The Simple Magic of Pecan Pie - No. 58

And how Steve’s recipe stirs up memories

My brother-in-law Steve brought pecan pie to Thanksgiving one year, and just like that, my family didn’t ask me to bake pie anymore.

We just want Steve’s pie, Mom.

And so last year when the pandemic Thanksgiving list didn’t include Steve and there were only four of us, we scaled the menu back to the bare essentials - turkey, dressing, gravy, and Steve’s pie.

Steve McDonough. Photo: Flowerree McDonough.

Steve McDonough is a retired Chattanooga pharmacist who transitioned from not baking at all to baking pecan pies every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. And being known across the country for them!

A generous soul, he bakes enough for second helpings. What’s not eaten at the holiday table goes home with people.

Now, Steve is humble and will say his pies are a cinch to crank out because the recipe is foolproof, but I can’t help wonder if it’s not the precision of the pharmacist that got the recipe where it is today. His exactitude, making sure the pecans are new crop and grown in Georgia and the halves right side up before baking because they look better that way, that the butter is salted, and the corn syrup is dark - these could be strong arguments for why his pie is extraordinary.

Steve wasn’t raised on pecan pie. He said his mother baked yellow or chocolate cakes for special occasions - with a chocolate fudge icing he and his sister adored - and his grandmother was a fruit cobbler baker, using local apples or blackberries, whatever was in season. But Steve learned to appreciate home baking and the people who took the time to do it right.

His pecan pie recipe came from his first wife Ann, and it was published in the St. Elmo Church of Christ’s 1982 cookbook.

We had some fabulous cooks at that church, and Ann’s pecan pie recipe was always popular. I don’t know where she got the recipe. It may have been one she got out of a cookbook and liked enough to claim as her own.

Ann died from cancer in 2004.

I know how comforting it is to bake recipes that belonged to someone you loved. I think about that every time I bake my mother’s Crescent Cookies and stir her chocolate toffee at Christmas.

Steve learns to bake pie

It didn’t take long for Steve to enroll in cooking classes.

Once I got past hamburger and bacon and eggs, I baked the pecan pie. I baked the first one in 2007 or 2008. It inspired me to contribute something to holiday dinners.

Which is how we tasted Steve’s pie. Steve brought the pie to Thanksgiving the year he was dating my sister-in-law Flowerree. He was charming in his own right, but oh my, that pie! What a conversation starter…

Today, the two are married, and while she does most of the cooking, and loves to bake cakes, Steve still bakes his pecan pie.

Steve’s pie. Photo: Flowerree McDonough.

Pecans are an indigenous American nut, a cousin of the hickory nut and grew wild in the South before they were successfully cultivated.

According to Jean Anderson and the late John Egerton, pecan pies were baked before corn syrup was invented, using cane syrup or sorghum if you had it.

But we likely know pecan pie so well because of Karo and its marketing. Interestingly, the pie can be made with either light or dark corn syrup, but most recipes don’t tell you to use either/or. They’re opinionated as to THE one to use.

Which, for Steve, is the richer taste you get from dark (blue label) Karo.

Plus salted butter to offset the sweetness of the pie, and always good fresh pecans. And baking it long enough to toast the nuts and brown the crust and bring out the flavor. Steve’s recipe originally called for 45 minutes baking, which he says is too long and instead keeps the pie in the oven about 30 to 35 minutes, but it really depends on your oven.

Because then, pecan pie isn’t just pie. It’s a tribute, a passion, and a calling.

How do you bake pecan pie?

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Next Week in Between the Layers: Let’s Start a Conversation

If this was television, we’d be entering the rating season, because about this time each year everyone heads to the kitchen to make the recipes that are meaningful to them. I want to hear from you. Tell us what you bake or cook for the memories and we can get some discussion threads going.

I have a little shameless self-promotion next Tuesday because IT’S THE RELEASE OF MY NEW COOKBOOK - A NEW TAKE ON CAKE! And there will be presents - giveaways - right here! Nashville, come see me at Parnassus Books at 6:30 pm 11/17 where I’ll be in conversation with my good friend Mary Hance who is kicking off her Penny Drive to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. I will be in Jackson, Mississippi, at Lemuria Books 11/18 at 5 pm, and in Greenwood, MS, at Turnrow Books on 11/19 at noon. Check my website for my book tour stops and come see me and let’s talk cake!

But after that, I’ll focus on the holidays. In these next weeks we will talk about sugar cookies, gingerbread, icebox rolls, cakes to bake and ship, cookbooks to gift, candied jalapeños and other last-minute gift ideas, as well as plain and simple cornbread, not necessarily in that order! So join us, chime in, and subscribe if you feel so moved.

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Steve’s Pecan Pie

Steve orders his pecans each year from Atwell Pecans in Wrens, GA, I’m a big fan of Schermer Pecans of Thomasville, GA. He calls for 1 cup pecan halves, but I try to sneak in a few more and have added 1 1/2 cups successfully to his recipe. He bakes the pies in advance just to check that off his list but also to make slicing easier. Steve has even found his favorite pastry solution: Frozen Pillsbury pie crust sheets he thaws and places into his pans. ‘’ Even if Emeril or Julia Child want us to make our own, I’d rather be golfing than making pie dough.’’

Makes 8 servings

1 9-inch pie crust

Filling:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

4 tablespoons salted butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 to 1 1/2 cups pecan halves

1. Place the pie crust in your pie pan, and crimp the edges or just press down on the edges of the crust with a fork to form decorative lines. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. For the filling, place the sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, vanilla, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine well. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and whisk into the mixture. Fold in the pecan halves.

3. Pour the filling into the pie crust, and arrange the pecan halves on top so the rounded sides are up. Place the pan in the oven, and bake until deeply golden brown and the pie no longer jiggles when you shake the pan, about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on your oven. (If needed, shield the crust with a piece of aluminum foil to prevent over browning.)

4. Remove the pan from the oven, and let the pie cool at least 1 hour before slicing. If possible, bake a day in advance and keep lightly covered at room temperature.