Have a Pecan Pie Recipe?

Grainy picture of a Stuart pecan named after "Granddaddy" Col. W.R. Stuart

Then please, share your wisdom.

This morning, I ordered three lbs. of Stuart pecans from the Old South Bakery somewhere in Alabama. I’m going to try my hand at making a down home pecan pie for Thanksgiving. The Stuart pecan was named after my third great grandfather, Col. W.R. Stuart of Ocean Springs, Mississippi and I got a kick out of the idea of making a pie from pecans propagated by him over 1o0 years ago. Maybe my third great grandmother Temple, Stuart’s slave, made pecan pies from the fruit of her master’s tree. Maybe she fed them to her children, her master’s fruit as well.

My cousin, Monique (also Temple and the Colonel’s third great granddaughter) is much more ambitious than me. When she found an advertisement for a Stuart Pecan tree online, she said she planned on buying one and raising it in her New Jersey home. That’s a graduate level project. When it comes to greenery, I’m still in elementary school.

My culinary skills aren’t much more advanced. I’m usually assigned the task of bringing salads or dinner rolls to Thanksgiving at my parents house while my brothers and sisters get requests for honeyed ham, collard greens and sweet potato pies. I’ll be popping the Pillsbury dinner rolls in the oven this year like my mom asked, but I’m also going to branch out. I’m going for the gold. I’m baking dessert.

So please, send me your recipes and keep them simple enough for a third grader.