As American as pecan pie

It was great waking up to the chill of a December morning, glad that there were more holidays this time of the year, giving one the luxury to rest and recharge, more opportunity to strengthen ties with loved ones, and more time to reflect on the year past, counting the blessings and good fortune we received.

My urgent wish would be to burn every calorie I consumed the past week! Trying to breathe comfortably and carrying myself with poise in tighter slacks make me long to wear those loose dusters my mother uses. Muumuus, they’re called.

But no, not for a second do I regret feasting on a sumptuous smorgasbord of traditional holiday treats – my favorite being cuchinillo – if only for the opportunity of sharing good times with people so dear to me. How could you refuse gifts that come from the heart, labor of love like melt-in-the-mouth cassava cake baked by my mother, or ube pastillas and kesong puti done by the skilled hands of Nenita Ocampo of Ocampo’s Sweets?

Anything simple or elaborate, when produced with love, can turn magical. The holidays are all about keeping family traditions, and this is something we truly cherish in a world that is rapidly changing. This is what binds families, connects communities, and fosters relationships among nations, even bridging such great distances to keep a world united.

Just recently, I had the good fortune of meeting a great lady who would share the same thoughts. We move in different circles, come from totally different backgrounds, but we share the same sentiments regarding family and tradition. She is the Honorable Kristie A. Kenney, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of the Philippines. Despite the title, and the enormous responsibility she carries on her shoulders, she insists that I call her "Kristie." No title, no miss or her excellency, simply Kristie, as if we were good friends.

Upon the arrangement of the USA Egg and Poultry Export Council, together with the US Department of Agriculture, I was asked to prepare turkey for Kristie for their Thanksgiving dinner at her official residence. I was honored to receive such a request, and humbly obliged.

Thanksgiving Day signals the start of the holidays in America. It is America’s oldest tradition, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, in commemoration of the first harvest of their founders, the pilgrims who survived their first winter almost 400 years ago.

Meeting the ambassador on this occasion was a revelation. She is very personable, down-to-earth, and genial, something I wouldn’t envision an ambassador could be. It was easy to warm up to her as she shared with me some of her Thanksgiving memories back home as if I were a close friend and not just an acquaintance. In turn, I boldly invited her to guest on my television program A Taste of Life, which airs every Sunday morning on IBC-13. I can imagine how hectic an ambassador’s schedule is, so I simply kept my fingers crossed. She said that with her busy itinerary, she won’t have time to accommodate our taping sked. However, she agreed for us to tape her in her official residence, baking her favorite Thanksgiving dessert: pecan pie.

You’ll find two desserts on nearly every Thanksgiving table: pumpkin pie and pecan pie. Hers is a family recipe, which comes from her grandmother.

Yes, the ambassador, I mean Kristie, bakes quite competently, and with a passion! It was a reversal of roles, as I was, this time, a guest rather than the host, and to be served a slice of pecan pie by the ambassador herself!

During the taping, I learned that Kristie hails from Washington DC, the daughter of a schoolteacher and a US military veteran. She is a distinguished senior diplomat with the US Department of State, beginning her career in 1981. She has served in Jamaica, Switzerland, Argentina, and Ecuador.

Ambassador Kenney also served as the State Department Executive Secretary in Washington DC and on the National Security Council at the White House. With credentials as hefty as these, does she pass my marks as a baker? Upon my first bite of her pecan pie, my answer is a big yes! Gloriously chewy, scrumptious, divine. Praise Kristie’s grandmother for this delicious tradition! It is a dessert definitely not to be passed up every Thanksgiving.

I wonder how Kristie keeps herself lean despite the richness of her pecan pie, among her other baked specialties. I also learned that she has always been athletic, and whenever she has the luxury of time, she hikes and plays tennis.

She is married to William R. Brownfield, who is currently US Ambassador to Venezuela. I guess spending her holidays without her beau would be a sad thing. But I guess the company of her three beloved pets, adorable feline creatures named Emily, Junior, and Niles, fills that void.

We have so little in common in terms of profession and lifestyle, yet Kristie and I got along so well. It just goes to show that you do not measure or judge a person just by the enormity of the title he bears but by the magnitude of his heart as well. And it certainly goes to show that through the common love for good food, friendships can be fostered.

In parting, let me share with you Ambassador Kristie’s recipe for pecan pie, a legacy from her grandmother, which will now be part of our family’s traditional noche buena as well.

US Ambassador Kristie Kenney’s Pecan Pie

For the pie dough:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cold water, plus more if needed

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon shortening or butter (cold and cut into pieces)

For the filling:

1 cup corn syrup (dark, preferred)

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons cocoa

3 eggs

1-1/2 cups pecans

For the pie dough:

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt. Pulse to combine. Add the shortening or the butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube in a slow steady stream. Pulse until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.Turn out dough onto a clean work surface. Roll out into a proper dimension and roll back and over the rolling pin and gently drape over the pie plate. Fit the dough. Once the dough is fit properly into a pie plate, trim it with scissors, leaving an even overhang along the perimeter of the pie plate.

For the filling:

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into the pie shell and bake at 350° for 40-50 minutes until knife inserted in middle comes out clean.

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For comments and suggestions, e-mail the author at henysison@pacific.net.ph.