Pecan Pie

This is a picture of Anthony's Grandmother. Alejandra Revis Cisneros.

Her handwritten recipe.

The finished product.

Yum!

As a secret wedding shower present, my sister sent letters asking family and friends of Anthony and I to send her some recipes that they might like to share with us. Of course, along with pictures if they wanted. Let me tell you, my sister did a wonderful job of scrapbooking an entire large binder full of different kinds of recipes! Thank you so much Leticia!!

Out of the blue, Anthony asked if I would make his Grandma's Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving this year. Naturally, I said yes and went straight to my big binder. I took one look at the recipe and had doubts about how this pie was going to turn out. 

As you can tell by the picture, there are no instructions or anything. So, I made the decision to use a refrigerated Pillsbury Pie Crust and to just mix all the ingredients up in a bowl and pour it into the crust. I did actually mix the sugar and flour together and the pinch of salt was really, a pinch of salt :) I also used light syrup and may or may not have added about an extra ¼ cup of pecans. It IS a pecan pie after all!

All in all, I was worried about how this would come out since there were no instructions. I took it over to my moms and told everyone that although it looked good, I wasn't promising that it tasted good. My mom, of course, made her pecan pie (which I love) and so we at least had a back-up if mine didn't turn out good. Let's just say, it turned out fine. It was a little more custard like maybe? Or jelled differently? Not really sure how to explain it, but it was good! I guess maybe it was the flour that made the difference. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be making this one again. I never got to meet Anthony's Grandma, but I thank her for her recipe :)

Here's my interpretation of the recipe:

Pecan Pie

From: Anthony's Grandma

Alejandra Revis Cisneros

3 eggs

Mix ⅔ cup sugar + 2 Tablespoons flour

1 cup syrup

¼ cup oleo melted

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

Bake at 400° for 10 minutes, then lower to 350° and bake 30-35 minutes.

* I mixed the (white) sugar and (all purpose) flour together.

* I used light corn syrup.

* I added about an extra ¼ cup of pecans.

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Soybean Casserole

Let me just say that I was so excited when I found this recipe. I LOVE soybeans! I can eat them frozen right out of the bag. The shelled ones, of course. This was put into the "I definitely have to make" pile!

I wasn't sure what she meant by soaking and cooking the soybeans for 2 hours. I just used some frozen shelled beans and boiled them for about 15 minutes. I figured that was good enough.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in the finished product. It was too mushy for me. I think I would have preferred the soybeans to be left whole, but I'm not quite sure how it would have turned out with having eggs as a binder. Hmmm. It wasn't that bad though. Not sure I'll make this one again according to the recipe.

Here's my interpretation of the recipe:

Soy Bean Casserole

2 ½ cup soybeans soaked - cook 2 hours

Grind & add

3 Tbs oil

½ cup celery

1 egg

2 Tbs honey

½ cup tomato sauce

½ cup onion

bread crumbs

½ tsp sage

¼ tsp cayenne

Bake 1 hour at 375°

* I used frozen shelled soybeans and boiled them for about 15 minutes. Then I put them in my processor to grind them up, adding the oil to help thin them out a little bit.

* I combined everything and then sprinkled the bread crumbs on top to cover it all.

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Grandma's Tortillas

Grandma performing some serious rolling action!

Look at that perfectly rolled tortilla waiting to be cooked. 

We always knew there were fresh tortillas when the orange container was sitting on top of the toaster :)

This is the part where my rolled tortillas don't end up round anymore.

When the bubbles pop up, it's time to flip.

Now that's a pretty tortilla!

I always loved walking into the house and finding the orange container sitting out on top of the toaster. It either meant there were freshly made tortillas or scones inside. When I lived with her, my room was just on the other side of the kitchen. I will never forget waking up to the sound of her rolling tortillas. The distinct "clop clop" of the rolling pin as she rolled up, then down and took just a long enough pause as she rotated the tortilla. Then "clop clop" again with another pause to rotate...

Although I've tried making tortillas before, I cheated and used tortilla flour. Something my grandma did sometimes when she didn't have enough regular flour. Sorry Grandma for telling your secret!!!! Well, I tried making some using her recipe. This recipe called for kneading the dough for 15 minutes and then letting it rest for a bit. I don't remember my Grandma kneading anything for 15 minutes! This dough was so wet and soft. I had to use so much flour just to roll them out. It was bad. After I managed to get them all cooked, I called my mom to tell her how much of an epic fail the tortillas were. Somewhere in her laughter she managed to tell me that that must not have been the right recipe. We compared notes and I thought I'd give them another shot at a later time.

I have to say that with the few adjustments that were made, the next batch of tortillas were MUCH better! With the exception of the look of them, they tasted like my Grandma's tortillas. It took a few to figure out how long to let them cook and how hot the griddle needed to be. I remember my Grandma telling me that the griddle had to be hot enough but not too hot, and that each tortilla has a top and a bottom. Although I can't remember which side is which. Anyway, here's how my latest batch turned out:

My "round" tortilla waiting to be cooked. My Grandpa made my rolling pin out of a broom stick, I think. One side has a "K" the other side has "84", the year it was made :)

There's the bubbles. Time to flip!

A different tortilla, after the flip.

The finished product. I had to make a little one just for Anissa. She loved it! 

So, I'd have to say that with some more practice, I might be able to make tortillas that are round instead of square, in the shape of Texas or that look like the little ghosts from Pac-Man! Practice makes perfect, but they'll never be as good as Grandma's :)

Here's the recipe I used:

Flour Tortillas

From: My Grandma, Mary Vasquez

4 cups all purpose flour

5 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

¼ cup + a little canola oil

1½ - 1¾ cup hot water

I used just a tad over ¼ cup of oil and just over 1½ cups of water. 

Knead with fingers until all mixed together. Do Not Press! I had to add about 3 Tbs. of flour to get the dough not so sticky. I made my dough balls about the size of an egg and they turned out a pretty good size once rolled out. Make sure you flour your surface and flour your rolling pin. Once rolled out, put on the griddle. I had mine set to just under medium heat. Once the bubbles start to pop up, flip it. After a minute or two, the other side should be cooked. Kind of like cooking a pancake. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Sorry if you didn't want your recipe shared Grandma! Yo te quiero mucho! :)

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.