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ATLANTA - The Good Day Atlanta team participated in another "challenge" Wednesday morning - this time with a Thanksgiving theme.
The anchors were each tasked with making a Thanksgiving dish but had to include a very specific ingredient: pecans.
This year's winner: Portia Bruner and her praline pecan potatoes. See below for the recipe.
Here is a list of the recipes featured in the challenge Wednesday morning:
Buck Lanford's Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie (Via Big Green Egg)
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup bourbon
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 (9-inch) pie shell
Directions:
- Set the EGG for indirect cooking with the convEGGtor at 400°F/204C°. Using a wooden spoon, mix the corn syrup, eggs, butter, brown sugar, bourbon and flour in a medium bowl until combined.
- Add the chocolate and pecans and blend well. Pour the filling into the pie shell.
- Place the pie plate on the convEGGtor. Close the lid of the EGG and bake for 45 minutes, or until the filling is set and the pie is golden brown.
- Remove the pie and let cool completely, then refrigerate.
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- To make the whipped cream, using a whisk or an electric mixer, beat the cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Serve slices of pie garnished with the whipped cream or pass separately. Serves 6 to 8
Joanne Feldman's Sausage, Apple, Pecan, & Cranberry Cornbread Dressing
- 12 tablespoons of butter
- 2 cups chopped yellow onions
- 3 tart apples chopped (Granny Smith)
- 1 lb bulk sausage
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
- 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
- 14 ounce can chicken broth
- 1 package (3 cups) seasoned turkey stuffing
- 1 package (3 cups) seasoned chicken stuffing
- 1 package (3 cups) seasoned cornbread stuffing
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325
- Melt half the butter in a large pan over medium-low heat
- Cook onions in butter for 20-25 minutes (until lightly browned)
- Set aside onions and butter in a large bowl
- Melt remaining butter and cook apples over high heat for about five minutes (until lightly browned, but not mushy)
- Add apples to bowl with onions
- Brown sausage in the same pan over medium heat
- Remove sausage from pan with a slotted spoon in order to save drippings from sausage to baste dressing during cooking (you can also baste with additional chicken broth if you don’t have enough drippings, or prefer a more moist dressing
- Add browned sausage to bowl with apples and onions
- Combine with stuffing mixes, 14 ounces of chicken broth, pecans, and dried cranberries
- Put all of the mixed ingredients into a 9 by 13 baking dish
- Bake for 30-45 minutes, covered with aluminum foil and basting occasionally with sausage drippings and/or chicken broth
- Continue to cook uncovered for 10 more minutes
To reheat:
- Preheat oven to 350
- Drizzle 1/4 cup of chicken broth and 2 tablespoons of melted butter on top
- Bake covered for 30 minutes
- Bake uncovered for 10 minutes
Portia Bruner's Praline Pecan Potatoes
- 5 medium-sized sweet potatoes
- 2 sticks of salted butter
- ground cinnamon
- pure vanilla extract
- 4 -6 cups of brown sugar
- One cup of water
- One 12-oz bag of pecans
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cover each sweet potato with a layer of butter, then wrap all of the potatoes in one large piece of foil.
- Broil on high for 30 minutes to make the sweet potato skins easy to peel and eat.
- Once the potatoes are tender, peel and cut half inch round wedges. Arrange the wedges in a casserole dish.
- Chop pecans into fine pieces that can be evenly sprinkled over your dish.
- Combine 6 tablespoons of butter, two to three cups of brown sugar, cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract and one cup of water in a shallow skillet.
- Gently stir over low heat until the glaze melts and takes on a syrup-like texture. Slowly stir pecans into the glaze. Pecans should not stick to each other but should have a praline-like coating over the individual pieces.
- Use the same steps to prepare the second batch of glaze, but do not add pecans to the second batch.
- Pour this glaze over and in between the potato wedges. Bake for 40 minutes on 350 degrees or until glaze begins to caramelize.
- Sprinkle praline pecan pieces over the sweet potato wedges and bake again for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Serve piping hot with your Thanksgiving meal or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. Enjoy!
Natalie Fultz's Double-Decker Pecan Cheesecake Pie (Via Southern Living)
Crust:
- Single-crust Pie Pastry
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
Brown Sugar Filling:
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup dark or light corn syrup
- 1 to 2 tablespoons (1⁄2 to 1 oz.) Tennessee whiskey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Additional Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 1/4 cups pecan halves
Directions:
- Prepare the Crust: Preheat oven to 375°F. Unwrap chilled pie dough disk from Single-Crust Pie Pastry, and place on a lightly floured surface. Let stand at room temperature until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle dough with flour, and roll into a 12-inch circle. Carefully fit dough circle into a 9-inch deep-dish glass pie plate; fold edges under, and crimp. Line pastry with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
- Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes. Transfer piecrust to a wire rack, and remove pie weights and parchment. Let crust cool 30 minutes.
- Prepare the Cream Cheese Filling: Beat cream cheese, egg, vanilla bean paste, and salt in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add sugar, and beat until filling is smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Spoon filling into prepared piecrust.
- Prepare the Brown Sugar Filling: Whisk eggs until bright yellow and well combined. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, Tennessee whiskey, and vanilla bean paste, and whisk together until thickened and smooth.
- Sprinkle chopped pecans over Cream Cheese Filling in piecrust. Gently spoon Brown Sugar Filling over chopped pecans. Arrange pecan halves over Brown Sugar Filling. Place pie on a baking sheet. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F, and bake until filling is puffed up and set and crust is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer pie to a wire rack, and cool completely, 2 to 3 hours.
Ron Gant's Pecan Pie
- 1 1/4 Cups Flour
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Cup Butter Diced
- 1/4 Cup Water with Ice Cubes
Directions for preparing crust: Place the flour in a mixing bowl and add the salt. Cut the butter into the flour, to where it forms small lumps. Proceed to add the water one tablespoon at a time, mixing each time. Form the dough into a ball. Place in zip lock bag or plastic wrap to where it is sealed closely. Refrigerate for a couple of hours. Remove from refrigerator and roll into a flat circle. Place in greased 9-inch pie pan. Form around the edges, etc.
Pecan pie filling:
- 3 Large Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Flour
- 3/4 Cup Sugar
- 1 Cup Light Corn Syrup
- 2 Cups Chopped Pecans
- 1/3 Cup Butter ( melted )
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine eggs, corn syrup, and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Add the pecans, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the mixture to the prepared pie crust.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour in the preheated oven. Keep an eye on the pie at the 45-minute mark so as not to over bake.
Sharon Lawson's Mac & Cheese with pecans
- 1 lb elbow macaroni
- 1/2 cup mild cheddar
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar
- 1/2 cup pepper jack
- 1/2 cup gouda
- Cheddar cheese sauce
- Feta cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup of milk
- Dash of Pepper
- Dash of Salt
- 2 Eggs
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
- Bread crumbs
- Crushed pecans
Directions:
- Boil macaroni 6 minutes - drain & set to the side
- In a pan, melt butter and add to the macaroni.
- In a separate saucepan, add cheeses (minus 1 cup of cheese mixture), cream, milk, flour, eggs, cheese sauce.
- Combine noodles with cheese mixture and place in oven to bake for 30 minutes at 350° ***Add the last cup of cheese right before placing pan in oven**
- During the last 6 minutes of baking, add bread crumbs with pecans and cook till golden brown.