NOLA New Year's with Chocolate Bourbon and Traditional Pecan Pie

We spent Christmas in New Orleans. The trip was an emotional rollercoaster. Fun in the french quarter, devastation in the ninth ward, lovely celebrations with friends and family, and a mud-colored water line marking the whole city.

Inspired by the trip, we decided to hold a New Orleans themed New Year's party. Good friends joined in the celebration and brought 'nawlins yummies.

I decided to try southern pies, which of course means pecan. In my family (which has plenty of southerners) we say pacawn. My husband's family says peeecan. Either way I tried two (both slightly modified) - Jack Daniel's Bourbon Pecan Pie, with a recipe from Cooks.com and a traditional version from my James Beard cookbook.

Jack Daniels Bourbon Pecan Pie

• 2 eggs slightly beaten
• 1/8 c molasses
• 1/8 c light karo syrup
• 4 t corn startch
• 3/4 c sugar
  
• 8 t butter
• 1/4 c Jack Daniels bourbon
• 6 oz. hershey semi-sweet chocolate
• 1.5 c pecan halves

Melt the chocolate and butter. Add the bourbon and cool. Beat eggs. Add the karo and molasses. Mix corn starch and sugar and add to mixture. Combine the chocolate with the sugars mixture. Beat together in mixer on slow speed. Stir in pecans. Pour into a nine inch pie plate. (I added the molasses). Bake at 350 for 1 hour until firm in the center.

Pecan Pie

• 1.5 c pecans
• 2 eggs
• 1 c sugar cane syrup
  
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/4 t salt
• 4 T butter

Sprinkle the nuts over the nine inch pie crust. Beat the eggs. Add the sugar, syrup, vanilla and salt. Pour over th pecans. Pour over nuts. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce temp to 350 bake for 25 minutes until firm in the center.

You might be asking what are those weird things in the middle of the pie. One was meant to be a champagne bottle. The other is '06. They didn't really convey.

The pies however were tasty. I thought for sure the bourbon pie would be the true winner. It was like a pecan brownie with a hint of bourbon. But no, the traditional pecan was the best ever, as hubby said. It was velvetty, not too sweet, exactly what you imagine pecan pie to be. The brown sugar, butter and especially the cane sugar syrup really made a difference. I served the pies with whipped cream of course. YUM.