Notes about Recipes in this book

• Pie shell for pecan pie

  • ashallen on November 23, 2019

    Cooks Illustrated set up this crust formula and method to handle pies/tarts with oozy, sticky fillings that want to creep under the crust during baking and weld them to the pan. It works very well - I've used it both for the pecan pie it was originally published for and for other pie fillings. Very good flavor, too. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine.]

• Perfect pecan pie

  • ashallen on November 23, 2019

    This is a delicious pie. I haven't historically been a big pecan pie fan because of the high sweetness level and gelatinous texture in some versions, but this one was great. Pecan flavor came through clearly along with vanilla and caramel flavors. Crust was great - tender, flavorful, and no filling leakage. Filling texture was very good - no pie-jelly in this one! [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Maple pecan pie

  • mfto on December 29, 2011

    This was OK. What's not to like but I am true to my mother's back-of-the-karo syrup bottle Pecan Pie. That's my ideal pecan pie.

• Potato gratin with broth and Parmesan

  • mfto on December 26, 2011

    I have made this dish for Christmas dinner for years. I follow the recipe exactly. My husband makes a very rich broth from the Thanksgiving turkey and that is what I use. I recommend reducing regular chicken stock down beecause the richer the better. I do use the cayenne which adds a lot but isn't too much for the heat sensitive eaters. The secret is the precooking of the thinly sliced potatoes in the seasoned broth for a few minutes on top of the stove before pouring into the baking dish. The total baking time is 1 hour 15 minutes. I bake ahead for 1 hour and then finish with the final 15 minutes to reheat.