A New Pie You've Never Tasted!

We all have our stand-by pies at Thanksgiving... pumpkin, apple, pecan. I never eat these "plain" pies any more, as I've discovered a trove of variations that taste so much better.

Then I found a totally UNIQUE pie that I loved!

It's called "Jefferson Davis Pie" (review your Civil War history to remember who Jefferson Davis was). It's a little-known southern delicacy, brought back in the limelight a few years ago by "Cook's Country" magazine, a sister to Cooks Illustrated, my favorite! This pie has a brown sugar custard on top and a gooey sweet fruit crust on the bottom. Even if you're not a fan of one of the ingredients (I'm not a raisin fan, for example) you'll still goo goo over this pie! I recently took it to a RS "Pie Night" where recipes were swapped and tasted and this one, well, took the "cake."

So, try a new pie this Thanksgiving! You'll be thanking me!

Jefferson Davis Pie

Serves 8

1/2	cup raisins (golden are best)
1/2	cup chopped dates
1/2	cup pecans , toasted and chopped
1	(9-inch) pie shell , pre-cooked
3	tablespoons all-purpose flour
1	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4	teaspoon ground allspice
1/2	teaspoon salt
1	cup packed light brown sugar
8	tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , softened
5	large egg yolks
1 1/2	cups heavy cream

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse raisins, dates, and pecans in food processor until finely ground. Transfer mixture to chilled pie shell and gently press into even layer.

2. Combine flour, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in small bowl. With electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat sugar and butter until just combined, about 1 minute. Mix in yolks, one at a time, until incorporated. Add flour mixture and cream and mix, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, until just combined.

3. Pour filling over fruit and nuts in prepared crust and bake until surface is deep brown and center jiggles slightly when pie is shaken, 55 to 65 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack, about 4 hours. Serve. (Pie can be refrigerated, covered in plastic wrap, for 2 days.)

Twas the Week Before Thanksgiving

Hello foodies!

With Thanksgiving a little over a week away, I wanted to share some of my very favorite recipes this week that might be a bit of a twist on your regular Thanksgiving fare. I know we all have traditional food that we serve on Thanksgiving, but for the last few years I have made it a point to put at least one different item on the menu. Go ahead, be daring! I promise that all of the recipes that I share with you on this blog will be total hits!

The recipe I want to share with you first is actually a breakfast recipe. I know, not Thanksgiving dinner. But this afternoon as I looked at the 6 apples I bought to make an apple pie with, I determined that they were destined for another, equally yummy use. For those of you who have been to "The Original Pancake House," you'll agree that the German Apple Pancake is a definite worthy substitute for apple pie!

German Apple Pancake

a la Cooks Illustrated

1 c flour

1 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

2/3 c. half and half

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/4 lb apples (3-4)... I used Gala and Golden Delicious, but you can use Grannys or Braeburns

1/4 c packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp lemon juice

1) Preheat oven to 500.

2) Peel, core, quarter, and slice apples to 1/2" thick (I use an apple-peeler-corer-slicer, which if you don't have one you're missing out!).

3) In a 10" nonstick skillet, melt butter over med-high heat. Add the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon and cook until the apples are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice.

4) While apples are cooking, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, half-and-half, and vanilla.

5) Once apples are done cooking, quickly pour the batter around the edge of the skillet then over the apples. Place the skillet in the oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Bake about 18 minutes, or until pancake is puffy and golden brown. Loosen the edges of the pancake with a spatula and invert the pancake onto a large plate or serving platter.

Serve dusted with powdered sugar, or even better, drizzled with one of my syrup recipes.