song of the south

The South is a unique place.

We celebrate the end of football season by counting down the days 'til fall kickoff. I joked with one of my oldest and dearest friends the other day that while most "girls" were glued to the TV for the Royal Wedding, we were following the draft.

We really only have three full seasons - summer, fall and winter. I joked with my mom today that we go from winter to summer with about two weeks of something-like-spring wedged in between. It's only long enough for pollen to become really, really overwhelmingly annoying. Then the heat sets in. 

Somehow, though, in that brief period of springlike weather* (calling it spring, when it is so short-lived, is by itself a joke), we managed to experience the fragrant blooming of gardenias in my backyard and play host to an overwhelming symphony of the male cicada courtship along the riverbanks near my home. This is my first cicada invasion. Honestly, I'm sorta glad it doesn't roll around every year. Some Southern experiences are best enjoyed in small doses.

And I guess the same could be said for this:

It's a Bourbon-Pecan Pie.**

Bourbon? Yep... we love it down here.

Pecans? Yep again... we love it AND we insist we say it correctly (which, yes, does imply that if you do not say it the same way we do, then you are saying it incorrectly. Southern politeness is always trumped by southern pride.) 

Really, you can say it however you like. It's still an every-once-in-a-while kinda dish.

Oh, don't get me wrong... there's nothing offensive about it. Look at it? Does it not scream pull up a chair, grab a fork and sit a spell?

But when you are a registered dietitian, trying your darndest to help people eat their way to a healthier lifestyle, you owe it to yourself as a professional to warn people: this is the kind of thing you eat on occasion, not a daily dessert.

So consider yourself warned. 

I definitely won't be making this an everyday dish, but knowing a little something special sweet-to-eat awaits every once in a while is like music to my ears. 

Artfully eating well,

~Regan

*I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge, especially in the context of a blog post about the South, the overwhelming devastation this part of the country is experiencing in the wake of recent storms. My heart and prayers go out to all of those affected.  

**This particular pie was made from a recipe out of my husband's copy of The Big Green Egg Cookbook. The dough was lovely (any of you who work with pie dough understand how dough can be lovely.)

If you don't have a copy of that cookbook (and doubt most of you do), give this one from My Recipes a try. It is very, very similar... and I seldom find a recipe on there that disappoints.