Updates and a Special "Thank You"

I'll have to start with a special Thank you! Mrs. G. over at Mmm...Tastes Good responded to my last post about books I want to read. She had an extra copy of The Shack and sent it to me! I can't wait to receive it & begin reading it. If you haven't checked our her blog, it is all about yummy goodness - with links to places like Crate and Barrel and Bojangles!

Now on to disappointing news (for me at least). I LOVE food. I love to cook it, I love to bake it, I especially love to eat it. When Mr. Potts and I were on our honeymoon in Barbados, I contracted a bacterial infecting which has kept me from being able to eat - which is the kindest (for you) explanation of my issues.

It has now been a month & I still am eating bland, bland food. Did I already mention how much I LOVE to eat?

Please don't find me evil, but some good has come out of this. No, I haven't lost weight - I'm actually awfully bloated. The good news is that this year at Christmas I won't have to eat much of my mother-in-law's cooking. She is as sweet as she can be & I love her. She just is not a great cook. And she won't let me help in the kitchen. No homemade stuffing, no homemade cranberry sauce, no pumpkin cheesecake. But! I don't have to eat her pecan pie. If you read my blog about my recipe for pecan pie, you'll see that I don't use Karo syrup - she does.

Am I evil? I choose to think not. I will however, play up my stomach problems to keep me from eating foods I don't particularly care for. All while being as pleasant and charming as a good Southern girl is. :)

Glad to be home!

Who would be excited to get up at 4:30am on a Saturday? Me! The only reason I get up so early is to get on a plane to come home.

Portland was COLD...yesterday, the high was around 38. Now, Portland is a beautiful city & I really enjoy visiting, but I do like coming home to the South. If you ever go to Portland, pack warmly & lots of layers! One of my favorite things about the city is that they have several wonderful restaurants.

Thursday night, I went with my boss to Fore Street. Their menu changes every day, so you'll be sure to find something you'll like. I've been recovering from a bacterial infection that has kept me eating bland food, so I was cautious with my dinner, but it was still wonderful! I started with a roasted butternut soup & had the half chicken as my main meal.

Friday night we dined at Katahdin. This local restaurant is small, but big on taste! They pride themselves on using fresh, local ingredients. Still trying to eat safely, I had the pork tenderloin over sweet potato puree. Wonderful! I did splurge on dessert and had a blackberry & Bing cherry upside down cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. YUM!

And today, I came home.

Mr. Potts & I are going to a Friend's Thanksgiving today. I know it is a little late, but our group of friends decided to postpone our yearly tradition due to our wedding & honeymoon. What a great group of friends! I'm in charge of bringing desserts. So, a pecan pie will be served as well as an apple pie. I'll admit that I don't have enough time to put together both, so the pecan will be home made, the apple pie - store bought. Look good?



I hope everyone is having a wonderful December!

Pecan Pie

I'll be the first to admit that I am not a Pecan Pie fan (by the way, how do you say pecan?). Every time I've had a piece in the past, it was heavy & syrupy. Mr. Potts, however, really likes pecan pie, so I made it my mission this Thanksgiving to find one that wasn't so syrupy sweet.

I found a new recipe that doesn't call for Karo syrup & it turned out perfect! I'll post pictures when I can, but I promise, this one is worth the hype!

What kind of dessert is your favorite for Thanksgiving?

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup light brown sugar – used the Splenda brown sugar blend which made it 1/2 cup (measurement conversion on the bag)
• 1/4 cup white sugar – used the Splenda sugar blend - made it 1/8th of a cup + 2 teaspoons (measurement conversion on the bag)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, and stir in melted butter. Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and the flour; mix well. Last add the milk, vanilla and nuts.
3. Pour into an unbaked 9-in pie shell. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until done.