Happy Pecan Pie Day!

July 12th is National Pecan Pie Day! The origins of this day are unclear, but who cares? Pecan Pie is awesome, and obviously deserves its own day.

There is a bit of controversy over just where pecan pie was invented, with some saying Georgia, others insisting on Louisiana. We all know, however, that pecan pie was invented right here in Alabama-those who say otherwise are fools, liars, mentally unbalanced, or likely all three.

In honor of Pecan Pie Day, here's my Momma's recipe. You'll have the best results with Alabama pecans, a quality vanilla extract, and above all, ALAGA syrup. If you use that OTHER syrup, your pie just won't be as good.

You'll need:

1 pie shell, unbaked

1 ½ cups whole pecans

3 eggs

1 cup ALAGA cane syrup

½ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp salt

To make the pie:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cover the bottom of the pie shell with pecans

Lightly beat the eggs, then stir in sugar, ALAGA, salt and vanilla, adding the vanilla last. Mix gently but thoroughly

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until the pie is firm

Allow to cool for at least one hour before serving

-the above recipe makes 1 regular pie. For a deep crust, double it.

Full disclosure: I've modified the above recipe slightly. The original calls for "enough pecans to cover the bottom of the shell," which is "a couple of handfuls", a "dash" of vanilla and "cook until done." Momma was never big on accurate measures, and couldn't follow a recipe to save her life. Me, either, the truth be known, but at least I come by it honestly.

Store-bought pie shells (a good frozen brand) are fine-let them come to room temperature before starting your pie. When I was growing up, Momma used Bama syrup exclusively, but it's been ages since the Bama brand went away. ALAGA is the only syrup that even comes close, and there's no reason not to use it-it's just that good. Thanks to the wonders of online shopping, even poor heathens in God-forsaken places like New York City, San Francisco and Ulan Bator can have ALAGA syrup and Priester's Pecans delivered. You can even cheat a little, and order a Priester's pecan pie, and they'll ship it to you. They're quite good-just not as good as my Momma's.

Enjoy, and Happy Pecan Pie Day!