By Thanksgiving prep started this week because Thanksgiving is not a day, it's a campaign. Betty started Thanksgiving planning the week after Halloween and executed it with a military precision that the actual military could learn from. I'm not Betty. I don't plan with military precision. I plan with the focused panic of a man who is trying to recreate his dead mother's cornbread dressing from memory and doesn't have a recipe because Betty never wrote anything down and that's why I'm writing everything down now.
Monday: soup beans. Always. But also Monday was the day I wrote out the Thanksgiving menu on the back of an envelope because that's where menus go in this house. Turkey (brined, roasted). Cornbread dressing (Betty's — sage adjusted from last year). Mashed potatoes. Green beans (canned, don't apologize). Cranberry sauce (canned, don't apologize louder). Gravy (from drippings). Sweet potato casserole (Jolene's). Bourbon pecan pie (mine). Rolls (Connie's, from a can, which I have learned not to discuss).
Made the cornbread Tuesday and set it out to dry. Made biscuits and crumbled them. Chopped celery and onion and sealed them in a container. Measured the sage — less than two Thanksgivings ago, the same as last year, which was right. Last year was right. I got the sage right and everything else right and Clay said the food was good, Dad, and I'm chasing that sentence again this year. I'm always chasing that sentence. Every recipe I make is reaching for the moment someone eats it and says it's good, because good means I did something with my hands and my time that mattered, and mattering is what I need more than anything right now.
Travis called Wednesday to confirm they're coming. Jolene's bringing the sweet potato casserole. Travis is bringing beer. Amber's coming if the hospital lets her, which it might not, because hospitals don't observe the holiday the way the rest of the world does. Clay's coming. He's six weeks into the program and sober and steady enough that I can invite him to a holiday dinner without the undercurrent of dread that used to accompany every family gathering. Not without worry. Without dread. There's a difference. Dread expects the worst. Worry just watches for it.
The bourbon pecan pie has been on my Thanksgiving menu for years, but this year I wanted something that bridged the pecan and the pumpkin in one dish — something I could pull together early in the week while the cornbread was drying and the house still smelled like Tuesday’s biscuits. The Pecan Pumpkin Dessert is that dish. It’s the kind of thing Betty would have called “practical and good,” which in her vocabulary was the highest compliment a recipe could earn. I’m chasing Clay saying the food was good, Dad — and this one’s going to help me get there.
Pecan Pumpkin Dessert
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 box (15.25 oz) yellow cake mix
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter or nonstick spray.
- Make the pumpkin layer. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt until smooth. Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly.
- Add the cake mix layer. Sprinkle the dry yellow cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture. Do not stir — leave it as a dry layer on top.
- Add pecans and butter. Scatter the chopped pecans evenly over the cake mix layer. Drizzle the melted butter over the entire surface, covering as much of the cake mix as possible.
- Bake. Bake uncovered for 50—55 minutes, until the top is golden brown and set and the edges are bubbling slightly. The center should not jiggle.
- Cool and serve. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 420 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 340mg