Dear Abby's Pecan Pie ...p89

My comment for Thanksgiving:  Make this pie. 

Delicious despite my error in not adding butter until I had already mixed in the pecans.  Oops.  I poured it over the top and stirred it in.  It was still perfect!  Combined with the Perfect Pie Crust, all agreed this was worthy of repeat!

My sister turned me on to this trick after years of my tearing thin strips of foil and wrapping pie crust edges to prevent over-browning:  just tear off a square a little bigger than your pie tin, fold in half and cut out the middle - voila!  a perfect foil circle to lay over the browning edges!

Hardy Appetit!

Sweet Potato Crunch Casserole ...p66

Oh. my. gosh.

I love sweet potatoes anyway, but topped with this crunch, love reaches a new super sweet delight!  It's as if a package of pecan pralines was crumbled all over the top.  If you're diabetic, you might wanna not tempt yourself here....

The critic went wild over this side dish.  I share her delight and have decided I will use this topping (not the sweet potatoes) as the crunchy topping in every apple crisp recipe from now on. 

Hardy Appetit!

Pecan Tassies ...p102

After popping one of these in my mouth, I immediately flashbacked to my sweet Aunt Lynn's, a Roseville kitchen, during the Christmas season....  It was in my mom's and her kitchen where mustard sandwiches were born and fanciful paperbag creations were fashioned.   The fifties really were Ozzie & Harriet, Leave it to Beaver. And yes, my grandmother really wore Harriet dresses every day! 

I must confess that these "tassies" I began over Christmas - one of the recipes I never tried before.  However, I only got the pastry mixed and pressed into the mini-muffin tins when - for one reason or another - the filling wasn't completed, the tins were wrapped in foil and stashed in the freezer for future use. 

So after my quick look back, welcome to the future:  finishing pecan tassies in what might be freezer-burned yukka! 

My daughter Trish said it best:  "Wow!  These taste like mini-cheesecakes!"  And they did.  They were a bit crumbly (maybe a result of freezer burn?), so the 2nd tray I allowed to sit in the frig overnight - they came out easier, and were even creamier.  I think these will be a regular on my Christmas trays!

Hardy Appetit!