Richard Danzey

Hello, again, everyone. I just followed up on Ruth's suggested recipe, and it looks like a winner. I may be wrong, but I don't think it's anything like the recipe my Mom used. But I have an excellent imagination, and the Engadine Torte will be fun. My Dad experienced tortes while in Europe (Belgium) during WWII. However, I believe a torte, for him, meant cake baked in very many thin layers, with icing between and around. Can't remember anything more specific than that. Is 'torte' a word that refers to many different kinds of dessert? Many thanks for the wonderful contributions to this thread. Regards... danz

<quote> Hum............I'm wondering if what you want isn't a completely different recipe, not a classic pecan pie recipe. What about a pecan tassie recipe where it's mainly brown sugar and eggs................or a stove top cooked caramel poured and chilled in a pie shell? Hi, Sinclair. I'm not familiar with the term 'tassie', and I haven't researched what it might mean yet. However, I wanted to get away from the 'custardy' quality that the eggs add to virtually every pecan pie repcipe out there. And Harold McGee suggested I reduce the egg ingredient. The 'custardy' was gone, but in it's place I got the thin runny quality to the filling, which, while improved by chilling still wasn't quite my goal. In the 'good old days' (read When Mom was doing the cooking<G>), I remember an occasional pie where the filling was neither custard like, nor runny. It was as if the filling had undergone a 'brown' change that resulted in a very gummy sticky quality where the pecans ended up embedded in the filling and pretty much one had to chisel the pie out of the pan. I'm not knowledgeable enough about cooking to know what the term is for the change or quality of the filling I'm after, but I suspect it may have to do with the behavior of sugar cooking in a candy-making-like situation. Unfortunately, it wasn't a sure fire occurence, and it's too late to ask Mom what she thinks about how to get that outcome. I always liked *any* pecan pie, and I guess lately I've just become interested in influencing how they come out. For now, my plan is to reduce or eliminate the maple syrup, which I love on it's own, add in some Karo, but not the usual amounts, experiment with white and brown sugar, and light and dark Karo. In case it hasn't become apparent, I'm diabetic, so Pecan Pie of any stripe has to be a seldom sort of thing. Due to an awful memory, I'm documenting a lot of what I'm doing so next year around holiday time, I can move on to a new variation, one that will bring me closer to the goal. I've really enjoyed this thread, and I'm delighted that I found this forum--especially when I was given the opportunity to ask Mr. McGee how I might proceed. Thanks to everyone who has contributed. I bring a new appreciation to pecan pies, and I'm anticpating more discoveries, too... danz

Well I made my first try at a 'new' pecan pie. I used the Deer Valley Pecan Pie recipe from *MasterCook*, with some modifications. Good but not what I’m after. Reduced eggs from 3 to 2 in the filling. Used Pillsbury prepared pie crust, not scratch made. Daubed it with extra butter before first baking, and that came out well. I tried toasting pecans in a skillet. That didn’t work so well. I got them too hot and burned them a little. The recipe uses no Karo syrup. Has brown sugar and maple syrup. I was trying to get a gummy gooey sticky, almost one step below ‘hard candy’ stiff caramelized filling with the pecans ‘lodged’ in the sticky. What I got was a liquid super sweet amalgam of brown sugar and maple syrup, which, while brown enough, didn’t get thick and sticky. Also, it was missing the ‘molasses’ like flavor a pecan pie needs. I also need to use less vanilla--½ t instead of 1--and add a little salt, which though not on the recipe, I intended to add, but forgot to do. I think I might need to mix the brown sugar and maple syrup and cook them like candy to the temp--whatever it is--where it turns gummy and then mix in the rest of the ingredients and bake. That's a guess. When I browned the butter, I could have done it a bit longer, and or used 5 heat setting instead of 4.5. We had unsalted butter, and I think that was a mistake too. I could have left the pie in to bake a little longer, as the filling was liquid and runny--partly because of fewer eggs--but the crust was getting very brown around the edges and I was reluctant to leave it in any longer. I followed the temp recommendations (350), but may want a higher temp for final baking next time--not sure. Depends on if that will get me a thicker sticky gooey filling or not. At least the first serious attempt was better than edible. It just wasn’t what I was after… Awhile after eating the inaugural piece of pie, my B/G was 268!!! Put into the fridge, a cooler pie was much more gooey than at room temp and quite a bit closer to what I was looking for. However, pecans were mildly burned in toasting attempt, and flavor of Karo syrup was missing. Maple syrup was not much of a boost. Need to experiment with toasting pecans, and with making filling stickier. Quite an adventure for a semi-senile old man! I'm looking forward to the next attempt, already. Thanks for this wonderful thread. danz

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions for toasting the pecans in a pecan pie recipe. Someone suggested deep frying, and blanching (almonds), but no one suggested any other techniques to enhance nuts for cooking and eating. Are there other ways to make 'em better? Oh, I forgot; someone suggested boiling walnuts to reduce bitterness, but that may have been in a different forum, I can't recall, exactly. I can remember walking past a nut shop in downtown Cleveland as a boy. They vented the exhaust from the roasting process out onto the sidewalk, and made me a nut lover for life, I suspect. Tomorrow, I try to make the super pecan pie I've been anticipating for months, now. TIA for your help... danz

Hello. I owe an overdue debt of thanks to those who have contributed to this thread. Tomorrow, I will be attempting the first of the 'new generation' of pecan pies<G>. I have collected several ideas and suggestions to improve upon that wonderful old standby. I have enough variables to experiment with for a one pie a year series that lasts the rest of my life. Thanks, everyone... danz

I just found this first entry on a Google Search: http://www.karosyrup.com/history.asp danz

Many of the Pecan Pie recipes suggest toasting the pecans before inclusion in the pie. I suspect this is a significant step in accentuating the pie flavor. Can anyone give a 'Level 101' tutorial on how to toast the pecans? I would also be interested in a more comprehensive discussion about treating all nuts before use as an ingredient, or just preparing them to eat. The term roasting comes to mind in reference to nuts. Are there any other techniques that are used? How are they done? Despite the high calory nature of the topic, I usually tend to eat very low carb, and focus on nuts as an acceptable change of pace. Almonds are a favorite, and I'd appreciate any guidance on preparing them. TIA... danz

Hello. I'm a newbie, and just missed getting a Question to Harold McGee before the forum closed. I'm repeating the main questions here since the topic is Pecan Pie. I hope this is not out of order. I have two questions about making a pecan pie come out a little differently. First: How do I reduce or even eliminate the custardy quality to the filling, leaving just a rich caramelized syrup like product, instead? Second: What changes should I make, in ingredients or procedure, to allow the filling to almost solidify, leaving a product that is gummy gooey, almost pull your teeth out of their sockets sticky? I've had pecan pie with these qualities and prefer it to the conventional outcome, but it was long ago, and I never thought to find out how it was accomplished. Now it's not possible. Since I don't believe Mr. McGee will be answering these questions, I hope someone here or elsewhere on site can and will. Thanks for your cooperation. Regards... danz

Thanks for participating in this event. My wife, now knows what to give me for Christmas<G>. I have two questions about making a pecan pie come out a little differently. First: How do I reduce or even eliminate the custardy quality to the filling, leaving just a rich caramelized syrup like product, instead? Second: What changes should I make, in ingredients or procedure, to allow the filling to almost solidify, leaving a product that is gummy gooey, almost pull your teeth out of their sockets sticky? I've had pecan pie with these qualities and prefer it to the conventional outcome, but it was long ago, and I never thought to find out how it was accomplished. Now it's not possible. Best wishes for great success with your new book. And thanks for writing it. I can't tell you how many times I've wished for an update with even more included. Looking to see if you might have done so, is what led me to eGullet at this point in time, only to find out there *is* a new book, and you would be on eGullet to answer questions, to boot. Thanks, again... danz