Monday, February 11, 2008

Brrrr! Get some Southern heat up here! - Shaver's Chocolate Pecan Pie

We woke up on Sunday to 14-below weather with a wind chill of -38 degrees. "Why do we live here, again?" asked J the BF as we jumped out of bed only long enough to turn on the fireplace and rush back under the covers. This is a world away from the Alabama winters I grew up with for sure. At least we were not "up north" this weekend with our neighbors in International Falls, MN who were enjoying an air temp of 40 below (a record, fitting their new official title as "The Nation's Icebox").

This being the Twin Cities, we can't sit at home and hide from the weather. Instead, we get out and visit friends and act as if this sort of weather is normal. Our buddies JH and Dr. Sam host a monthly "soup" party during the winter where we gather at their place to share soup, wine, progressive ideas, art and other Yuppie liberal notions. I usually bring a dessert, so I decided to err toward something Southern to cut through the chill. I have this recipe for Chocolate Pecan Pie that I ripped out of a promotional magazine my mother had in her kitchen. We had it for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, and it was a big hit - a fudgy just sweet-enough chocolate filling studded with loads of crunchy pecans. I love pecan pies because they are so rediculously easy to mix up and get great results.

Shaver's Chocolate Pecan Pie
1/2 c (1 stick) butter
2 squares (2 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c light corn syrup
1/4 c all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 c chopped or whole pecans
1 9 in. unbaked pie crust (I use Pillsbury frozen crusts - regular, not deep dish)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler over hot water.
Pour this into a large bowl and let cool slightly.
Add the beaten eggs, then stir in the sugar, corn syrup, flour, vanilla, and salt. Fold in the pecans.
Pour filling into crust and bake for 30 minutes or until the top looks dry (I cooked mine for about 37 minutes)

Recipe is from Paula Dean's Kitchen Classics (according to blogger Angelninas)

1 comment:

Eric V. said...

Yum! Do you have any left?!