, adding flour as necessary, to 1/8-inch thick. Place an 8 1/2-inch pie pan face down on the dough and cut the dough to fit the pan, leaving a border of about 1-inch. Line the pie pan with the dough, trim the edges, and refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the filling:
• In an electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment, add the eggs and beat on high speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, salt, and ground roasted pecans. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Stir in the pecan pieces. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake until the filling is browned on top and the crust is light golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with a baking sheet on middle rack.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang under and lightly press against rim of pie plate, then crimp decoratively. Lightly prick bottom all over with a fork. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes (or freeze 10 minutes).
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in corn syrup, vanilla, zest, and salt. Lightly beat eggs in a medium bowl, then whisk in corn syrup mixture.
• Put pecans in pie shell and pour corn syrup mixture evenly over them. Bake on hot baking sheet until filling is set, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool completely.