November 27th
2005
16 friends from 8 nations sharing the passion for great food and all set to indulge themselves in a night of fun and laughter and of course glorious food. Ok, the timing was slightly off by a day, but due to everyone’s schedule couldn't have been on that last Thursday of November. So in anticipation for Friday night's dinner, I hadn’t eaten since late morning and was starting to get really hungry (good thing I don't get easily cranky because of food deprivation...)
Our dear friends Craig and Dagi, who initiated our weekly Friday night's sneak-preview-cinema-get-together which we couldn't live without anymore, compiled a fantastic, very traditional and lovely decorated Thanksgiving menu. Including the usual suspects such as sweet potato puree, gravy, green beans, baked rosemary potatoes, caramelized carrots, additional chestnut-celery stuffing, pumpkin pie and the main actor, an 18 pound bird to go with. Needless to say, I'm sure both have had plenty of turkey sandwiches since. Due to oven-space issues the turkey was kept warm under a cozy duvet until it was served, which I'm sure made someone earn some turkey karma points that night ;) Besides the scrumptious creations from everybody else (pumpkin soup, sweet corn muffins, corn on the cob, Cumberland sauce, toblerone mousse, apple pie, ...), my humble contribution were two pecan pies one with dried apricots, the other one with loads of chocolate coating.
New to the pecan pie business, I had to first educate myself a bit on the topic and do some research on the net...and finally found a recipe (Chocolate Pecan Pie) I wanted to try and was so surprised when I read who had written it down: Petra gave me great inspiration and a sound basis to work with, I simply made a few adaptations here and there. Delicious - but serious business! - now I'm all good for next year ;)
Apricot Pecan Walnut Pie
For the pie bottom(s)/dough please see here.
Bring apricots and water to a boil and let simmer (at low heat) for about 10 minutes. Then drain the apricots and blend well with the roasted pecan and walnuts, sugar, jam and cinnamon.
Spread the topping evenly across the (unbaked) tart shell and bake at 170°C (340°F) for about 30 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown.
Chocolate Pecan Pie
The original english instructions can be found here at epicurious. Below, what I've done differently:
Chop the milk chocolate and add the honey in a mid-sized bowl. Melt sugar in a saucepan and let simmer until it takes on a golden color and starts to bubble slightly, then stir in heavy cream (be careful, this could get messy!) until the mixture's consistency looks even. Remove from stove.
Pour the mixture over the chopped chocolate/honey and stir until the chocolate has fully melted, add the pecans and pour the mass evenly over the already baked pie shell. Chill for about two hours.
For the final touch, melt semi-sweet chocolate and heavy cream in a pan while stirring. Once melted, pour over the tart and chill again for another two hours.
Important note: For the real deal, both tarts have to be served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream ;)
Dried Apricot Pecan Pie (serves 8-10)
Recipe source: cuisine.at, adapted
Required time: preparation 30 min., baking 30 min.
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Instructions for the pie bottoms/shells, please see here
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Ingredients:
100g dried apricots, chopped
150ml water
60g sugar
100g pecan nuts, lightly roasted
50g walnuts, lightly roasted
2 tbsp apricot jam
1 tsp ground cinnamon
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Chocolate Pecan Pie (serves 10-12)
Recipe source: epicurious, adapted
Required time: prep. 45 min. (incl. baking), chilling time about 4 hours
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Instructions for the pie bottoms/shells, please see here
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Ingredients:
150g sugar
250ml heavy cream
200g pecan nuts, lightly roasted
200g high-quality milk chocolate (e.g. Lindt), chopped
1 tbsp honey
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Ingredients for the topping:
100g high-quality bittersweet chocolate (e.g. Lindt), chopped
100ml heavy cream
Das Thanksgiving Menü hört sich phantastisch an - der Hunger dürfte danach auch beseitigt gewesen sein ;-) Deine Pecan Pie-Variante mit den Aprikosen gefällt mir ausgezeichnet!
Yummy, your tarts look so good, which one was your favorite? And it's nice to see, that Thanksgiving is not only celebrated in the USA!
What a fabulous dinner - it warms my expat heart to think of so many people getting together in Munich to celebrate Thanksgiving. And your pies are so beautiful! Chocolate pecan pie has long been one of my favorites after being introduced to it in New Orleans, but pecan-apricot is something new, and something I'm definitely going to try!
wow! must be a great dinner and what great photo shooting skills u have.
Isn't celebrating with friends just the best? We also had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner (smaller than yours though), although we don't have friends from the USA. As long as an event involves food, it is worth being celebrated, no matter where you live.
That looks like a great evening. Any occasion to gather and eat good food with friends is cause for celebration. Thanks for sharing the chocolate pecan pie recipe. I love pecan pies. This looks like a winner.
Excellent site, on food, I have ever seen. Your wordpress theme is indeed very very nice. I love this.
Good job... I'll keep coming.
Chocolate pecan pie, how gorgeous and tempting. Beautifully done, and a fitting end to such a feast!
Hi Joey, Depending on the occasion (as if it really needs justification ;) the one with apricots might be the one to start with as it is not quite as rich as the chocolate variation. But I always feel the same indecisive way about two alike recipes that sound tempting to me…PS: ‘Glad your pancakes turned out nicely!
Hallo Petra, Wir sind quasi aus Dagi’s Appartment gerollt :)
Hi Sammy, I’d probably go for the apricot one… and next years Thanksgiving is already marked in our calendars, for sure :)
Melissa, Mariko, foodcrazee, Chubby Hubby,
Although we ran a day late, you wouldn’t have noticed, it was a perfect Thanksgiving dinner - for some even the first time! And I agree, different cultures celebrate different holidays , but what it comes down to is spending quality time with friends (or family), catch breath from our day jobs and enjoy great food.
This is absolutely fantastic. Thanks for the great recipe! Dried Apricot Pecan Pie. What a clever twist on an old fashioned recipe.
I love your site, the next time you make the chocolate/pecan tart put a splash of Bourbon Whiskey into the batter, fantastic!
I am sobbing here that I don't have foodie friends around me to have dinners with. The table in the pic looks really nice. I admire all the effort you went into. I must read upon the Thanksgiving menu and tradition(apologies for my ignorance), it confuses me as the English here have the same menu for X-mas.
I made the chocolate pecan pie for a holiday dinner and really liked the recipe. Of course, I had to convert the ingredients into cups. I followed Heidi's instructions instead of the ones on epicurious.
-Substituted semisweet chocolate instead of milk chocolate.
-Added 2 TB of bourbon to the chocolate.
-Did not add the chocolate topping.
-Served with vanilla ice cream and coffee.
I'll definitely keep this one around. Thank you!
could anyone help me please. I am looking for a recipe to make for someone. Its a cake he had whilst in germany which has a lemon middle with what he described a layer of chocolate on top. Any help will be gratefully appreciated!
thank you!
Sherry
Hi Sherry, not sure which German cake you're referring to that has a lemony center combined with a chocolate top, but I'll keep my eyes open. Sorry I can't be of better help, any takers?
Wow, I really think the photographic work is so fresh and modern. That pecan pie looks like a 'to die for' recipe. I am always looking new taste sensations. I can't wait to try your pie!
[...] I’ve been trying to work the beautifully designed cooking blog, delicious:days, into DWB since Nicky and Oliver made contact. Now that it’s Thanksgiving, talking turkey is the perfect excuse. [...]
What a wonderful dinner you must have had! :) I love pecan pie and your 2 variations sound marvellous! Thanks for sharing these recipes and I will try one or the other really soon...I am very tempted by the apricot one...yum! Although I love chocolate...oh, divine confusion! :) They both look sooo scrumptious...
BTW, I finally tried your pancake recipe...yummy! Have just posted about it :) Thanks again for that recipe :)