The Story of the Exploding Turkey

As promised I am going to share one of my favorite stories of my father and Thanksgiving.  Remember I grew up in South Florida....my uncle and his family also lived there but the rest of my relatives lived in Alabama.  You would think our Thanksgivings would have been small....but far from it.  Our holiday included the Geigers(5), Elizabeth and her family(3), Shirley and Howard(4), and any other neighbor without a special place to go.  I loved Thanksgiving in our house.  My mom would cook for days delicious things like pumpkin AND sweet potato pie, homemade cranberry sauce, apple pies, dressing, stuffings, walnut pies, green beans (she snapped herself), mashed potatoes (not from a box), giblet gravy, corn, English peas, congealed salads, and of course a turkey (or goose, or duck) and ham.  My house smelled magnificent for days....full of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg...it was heavenly. Even today when I smell cinnamon, cloves or nutmeg I feel nostalgic. Ok...I have been sidetracked long enough.  One year, a stuffing year, my dad thought he would play a trick on my mom and put some popcorn kernals in her stuffing...to be funny.  After the turkey had been cooking for a bit...we heard this sound, like muffled gunshots, coming from the kitchen.  My dad had misjudged how many kernals he had used and the turkey was spewing popcorn all over the stove and when my mom opened the oven door popcorn shot out into the kitchen.  My mom was furious with my dad.....my dad and I rolled on the floor laughing til we hade tears running down our faces.  My dad made it right with my mom when he cleaned up the mess.....and cleaned out the turkey cavity so there would be no more explosive popcorn shots.  Everyone said it was the best meal she had ever cooked....but then...every year was the best meal ever.  My mom was that kind of cook.  I thought since it was a holiday I would share my Aunt Shirley's Walnut Pie recipe with you all.  Trust me...it is a keeper.

Aunt Shirley’s Walnut Pie

(Really it is just a glorified pecan pie)

Ingredients

    3 eggs

    1/4 teaspoon salt

    3/4 cup white sugar

    2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    3/4 cup light corn syrup

    1 cup chopped walnuts

    1/4 cup butter

    1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).   Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Mix in sugar, salt, vanilla, and syrup. Melt the butter or margarine, and add it to the egg mixture. Stir in the nuts. Pour filling into pie shell.  Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.

Happy Tuesday to you all!  Come back tomorrow for my momma's stuffing recipe....or perhaps her mincemeat pie!