Happy #NationalPecanPieDay!

Julia took a moment to go over and watch the cane mill, where a placid ox hitched to a lever walked ’round and ’round the contraption. The cane mill was two vertical iron rollers set in a heavy wood frame, and Franklin Ivey and the other feeders slowly passed the towering red cane stalks between the grinding rollers as the ox worked the treadmill. As the juice was squeezed out of the stalks of cane, it ran into a trough attached to the mill frame, while the cane pulp fell from the other side.

The uncooked cane juice in the barrels was pale green, and as it cooked and was stirred it thickened and ripened to a deep amber, becoming the syrup prized for sweetening everything from coffee to pecan pie to biscuits.

--Smuggler's Bride 

I admit to some befuddlement over today being #NationalPecanPieDay, because every Southern gal knows pecans are a fall harvest. I keep my fresh, in the shell nuts in the freezer to use all year, but I make my pies for Thanksgiving and winter events.

However, I freely acknowledge than anytime is a good time for pecan pie and in the summer you can add some fresh churned ice cream to go along with your pie.

The other nice thing about pecan pie is it's easy to make (especially if you use a pre-made pie shell.) You can use either corn syrup or cane syrup for your sweetner, and in just about an hour you can have a hot pie fresh from the oven. Here's a classic recipe:


PECAN PIE

1 cup corn syrup or cane syrup
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans
1 (9-inch) unbaked deep-dish pie crust

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla using a spoon. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into pie crust.

Bake on center rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes. Cool on wire rack before serving.