Pecan

Pear, Pecan and Cranberry Salad with Honey Goat Cheese Dressing

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Whenever I eat goat cheese I wonder why I don’t use it more often.  I love its tang and creaminess.  Even the tiniest of crumbles of the stuff can transform a dish.  The honey goat cheese dressing on this salad was so tasty, and took an already great salad to another level of deliciousness.

My mother in law turned me on to skinnytaste.com after making two meals for us with recipes from the site.  Both tasted great and were pretty healthy.  If you do Weight Watchers, then you’re in luck because Gina includes the points.

I added some grilled chicken to this salad to make it a meal.  Instead of apples I used pears, which I think pair better with the other ingredients.  You must, must, must toast the pecans.  The flavor of any nut is improved by a quick toasting in the oven or in a dry skillet on the stove.  Do the same when you are adding pecans, walnuts or almonds to baked goods.  They just taste better.  So take the extra 5 minutes.  You’ll be glad you did.

This salad recipe used measurements for the apples and cranberries, but I just added what I wanted.  This probably messes with the points, so here is the link to Gina’s original recipe.  If you don’t care so much about counting out how many cranberries or slices of apple you can use, then just pile on a plate the following ingredients and top with the dressing.

  • Spring mix or baby spinach
  • Dried cranberries
  • 1 Bosc Pear, sliced
  • Toasted pecans, halves or pieces
  • Grilled chicken, sliced (optional)

The dressing was a little on the thick side when I made it, so I added a little more water, lemon juice and a touch of olive oil to loosen it up a bit.  After storing the leftover dressing in the fridge it was no longer pour able, so either let it warm up at room temp before you plan to use it again, or zap it in the microwave for a few seconds and stir it up.  Enjoy!

Honey Goat Cheese Dressing

Courtesy of skinnytaste.com

Ingredients

  • 4 oz goat cheese, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tbsp honey
  • 2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 1-2 tbsp water
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
  1. In a small blender, combine goat cheese, honey, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, water.
  2. Season to taste with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
  3. Add more lemon juice, water, or oil to create desired consistency.

 

Buttermilk Pecan Pie

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As some of you may know I have a bit of an obsession with Rebecca Rather and her bakery in Fredericksburg, Texas.  I saw her there once and I was starstruck!  She was signing a book for someone, and I thought about getting her to sign my face…but thought better of it.  OK, so I am not that obsessed.  Honestly though, the bakery is incredible and so is her Pastry Queen cookbook.  I have made a total of 16 recipes from it, and everything has been wonderful.  I know I’ve said this before, but it’s true.  No failures, no disasters, no disappointments to speak of.  Buy it now.

This last recipe that I tried from her cookbook was no exception to the rule of deliciousness.  Buttermilk Pecan Pie.  I love pecan pie.  My grandma June’s is by far my favorite.  Grandma June’s pie is a classic pecan pie with the corn syrup and yummy gooey center.  Rather’s buttermilk pie is creamier, with just a bit of gooey going on.  I am one who likes the gooey-ness, but some people are averse to pecan pie goo.  Crazy, I know.  So this would be a good alternative for those crazy goo hating people who like pecans and pie.

I did not make my own pie crust.  I am so very sorry.  I had a Pillsbury one in the freezer and was short on time, so I gave in and took a shortcut.  One day I will have the time to make everything from scratch all the time, but at this point in my life I do not have that kind of time!

Serve this pie with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Buttermilk Pecan Pie

Courtesy of The Pastry Queen cookbook

Ingredients
  • 1 ½  cup whole pecans or pecan pieces
  • 1 stick butter, room temperature
  • 1 ¼  cups granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • ¼  teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 un-baked pie crust
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place pecans on a cookie sheet and toast for 8-10 minutes or until aromatic. Let cool, then chop if using whole pecans.
  2. Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees F.
  3. In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and both sugars. Beat in vanilla and then eggs, one at a time.
  4. Stir in flour and salt. Add buttermilk and stir until fully incorporated. Stir in pecans.
  5. Pour into pie shell.
  6. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, then let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.  This pie may also be chilled.

Grandma June’s Pecan Pie

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Thanksgiving was wonderful.  Ben and I traveled to my sister’s house in Dallas to spend the holiday with my parents, my 3 sisters and their husbands, my nephew, cousins and their husbands,  their kiddos, my aunt and uncle and grandpa.   We had 19 people for lunch on Thursday, and it was so great to have so many people there.  It’s getting harder and harder for all of us to get together now that everyone is moving to all ends of the country and having kids.  So, this was a special Thanksgiving.  The food was incredible and included a cornucopia of turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, green bean and mushroom casserole, balsamic roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed carrots and fennel, and flaky rolls.

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.

pecan7

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