May 19, 2013

Pecan pie and stories about tailors

Oh la la, time is flying and stories and ideas are piling up… Here is one of them… I have a soft spot for tailors...

The other day, Nati came home with an impressive bag of what I would call non-identified nuts. It was a gift from the tailor to thank him for the nice amount of work Nati gave him. I thought it was a nice gesture.
My tailor in the old town fixed the small hole of my pants for free. While he was working, we made conversation with the little greek I know. I came back several days later with homemade biscotti to thank him. I like tailors !


Oui ! I do, my grandfather Joseph Furda was tailor for ladies in the 50s. He was working at home : 2, rue des Moulins in the first district of Paris.
He was well known and he even had the wife of a minister as client. In the parisian salons, ladies were talking about the tailor on Moulins street with the little girl who was climbing on his back… she was my mother taking the opportunity to climb on his back whenever he was knee down to fix a tailor.

My grandfather was signing his work with a label « J. Furda » sewn inside. Sometimes, his clients were coming back because they had gained weight and needed their tailor to be adjusted. My grandfather was recognizing his work and from time to time he could see his label was replaced with the label of a famous haute couture house such as Chanel. Not sure he enjoyed that…


Back to the non-identified nuts… The city girl I am could not figure out what was it. I never saw such a big and long shells before… Pecan nuts of course ! So this is how looks like a whole pecan nuts… I see… let’s bake a Pecan Pie then !


Remove the shell of the pecans is a long and very messy piece of work having the piece of shell flying through the kitchen but enjoying a generous piece of pecan pie is a nice reward…



Pecan pie
Serves 4 to 6

Recipe from the french magazine Elle à Table.

Ingredients :
Dough :


  • 200g all-purpose flour
  • 100g salted cold butter, cut into small cubes
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla-flavoured sugar
  • 2 tablespoons powdered white sugar
  • 100ml iced water
Filling :


  • 3 large eggs
  • 150g brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 50g salted butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 250g pecans
Steps :


  1. Pour the flour and the butter in a bowl. Mix rapidly together with your fingertips to obtain a lumpy mixture.
  2. Add the salt, vanilla-flavoured sugar and white sugar. Mix with a spoon.
  3. Gradually add the water and bring the dough together with your hands. Shape the dough into a firm and rough ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes at least.
  4. Preheat oven to 180°C.
  5. Roll out the dough (medium thickness). Fill a 20 cm tart mold with the dough. Cut off excess. Lightly prick the dough with a fork. Reserve in the refrigerator.
  6. Beat the eggs and the brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the honey and stir. Add the butter and stir. Add the vanilla extract and stir again. Mix in the pecans.
  7. Pour the mixture and spread it evenly all over the tart with the back of a tablespoon.
  8. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 150°C. Bake for 30 minutes until the pecans are slightly golden brown. Let the tart cool down before cutting.

3 comments:

  1. I didn't know all these stories about grandpa...and mummy as well !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Second time I tried it and always a success...

    ReplyDelete