Thursday, November 27, 2008

Ode to the Food of Thanksgiving and Pecan Pie Bars

Ode to Thanksgiving Foods and How I Love Thee

For some, it's the green beans with onion rings,
For others the Watergate salad.
Some want new and improved treats
while others want foods of the past.

Here at the Pond, I'm very particular about food,
Particularly at Thanksgiving.
For you see, this is the one day of the year
that I gorge myself stupid.

I don't want your stuffed mushrooms,
Your fancy hors d'oeuvres,
I'm not eating any soup or seafood,
And don't you dare shove that stuffing in the bird.

Get the peels out of my mashed potatoes,
And the celery out of my dressing.
Don't even mention your fancy vegetables
And stop with the exotic flat bread.

You see, I come from a simple Texas family.
I grew up eating canned vegetables heated in the microwave with butter (squeeze butter),
steak fried like chicken,
and mesquite smoked turkey.

So you're welcome to your new ideas,
your new twists on tradition,
and your marsh mellow jello salads.
I appreciate the offer,
but I won't be having any.

For you see, there's only seven delicious foods I need,
for my perfect Thanksgiving.
And I can guarantee you won't find any of them,
in the new baking magazine.

Foodies, avert your eyes!
Culinary critics beware!
For what you're about to see,
Is true "simple food" that just can't be compared.



First, I need a good mesquite smoked turkey,
from the family favorite Robertson's.
If I had to choose a second favorite, it'd be Butterball,
No deep frying, Turducken or Tofu here.



Next, I need some good dressing.
But not the kind you're thinking.
Give me two bags of Pepperidge Farm stuffing and some chicken broth,
That's all you need to do.

Now for the mashed potatoes,
Made with love of course.
And a can of green beans or corn,
zapped with some butter and salt.


Don't forget the cranberry sauce,
straight from the can.
I don't care if you think it's tacky or gross,
It's the best thing since sliced bread.

Don't judge me!



A few dinner rolls later,
It's time for the pie.



Pecan, apple, or pumpkin,
They're all mighty fine.

And now, in case you're still hungry after your own perfect feast--have a pecan pie bar!


This came from the "Sweet and Simple" cookbook Marie gave me for my birthday.



I made them for our office Tex- Mex Thanksgiving and everyone loved them! That's right, instead of turkey and dressing we had tamales and tacos and pecan pie bars!

Be warned, they're quite addictive...


Pecan Pie Bars

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 t. salt
1 1/4 butter, sliced and divided
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
4 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups pecans, ground
1 t. vanilla extract

Combine flour, sugar, salt in large mixing bowl; cut in 3/4 cup of butter until fine crumbs form. Press firmly into a 13x9 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 17 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Add brown sugar, corn syrup and remaining butter to sauce pan. Bring to boil over medium heat and stir gently. Remove from heat, stir 1/4 of hot mixture into beaten eggs. Add remaining hot mixture and stir in pecans and vanilla. Pour into crust and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until set. Cool on wire rack and cut into bars. Makes 16.

Did you read the latest Kitchen Magic below? Then go read! Tomorrow we have a new Twirl and more fun over the weekend! Happy Thanksgiving!

35 comments:

Lucy..♥ said...

"Happy Thanksgiving" to you & your family!!

XXX's

Lucy..♥ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cakelaw said...

LOL - what a brilliant poem - and gorgeous pecan pie bars! Happy Thanksgiving!

Finla said...

Happy Thanksgiving.
As long as you have it doesn't matter if it is from can.
Love the pie.

ARTISANNE DESIGN said...

Happy Thanksgiving, those pecan pie bars sound delish!!! :0)

Christo Gonzales said...

shhhhh dont tell anyone ...I make a fancy high falootin cranberry relish with fresh cranberries and what not but I secretly like the jelly out of the can the best.....shhhhhhh in fact I dont like the one I make ...everyone else does so that helps....shhhhhhh

Live.Love.Eat said...

Well, even this foodie thinks there's nothing wrong with what you got going on for Turkey Day!!!!!!

Cute poem & Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Marjie said...

I serve the same stuff, too. Skip the "tex mex" and fancy stuff; it's all about a nice roasted turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and broccoli or green beans, and jellied and fresh cranberries. I second your pies! I add cakes! Happy t-day, Duckie!

Anonymous said...

OMG your plate would be empty at my house...lol....but hey to each his own and Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Bunny said...

Be still my heart...I love all the foods you're having too!! Happy Thanksgiving Duckie!!

Rosie said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!

Wonderful poem and gorgeous pecan pie bars!

Rosie x

Reeni said...

Cute and funny poem. Lovely pecan pie bars. Happy Thanksgiving!

Jane said...

Oh now you're making my mouth water! Brilliant poem too Duckie. Happy Thanksgiving, hope you have a wondeful time. Jane x

nikkicrumpet said...

For me...all you need is Mashed potatoes and gravy and a bit of the bird...done!
I hope you and yours had a marvelous day!

Unknown said...

You are brave posting the picture of the cranberry sauce! lol....I love it! Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

Leslie said...

Cute post.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Pam said...

Oh Blonde Duck, you crack me up. I used to love canned cranberry jelly, until I made my own...now I can't go back. The pecan pie bars look divine! Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving.

jesse said...

Hahaha, I love the ode!! And nope, I won't judge you for using canned cranberry jelly... I secretly love that stuff too! Happy Thanksgiving Duckie!

tiarastantrums said...

your pie looks delicious!

RecipeGirl said...

Hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving. I love that canned cranberry sauce too!!!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

LOL! I wonder what things the kids are going to have memories of that they will expect when they are grown up.

Good job keeping it "real"!
~ingrid

Theresa said...

I'm liking those pecan bars!! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving :) I'm a day late. I was busy yesterday.

Megan said...

I say there is nothing wrong with canned cranberry sauce. :)
But the pecan bars look heavenly!

grace said...

automatically, your office sounds like a cool place--tex-mex thanksgiving? yes please. :)
meanwhile, pecan pie in bar form can't possibly be a bad thing--nicely done. :)

sassy stephanie said...

Hey, I'm with ya. Fresh cran sauce is yummy, but nothing beats the jello blob!

Lori said...

You crack me up. Cranberries from a can. I actually like it too, but then anything with cranberries is quite good to me. Did you ever see Paula Deens canned cranberries with mayonnaise and cream cheese?

Anonymous said...

I'm all about the basics too. I wish more people were. The less fancy, the better for me. Although I can't do the canned cranberry mold. I gotta have whole cranberry sauce.

Thanks for stopping by my blog the other day. I'm glad you did and come back anytime! I'm glad to have found your blog now too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

April said...

My 11 year old son, Blake, loves his "nut pie" We have to have it for every holiday. This bar variation may be the trick so that he can have it more often! They look great!

Sophie said...

Tamales and tacos sound just fine with me :)! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, those bars look mighty tasty!

Cynthia's Blog said...

Amen to tamales. The pecans...well sheer genius

Anonymous said...

That cranberry jelly from the can is my FAVORITE! Seriously, I just eat it straight. Its sooooooo freaking good. Some may put it down, and that's fine as far as I'm concerned, because that means more jelly for me.

Clumbsy Cookie said...

Oh you're a poet as well! Lol!

KeKe said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog~

Yours looks like an interesting read!!

Kelly

tavolini said...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We also keep the cranberry sauce in its 'can' shape :D

Colleen said...

Everything sounds delicious! Everyone has their own traditions! And thank you for the continued kind words on my blog :)