Every Christmas I used to cook a pecan pie from a recipe I found in one of Ann Landers holiday columns sometime in the sixties. Since I was thinking of making it again this year, I was thrilled to learn that Dear Abby also had a pecan pie recipe. Hoping to combine recipes to create my own distinctive version of the dessert, I got a copy of each.
After studying them carefully, here are the only differences that I could find: Ann tells us to use white corn syrup; Abby suggests using light corn syrup. Although both women's recipes call for a cup of dark brown sugar, only Abby wants us to make sure the cup is firmly packed. Ann tells us to use a pinch of salt and a dash of vanilla; Abby, clearly wanting to leave nothing to chance, recommends using 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of vanilla. Otherwise, the recipes are exactly the same.
Last week while visiting with our banker (yes, there are some things you just have to actually go inside a bank branch, apparently) we got on the topic of food. Naturally. We were trading names of favorite restaurants, talking about the holidays, when our banker mentioned how he couldn’t wait to enjoy his family’s Christmas coquito.
As with any Southern celebration, the table will be donned and decked with the literal pieces of our family’s legacy. A great aunt’s china, grandmother’s silver, or mama’s linens. We Southerners know our people and know their worth–a worth laden with sentiment, honor, and legacy if not anything monetarily per say. The memories of those who celebrated this meal are held dear as we utilize their treasures as we shepherd our lives into this New Year.
“Now, I go on a diet.”