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MY
ROUSES
EVERYDAY
NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2016
M
y mother was fanatical about
pecans. Every year when
autumn arrived, we knew
what our after-school chore
was to be. She handed out paper sacks
to my siblings and me and directed us to
forage for pecans under the four pecan trees
that stood like sentinels near the gate to our
backyard. Our mission was to pick as many
of the nuts before the sun set on the early,
chilly evenings.
After supper, Mama cracked the pecans
with an old wooden gadget and piled them
up in a box on a TV tray. It was Papa’s job
to pick the pecans out of the shells while
he watched his favorite television programs.
ByThanksgiving, there were a good amount
of plastic storage bags in the freezer ready
for Mama to make pralines, fudge, pecan
pies and cookies not only for gift-giving,
but also to offer at the festive occasions
during the holidays.
Her love for anything made with pecans
was passed on to me. I still have her pecan-
cracking device and continue to make good
use of it. And although I do make the
candies and other sweet goodies from her
recipes, I have developed other methods for
using the beloved nuts of the South. Several
years ago, I co-authored a book
Pecans: From
Soup to Nuts
with the late Keith Courrégé, a
bon vivant and a great cook. He and I often
got together to cook and share our favorite
dishes while we sipped on Old Fashions in
his cozy kitchen overlooking Bayou Teche.
He was absolutely devoted to the pecan,
which he called the Crown Prince of the
Nut Kingdom. His enthusiasm inspired
me to research the history of pecans and
to experiment using the nut for various
applications.
Pecans have long been associated with the
South. History tells us that Antoine, a slave
gardener at Oak Alley Plantation along
the River Road near Vacherie, Louisiana,
succeeded in grafting sixteen trees near the
plantation mansion in 1846 or 1847. Later
he successfully grafted 110 trees.The variety
used later was named Centennial. This was
an epoch in the history of pecan growing
since it was the first successful effort of
record to graft pecan trees, and it was the
first commercial orchard developed to
produce nuts for sale. Louisiana continues
to be a huge pecan-producing state. In fact,
there is a Pecan Research and Extension
Station just outside of Shreveport where
65 of 90 acres are planted with pecan
trees. According to its page on the LSU
AgCenter’s website, the U.S.Department of
Agriculture established the facility in 1930
and transferred it to the LSU AgCenter in
1973. Pecan production adds, on average,
about $12 million to the Louisiana economy
each year.That’s a lot of nuts.
Mama LOVED pecans, but she was also
fond of sweet potatoes. Her repertoire of
sweet potato recipes are now in my care, and
I’m happy to share these with you.
Sweet potatoes (also known as yams) have
long been a part of Louisiana’s history
and cuisine. It is believed that the sweet
potatoes originated in the West Indies and
Central America.
According to history,when the French began
settling in south Louisiana in 1687, they
discovered the native Indians — Attakapas,
Alabama, Choctaw and Opelousas tribes —
growing and enjoying the tasty, nourishing
sweet potatoes. It wasn’t long before the
French and Spanish settlers soon made it
one of their favorite food items.
It’s no wonder that a variety of sweet potato
dishes hold a place of honor on holiday
tables atThanksgiving and Christmas. They
can be boiled, baked, fried, mashed and
combine well with a variety of ingredients
to create an endless list of delicious
concoctions.
When I was a toddler, Mama and I enjoyed
a baked sweet potato, lathered with butter
and drizzled with cane syrup, on many a
cold autumn afternoon. As I got older, I
came to adore them fried, much like French
fries, sprinkled with salt and black pepper,
or sometimes sugar and cinnamon. Of
course, I ate my fair share of them candied,
creamed with milk and butter, in pies, and
sometimes rolled in honey and chopped
pecans. I consumed so much of these golden
tuberous roots that I had the nickname of
“Patate Douce” well into my teens.
With the holidays staring us in the face, I
encourage you to get in your kitchen and
rattle some pots and pans! Recipes are from
Pecans: From Soup to Nuts
published by
Pelican Publishing Company, Inc. Available
online and at area bookstores.
The
Nutcracker
Sweet
by
Marcelle Bienvenu
+
photo by
Denny Culbert
the
Holiday
issue