Smokey Mountain Breakdown

Pecan (pronounced Pee-Can, thank you very much) Pie must be one of the most readily identified desserts in the South. You really have to have a well-developed sweet tooth for this. I'm not sure how the idea to make a ultra-rich caramel custard with karo syrup and eggs came about, but I often wonder how we came up with some of these combinations.

My sister had an Brit boyfriend who developed an unfortunate addiction to the stuff. He came for our big Thanksgiving bash one year with Simone. We cut into one of the many pecan pies there and found that somebody had eaten all the gooey center leaving just the nut crust on top. All eyes went to Stuart. And this was a grown man!

Yes...pecan pie addiction can be an ugly business.

Back when I was still bumming around working on movies, there was this one caterer who got me addicted to Bourbon Pecan Pie. The wardrobe guy and I could almost always be found sneaking extra slices back to our trailers at lunch time. So, of course, I had to learn how to make it.

This is one of the more simple pecan pie recipes. Here's the recipe:

Bourbon Pecan Pie

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 to 2 cups pecan halves
2 tablespoons good-quality bourbon
1 (9-inch) deep-dish pie shell, unbaked...or make your own if you are so inclined.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar and melted butter. Add the corn syrup, eggs, pecans, and bourbon, and stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour mixture into an unbaked pie shell, and place on a heavy-duty cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes, or until pie is set. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Notes: I add more bourbon and prefer to use the cheapest, strongest tasting bourbon I can find. Personally, I'd rather have my Maker's Mark or Wild Turkey with a bit of branch water. This recipe gives a hint of flavor to the pie. There are a few ways to give the bourbon more emphasis. One is to soak the nuts overnight in bourbon. Another is to put some bourbon in a spray bottle and spritz the crust with it.

Ideally, I would serve this warm with vanilla ice cream and drizzle with a whisky sauce.