Dessert is a favorite part of the meal.  Pies are the traditional Thanksgiving dessert in our family.  This year we had apple streusel, pumpkin, and cinnamon custard pies, a gingerbread pear tart, and a chocolate chip pumpkin bundt cake.  We did not make a pecan pie for Thanksgiving day, but I just couldn’t stand not having a piece this year.  So we made one after Thanksgiving…not that we really needed any more pie, but a little extra pie never really hurt anyone.

This is the recipe that my Grandma June always made, and it is the best pecan pie ever.  I use whole pecans because it looks prettier and I like getting a big pecan in a bite instead of some chopped up pieces.  This does make the pie incredibly difficult to cut a pretty piece from.  But it looks beautiful on a holiday table and by the time people start devouring it, no one cares what it looks like.

Grandma June’s Pecan Pie

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs beaten
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups whole pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 steaspoon vanilla
• 1 unbaked pie shell

1. Beat butter and brown sugar until creamy.
2. Mix in eggs, corn syrup, salt and vanilla.
3. Put pecans into pie shell, then pour filling on top.
4. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
5. Let cool before cutting.
6. Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

I also got to spend some time with my sister Lindsey, my brother-in-law Scott and my ridiculously adorable nephew Beckett.

Here are some pics of the reception and food.  Passed hors d’oeuvres included spanikopita, chicken wrapped bacon bites and minature chicken and pineapple kabobs and a self-serve cheese bar.  They served roast beef with horseradish sauce, and grainy mustard and dinner rolls as the main meal with a mashed potato bar.  Mashed potatoes were generously scooped into a martini glass, then you had the options of any or all of seven toppings…cheddar cheese, chives, sour cream, blue cheese, bacon, sauteed onions and sauteed mushrooms.

The cakes were beautiful and yummy as well.  I liked the chocolate groom’s cake the best, but the wedding cake was nice because it had two different flavors.  Part of the cake was filled with raspberry filling, and part with lemon filling.  I liked the combination of flavors, and if somehow you were to receive a bit of each, you would be perfectly pleased since the raspberry and lemon are so complimentary.

I had such a great weekend with family.  My family, both immediate and extended, are great about staying in touch and making the effort to attend big events like weddings.  It’s a blessing to still feel so connected to people after years of not living near each other or seeing each other very often, but yet when you are together it feels like no time has passed.  My cousin, the little girl I remember playing My Little Pony with, is married.  Life goes by so fast.