The American Favorites section is where we have placed recipes for dishes that have become American favorites; these recipes are for foods that are enjoyed by many people throughout this great country of ours. In this particular section, I won't assign a specific part of the country as being the origin of the recipe.
At the bottom of this page, you will have an opportunity to E-mail us and give us your thoughts on this page. We encourage this. After all, we will be tailoring this "Cooking Around the World" series according to the wishes of our viewers.
Pastry
1¼ c all-purpose flour ¼-inch pieces
4 T chilled vegetable shortening 1/8 tsp salt
or lard 3 T ice water
2 T chilled butter, cut in
-----------------------------
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, vegetable shortening or lard,
butter and salt. Working quickly, use your fingertips to rub the flour and
fat together until they look like flakes of coarse meal. Pour 3 T of ice
water over the mixture, toss together, and press and knead gently with your
hands until the dough can be gathered into a compact ball. Dust very lightly
with flour, wrap in wax paper and chill the dough for at least ½ hour.Lightly butter a 9-inch pie plate. On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a circle about 1/8 inch thick and 13 to 14 inches in diameter. Lift it up on the rolling pin and unroll it over the pie plate, leaving enough slack in the middle of the pastry to enable you to line the plate without pulling or stretching the dough. Trim the excess pastry with a sharp knife to within ½ inch of the pie plate and fold the extra ½ inch under to make a double thickness all around the rim of the plate. With the tines of a fork or your fingers, press the pastry down around the rim.
Preheat the oven to 400°. To prevent the unfilled pastry from buckling as it bakes, either set another pie plate, lightly buttered on the underside, into the pastry shell, or line it with a sheet of lightly buttered foil. In either case, do not prick the pastry or the filling will run out when it is added later.
Bake the shell in the center of the oven for 8 minutes, remove the pie plate or foil and let the shell cool while you make the filling.
Filling
4 eggs 1 tsp vanilla
2 c dark corn syrup 1½ c pecans
2 T melted butter
---------------------
With a wire whisk or rotary beater, beat the eggs in a mixing bowl for
about 30 seconds. Then slowly pour in the syrup and continue to beat until
they are well combined. Beat in the melted butter and vanilla, and stir in
the pecans. Carefully pour the filling into the pie shell. Bake in the
middle of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is firm. Serve
the pie warm or cooled to room temperature. Makes one 9-inch pie.
