Bourbon and orange pecan pie

I have already made this four times in as many weeks. You've heard me whingeing about my lack of time before, so what's the deal?

I tore this recipe out of one of my favourite magazines, "Real Simple." And sure enough, this recipe is real simple.

What's the secret? Well, as the labour and delivery nurse told me while I was delaying getting the epidural during my labour "Don't be a shero."

After having a child I no longer try to be a shero. If there are shortcuts, I might just take them.


The shortcut here, purists don't stop reading, is using a ready-made pie crust. I used frozen Tenderflake. Don't get me wrong, it's no substitute for a homemade pastry crust. And I have made homemade pastry crusts to great success other times, but this shortcut was too tempting to refuse.

And the shocking thing is that every time I made this pie I heard that it was "the best pecan pie ever." I think it's the orange zest.

You can find the recipe at the Real Simple website.

Substitutions:
As the recipe suggests, you can substitute vanilla extract for bourbon. I don't have bourbon lying around, nor do I plan to, and the vanilla worked just fine. One of the times I used dark brown sugar rather than light brown sugar and the flavour was decidedly more rich.

Would I make this again?
I think it's obvious that my answer is yes. I whipped up this pie in just a few minutes as my toddler whinged and whined about the horrors of staying put in a high chair. His yells are piercing, to say the least, and I don't last very long when his tantrum is well underway. I didn't have to, this is a speedy one.

Grade:
Six stars out of five. I'm not over-awarding this one. It's easy, it's quick, it's delicious. And even if you are using a ready-made pastry crust, this homemade pecan pie beats getting a slightly stale one from your grocery store bakery. And you will wow your guests. You know how I love to do that.