Texas Pecans

On my recent departure from Texas, my hostess Evelyn was gracious enough to give me a gallon freezer bag stuffed with fresh pecan halves.  Her two trees produced a bumper crop this year, and as fast as she and her companion Russell can eat them, they mount up.  Russell, who will be 80 this July, enjoys sitting in a worn ladder-back chair under a lean-to in the back yard, not far from the trees, shelling pecans for hours at a time.  As he works, he watches Ratzy and Angel, their cats, play with Snickerdoodle, a pint-sized dust mop of a dog.  The bird feeder draws all types of birds from the nearby Brazos, including the brilliant startle of cardinals.  The view is green this time of year as far as the eye can see from the back yard, which overlooks the Brazos flood plain.  A fine green tracery softens the stark mesquite and sage, fragrant on the ever-present plains wind.  The temperate weather of spring is a precious commodity in Northwest Texas.  All too soon, the heat will drive them all indoors.  There is a history to this tableau: Evelyn's father, Doyle, used to spend time in his yard in Huckabee and other points in Texas shelling pecans from his own trees.  I believe Evelyn finds this simple tradition comforting.  As she put it in her recent letter: "Dull is GOOD."

One can't say the same for pecan recipes.  They are a ubiquitous nutmeat in Texas and other points South and found in all courses.  The following appetizer is a perfect cocktail bite, and comes from the Seymour High School senior class fundraiser cookbook.  I'm powerless over my compulsion to collect regional fundraiser cookbooks; in between the recipes for Velveeta fudge and cream of mushroom casseroles you can find some good eats.  Even Evelyn, one of God's perfect creatures but a terrible cook, makes these frequently.

Spiced Pecans

• 1/8 C (2 Tbsp.) Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
• 5 C pecan halves
• 1/8 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/8 C (2 Tbsp.) melted butter or margarine
• (1 tsp. cumin, optional)

Mix all ingredients together and coat pecans well.  Spread out on cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, shaking pan occasionally.  Do not let burn.

Catfish is a favorite local dish.  At the Rock Inn diner in Seymour, you can get yours any way you like as long as it's thickly breaded and deep-fried.  This is a slightly different treatment from a cookbook I picked up in Dallas called Cordon Bubba. I haven't tried it yet but it "reads good."  If the notion  of catfish creeps you out I imagine it would be just as good with chicken breast fillets.

Pecan-crusted catfish

• 1/3 C coarse mustard
• 1/4 C Dijon-style mustard
• 1/4 C dry white wine
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 C seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 C coarsely ground, lightly toasted pecans
• 1 lb. catfish fillets

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Thoroughly mix mustards, wine and garlic in small bowl.  Set aside.  Mix bread crumbs and pecans together in a large flat plate.  Pat fillets dry with paper towels.  Dip each fillet in mustard mixture, then press into the pecan/crumb mixture, creating a heavy crust.  Place on a flat baking pan.  Bake 30 to 40 minutes, depending on thickness of fillets.

This isn't a Texan recipe, but is similar to many pecan cookies I've found in my various cookbooks from that region.  I first tasted these at a Mendocino bed and breakfast and demanded the recipe, practically at gunpoint.  They make a nice Christmas cookie, but be warned, make an extra batch or you'll have none to give away.  They're that good.

Pecan Crescents

• 1 C pecans (4 oz.)
• 2 sticks salted butter, softened
• 1 (1-lb.) box confectioner's sugar (or less)
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 C sifted all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)

Pulse pecans in a food processor until finely ground, being careful not to grind to a paste.  Remove from processor and set aside.  Add butter to processor and pulse until smooth and creamy, then add 5 tablespoons sugar, pulsing in 1 tablespoon at a time.  Reserve remaining confectioner's sugar.  Add and pulse water and vanilla, then flour and nuts in 2 or 3 batches, pulsing just until a dough is formed.  Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 2 hours or, best, overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll level teaspoons of dough into 3-inch ropes, tapering ends.  Curve each roll into a crescent and arrange crescents 1 inch apart on greased baking sheets.  Bake in batches in middle of oven until pale golden, 12 to 14 minutes.  (Tip: be sure to keep unbaked dough cool and let baking sheets cool between batches so cookies do not spread.)

The recipe calls for gently tossing the baked cookies, while still warm, a few at a time, in the remainder of the confectioner's sugar sifted into a bowl.  I find this creates too thick a coat of sugar, and prefer to sift the confectioner's sugar lightly over the cookies while still warm, and once again before serving, letting the buttery pecan flavor predominate.

Finally, the best pecan pie I ever made comes from a non-Texas source, and isn't even a pecan pie, strictly speaking.  As it is widely available, I won't repeat it here, but simply direct you to Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen (his first cookbook), pp. 319-320, the decadent Sweet Potato Pecan Pie.  It's a pain in the ass to make, and one could simplify the crust process without too much damage to the final product (God bless Pillsbury ready-made), but look at that color photo facing page 321 and tell me that doesn't look worth it.

Happy vittles.

recipes

Comments

[Neal]

Bowsy sent me here. I came, I saw, I ran out of time cos dinner's ready, but I'll be back to sniff out the place and post a link to your site

Neal at MatchstickCats.com

[Neal at MatchstickCats.com]

Thanks for the link by the way :)

[fragileindustries]

Why, thank YOU, Neal (secretly controlled by Bear-Master Bowsy). Why is everything to do with cats and cheese funny? I leave it to the Irish bears. Stop by any time.