30 August 2009

Tartine's Pecan Maple Pie

Tartine's Pecan Maple Pie (with title)
Medical school can certainly be a strange place for people who went through college together. In undergrad, you take courses in a semi-random order you prefer, but in medical school, everyone has to follow the progression in the hierarchy. So, being naive enough to ignore this, I thought working with my friend, who was a year higher in Biology but now a medical resident (while I was an intern), would be nearly the same as it used to be. Not so. For some reason, instead of my name, she called me "dear."

I now kind of understand what some women in the workplace experience. "Dear?" We sang freaking Cruising for fun during breaks in undergrad. Now I was reduced to the same "affectionate" name she used on everyone. Here's the so many ways I felt it was wrong:
1. We've known each other for 5 years. Use my name.
2. It's inappropriate to use that term for a fellow doctor. Use my name.
3. While you could possibly use it for people you're unfamiliar with (though you shouldn't), there's no better way to make me feel like you don't really see me and instead see me as some generic underling. Use my name.
4. It's twee and annoying.

I do use some non-name names for friends:
1. Hun/Sweetie - when I want to make someone I cherish feel extra-special
2. Honey/Dahling - when I'm feeling sassy (usually this is attached to a joke)
3. Luv - when I'm feeling British
4. Dude, man - when dudespeak is, of course, appropriate
5. A few other ones I use for specific people, like "sunshine" and "sugar."
But I would not use them in a professional setting, and especially never in front of a patient! Anyway. That was a long time ago, but it still makes me cringe. A far cry from what administrative personnel have had to deal with (and maybe still do), but at least I'll know not to do it (as if that wasn't obvious already).

This recipe is again from one of my favorite cookbooks, Tartine. I recently reviewed it over at The Gastronomer's Bookshelf, finally!


This pecan pie from the Tartine cookbook is the first one I've ever tasted- they did a really good job of cutting the sweetness, and of course you can never go wrong with the maple flavor. My family is generally not a fan of nuts, but they raved about the "sugar custard". If you are a fan of pecans (frakking expensive nuts in Manila) but always thought the pie was a bit too much in the sugar department, give this a shot. Visit Lisa's blog for her beautiful large version!

Pecan Maple Pie adapted from Tartine
I had problems finding kumquats, since I didn't know what to look for exactly in our markets (kiats? loquats?), but I know they're out there. I used orange peel instead, as the book recommended. This recipe makes 4 small pies, 11cm (4-1/4") in diameter.

  • 4 fully baked and cooled flaky tart dough mini pie shells
  • 50g (1/4 cup) sugar
  • 50g (2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) maple syrup
  • 55g (2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) light corn syrup
  • 2 teaspoons bourbon
  • pinch salt
  • 18g (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 100g (2/3 cup) pecan halves
  • zest of 1/3 an orange or 28g/1oz kumquats, thinly sliced


Flaky Tart Dough:
  • pinch of salt
  • 50g (3-1/2 tablespoons) very cold water
  • 150g (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour
  • 100g (7 tablespoons) very cold unsalted butter


Follow the directions for the recipe from Lisa's site, cutting the dough to fit 4 11-cm mini pie pans and baking the filled pies for 30-40 minutes, or until set.

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