Chocolate Pecan Pie

I have to admit that the thought of making a pecan pie for Thanksgiving was intimidating. I've read horror stories of attempts to make the perfect pecan pie. They turn out burnt, soupy, rock-hard, etc. In retrospect, I probably should have given the recipe a run-through before Thanksgiving morning. Luckily, this one turned out well the first time through! I'm actually planning on making it again next week for Christmas. If you're in need of an easy and delicious holiday dessert, I'd certainly recommend this pie.

Admittedly, not my best photography.

Chocolate Pecan Pie
Recipe from Southern Plate

Ingredients

1 ready-made 9" Deep-dish pie crust

1/2 cup chocolate chips

3 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup butter melted (real butter only for me)

1 cup corn syrup ( like Karo)

1 cup pecan halves or pecan pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In one big bowl, use a hand mixer on low for about minute to beat eggs, sugar, salt, melted butter and corn syrup together. Stir pecans into mixture. Put choc. chips on bottom of pie shell and slowly pour pecan mixture over chocolate chips.

3. Bake between 45 and 60 minutes (depending on your oven) until it is set.

4. Cool for a few minutes before cutting. Serve w/ Vanilla ice cream for a real treat!

A change...will do you good.

Thus far, I've refrained from addressing our coaching issues. Since some things are beginning to fall in place, I thought I'd share a few words on the subject.

As everyone knows, shortly after the Iron Bowl, Gene Chizik was fired from his position as the head coach of the Auburn Tiger football team. It was really no surprise, considering the final score of the Iron Bowl and the fact that folks had been calling for his head since the Arkansas/State/Vandy stretch.

So what's happened since then...We've hired a new head coach, defensive coordinator and offensive coordinator. As I'm typing this, I think those are the only three confirmed positions.  

I'm hesitant to make any judgment calls as to how successful I think the new coaches can be. However, I will share a bit about the coaches and some pros and cons of each. Bear with me.

Gus Malzahn - Malzahn was offensive coordinator at Auburn during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons. He left to serve as head coach for Arkansas state and was there for just one season. The team finished 9-3. Initially, I was unhappy with the decision to hire Malzahn. He doesn't have much head coach experience and I felt that we needed someone more of a hard-nosed disciplinarian. I would have loved Petrino without the baggage. As time goes on, I'm feeling more confident in Malzahn due to some of the staffing choices that he's made.

After Malzahn was hired, he chose to first hire coordinators and then let them choose their assistants. This caused a great deal of uproar about all of our current coaches being let go. Have no fear, there is still a chance that they could return. I, for one, like this plan, as I think it gives each assistant a greater sense of accountability. They not only have to be accountable to Malzahn, but also to their coordinator.

Also of note is that Malzahn's wife might be certifiably nuts.

So, who are the coordinators?

Ellis Johnson - The first thing I read about this guy was that he coached at Southern Miss last season and led them to finish 0-12. Ummm, what? While he's clearly not an amazing (or maybe even decent) head coach, he's proven to be a very successful defensive coordinator in the past, putting up top 15 defenses in his three years at South Carolina. I've also heard that he's old, crotchety, and loves bourbon. Perfect. 

Rhett Lashlee - This guy is 29 years old. Can you even imagine? I read somewhere that his current yearly salary is less than what Chizik makes in two weeks. Lashlee worked under Malzahn at Auburn in 2009 and 2010. He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Samford in 2011. When Malzahn took the position as the Red Wolves head coach in 2011, Lashlee joined him as the offensive coordinator. I'm a little worried about his age, but I'm sure he knows Malzahn's offense like the back of his hand. There's something to be said for that.

Sidenote: His wife has a blog, Team Lashlee. I looked at it yesterday. They have two cute twin boys. Today, my access was denied. They've switched it to invited users only. Go figure.


Who won't be coming back? We know that Kevin Yoxall, the strength and conditioning coach, will not be retained. Since it was announced, Twitter has been buzzing with players in support of "Yox". I've read that he was a great guy and a friend to many of the players. We don't need a friend, we need strength and conditioning and clearly we're lacking in that area.

As of this morning, word on the street is that Trooper Taylor will not be returning either. See ya Reuben Foster. I know that Trooper was a great recruiter, but I've also heard him termed a "cancer" to our football program. I think it's best to start with a clean slate. I have a feeling that we'll come out better in the end without him.

Names being tossed around as potential coaches/assistants: Tracy Rocker (former Auburn defensive tackle and current Tennessee Titans defensive line coach), Ryan Russell (graduate assistant on the strength and conditioning staff at Auburn in 2005-2006) and Kodi Burns (former Auburn wide receiver and current graduate assistant at Arkansas State). I'd love to see Rocker and Burns back on the field.

All in all, I'm happy with the changes. For now, I guess I'll sit back and see what sort of attrition we have due to new staff, and how many other recruits we'll lose. I'll also continue to hope that one day I wake up and Jay Jacobs has been replaced.

Gameday Grub: White Pizza Dip

Even though Auburn's football season has concluded, by no means is dip season over. I believe that the first time I enjoyed this dip was at Laurie's birthday bash this summer. Nat brought the dip and we've requested it multiple times since. On Saturday, Witt and Ashley were hosting our Supper Club after the SEC Championship. I signed up to bring an appetizer with this dip in mind. It didn't disappoint. I followed the recipe fairly closely, just substituting dried oregano and thyme for fresh, and an Italian cheese blend (Publix brand) for the mozzarella and provolone. If you have a holiday party coming up, I'd highly recommend the recipe!

White Pizza Dip
Recipe from How Sweet It Is
serves about 6-8

Image from How Sweet It Is

1 pint grape tomatoes, tomatoes cut in half
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 (12 ounces) blocks cream cheese, softened
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, freshly grated
8 ounces provolone cheese, freshly grated
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese + more for garnish
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/4 cup freshly chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme leaves
1/2 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano leaves
crackers, bread or chips for serving

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil then place tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with olive oil and salt, then roast for 20-25 minutes, until bursting. Set aside.

While tomatoes are roasting, mix softened cream cheese with about 7 ounces each of provolone and mozzarella, then and parmesan. Stir in fresh herbs, garlic and roasted tomatoes, mixing well to combine.

Transfer mixture to an oven-safe baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining provolone and mozzarella. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until top is golden and bubbly. Serve immediately with crackers, chip or toasted bread.

Thanksgiving 2012

This year, Robert and I hosted his family for Thanksgiving lunch. It was my first time hosting a holiday meal and I think it went pretty well! I knew that I wanted to use our wedding china and some of our silver on the tables. I found some chargers at Target for 1.99 that I loved. I found six here and mom helped me find six more in North Alabama. Mom stumbled across some napkins in Home Beautiful that she thought would be perfect. Also from Target. I can't find either item on their website but I've seen both at Target in the last week so I know they're still in existence. I think the tables turned out nicely!

On the Menu:
Oyster Stew
Turkey on the Green Egg
Gravy
Cranberry Sauce
Oyster Dressing
Cornbread Dressing
Mashed Potatoes
Bourbon Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans with Mushrooms
Caramelized Brussels Sprouts
Walnut, Apple and Feta Salad
Yeast Rolls
Pumpkin Hazelnut Cheesecake
Chocolate Pecan Pie

I have to say that the food was absolutely delicious! Robert ate leftovers for five days straight. I'll share a few of the recipes over the next week. Hoping that you all had an equally amazing Thanksgiving!

Table One

Table Two

Thanksgiving Gift - Handmade by Mrs. Hunter

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

November 1 - I am starting this post at the very beginning of November and it won't be posted until the end of the month. Last night, my sister, Sarah, texted me and suggested that she, Natalie and I share one thing each day for which we are thankful. Thus this post. (edit: we only made it a couple of days)

November 30 - Admittedly, I've always struggled with forgetting to be thankful for the things that I have and focusing on things that I wish I had. I feel that it can be partly attributed to social media and the huge role that it plays in our lives. If someone goes on vacation, you can look through all their pictures and think about your week at work. If someone gets a new car, you begin you resent the fact that your car has hit the 100,000 mark. Someone gets married, engaged, pregnant, a new job, a fabulous house, shiny jewelry...you get my drift. People love to share their amazing lives with the world. And that's great, unless it begins to make you feel like maybe your life/husband/family/"stuff" doesn't measure up. I did say partly contributed. I also think it's just human nature. Call it what you like; envy, jealously, coveting. It's all the same and it's an ugly thing.

Over the past thirty days, I've tried to set aside a few minutes each day, usually before or after I eat lunch, to reflect on how much I have been given. Some of it, I've worked my tail off for. Some of it is just luck. Most of it, I probably don't deserve.

Without further ado, I present to you my Thirty Days of Thankfulness.

1. Impromptu date nights
2. A warm, comfortable bed
3. Auburn victories (be they few and far between this year)
4. Sunday night dinners with Robert
5. Layla
6. The right to vote (even when your candidates don't win)
7. My job
8. The HB's (my sisters and cousins)
9. Fridays
10. War Damn Fam Jam
11. Our veterans and troops
12. Extra Classic Bubble Chewing Gum (rough day)
13. Hot soup on cold days
14. Wine (again, rough day)
15. My parents
16. Roadtrips
17. The ability to run
18. Naps
19. Short work weeks
20. Unplanned lunches out
21. Leaving work early
22. Robert's family
23. Vacation days (You'll notice a trend in the last few days)
24. Christmas Decorations
25. An Awesome God
26. Modern medicine
27. My education
28. Good books
29. Snail Mail
30. Waking up each day with a fresh start.

Bullpen Recap

Friday, Robert, John, Samara and I made the trip to Bullpen in hopes of killing something. Supposedly, they've had hundreds of pigs up there this year. I've been hunting a couple of times with Robert and I have never had any luck. Unfortunately, this time was no different. I think we saw a raccoon, a possum and two small does. No pigs and nothing with antlers. At least the beer was cold and I got to wear my favorite rain boots. Better luck next time.



Glittery camo.

Add caption

Practicing shooting intruders.

Clearly, I didn't kill this pig. Mr. Hunter did.



Happy first day back at work after Thanksgiving weekend. Something tells me it's going to be a long day!

Color Run/NOLA

Last weekend, Robert and I traveled to New Orleans with my parents so that Mom and I could take part in the Color Run. They arrived from Jackson on Thursday night and we enjoyed some burgers at Callaghans here in Mobile. We got a bit of a late start on Friday due to some plumbing/alarm issues at the house that had to be taken care of but we managed to hit the road shortly after lunchtime.

Friday night, explored Bourbon Street and ate some delicious oysters at Acme. We also got to witness some of the ever-present Bourbon Street antics.

On Saturday morning, we got up early and drove to the University of New Orleans for the run. I'd read that they expected 10,000 to 15,000 runners, so we knew we wanted to try to be in one of the first "shifts" out of the gate. The race is casual, and rather than start runners according to predicted finish time, they start 1000-1500 runners every five minutes from 9:00 a.m. til 10:00 a.m. We were in the 9:05 group. The run was awesome. The weather was perfect and there was a great breeze off of the water. Mom and I both managed to get fairly "colorful".

After the race, we ventured over to Magazine Street in search of Martin Wine Cellar and chocolates from Sucre. We had a quick lunch at Mahony's Po-Boy Shop and then rested up for a bit at the hotel. After a quick nap and shower, we left in search of a bar broadcasting the Ole Miss/LSU game. Sadly, Ole Miss just couldn't hold off the Bayou Tigers. We had a bit of an adventure trying to find a place for dinner. We decided on Mr. B's and I'm happy we did! The food was great and the service was excellent. After a quick stop for an after-dinner drink at the Ritz, we all crashed. 

It was a wonderful weekend all-around. What a blessing to have such fun-loving parents!