As many of you know I have been wanting to make a pecan pie for a few weeks now. I went to the Somis Nut House and bought pecans, found a recipe on-line and thought about making it for a good 2-3 weeks after that. That is one of the few drawbacks to being single, if you make a pie, you eat a pie, alone and that is just not the healthiest scenario. So when I got invited over to a friends house for dinner last night, I had visions of pecan pies dancing through my head...yes, kind of like the Night Before Christmas...but different.



This pecan pie was truly the easiest thing ever! So if you are looking for an easy pie recipe for your Thanksgiving Day festivities, this is the one. It is chewy, gooey and has that yummy brown sugar molasses taste! The recipe gave the option of using pecan halves or chopped pecans, but I had always had pecan pie growing up with halves so that is what I used and it turned out great.


So take a frozen crust, if you are short on time, use a store bought one. Actually Trader Joe's has really good frozen crusts. They are light and flakey! Or you can make your own, just depends on how over the top you want to be. Next sprinkle the bottom of the crust with pecans.



Mix the other ingredients together in a bowl-eggs, melted butter, dark corn syrup, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour over the pecans. The pecans will float to the top.


Bake for 45-50 minutes. Voila!

Here is the actual recipe: http://www.thecountrycook.net/2012/05/southern-pecan-pie.html


I was actually super excited because she asked me if I wanted to come over and cook with her and since I am always up for a new food adventure, I said "yes," without hesitation. I also love to cook in other peoples kitchen...something about being a cupboard voyeur...not in a creepy way.

She chose a Southwestern menu from one of her favorite restaurants in Sedona, AZ. The cookbook is beautiful and I loved the pics and she said the food at the restaurant was incredible...I so need to make it to Sedona...does anyone want to take me? Here is the link to the restaurant and the cookbook: http://www.elotecafe.com/


So for the menu we had seafood tacos, which were a combination of cod and Mexican shrimp. They were marinated in an orange juice, soy sauce, cumin, dried ancho pepper and some other seasonings. The marinade is cooked in a pan until the pepper is soft and then once the mixture has cooled, it is blended to make it smooth. The tacos were incredible!


 And we served them with a spicy cabbage slaw, guacamole and a lime aioli.



As a side dish we did a jicama, orange, radish, cilantro salad with a spicy dressing that consisted of olive oil, cholula, lemon juice, cumin, salt and chili peppers. It was so light and refreshing!


We had a great time in the kitchen-cooking, drinking a glass of wine and sharing life stories! It was truly one of those perfect kitchen moments. If we got too quiet her husband would come check on us aka. taste test the food.

She also has an amazing eye for decorating so walking into her house and seeing her beautifully decorated table made me feel like I stepped into an issue of Architectural Digest. It was absolutely beautiful!

And I made a new friend!! I don't know if he was as interested in me as I was in him, but I was pretty sure we had a love at first site moment...hmmm or oh wait maybe that is why I am single. He may actually think I am a stalker...but what exactly is the definition of a stalker! Haha!


There is truly nothing better than good friends, good food and fun Fall festivities! Cheers!