This next recipe is inspired by a slice of pie that I had while Andrew and I were on our road trip through West Texas. The Bourbon Pecan Pie was so good at Blue Mountain Bistro in Fort Davis that I came back the next day for brunch, hoping to talk the chef into giving me the recipe. I did meet the chef, whose name also happens to be Connie (what are the odds?), and she was a delight to talk to. In the end, I didn’t leave with the recipe in my hand, but that didn’t discourage me from trying to make the pie when I got home. While the pie was a memorable part of the trip, we also saw some great sites along the way.
Big Bend National Park was the first big site that we visited. It’s one of those places, like the Grand Canyon, where none of your pictures can really do it justice.
We also stopped in a lot of small towns. We ate schnitzel in Fredericksburg, endured an electricity outage in Marathon, attempted to see the mysterious Marfa lights, and stargazed at an amazing observatory near Fort Davis. Pictured above are skulls in Marathon, the Marfa water tower, and rocking chairs in Fort Davis.
Our second big destination after Big Bend was Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Spending the day 750 feet underground was an interesting experience. In the words of Ansel Adams, who photographed the caverns in the 1930s, the caverns are “something that should not exist in relation to human beings. Something as remote as the galaxy, as incomprehensible as a nightmare and beautiful in spite of everything.”
The last big destination of the trip was White Sands in New Mexico. We watched the sunset from the dunes the night we drove in and then spent the next morning taking pictures and trying not to get lost as we hiked through the sands. On our way back home to Houston, we stopped in Austin, where we hunted for antiques, ate some great food, and fell in love with the Hotel San Jose (pictured above right). As with the last time I went to Austin, I left wishing that I lived there.
Pretty much after every trip that Andrew and I take, we say, “that was one of our best trips,” but really… that was one of our best trips. We are always planning big trips abroad and this road trip reminded us of how much there is to see and do in the good ole’ USA. Plus, the trip inspired me to make this pie and that alone was worth a week on the road.
I don’t mean to brag, but this is probably one of the best pies I have ever made. I’m pretty sure that Andrew fell in love with me all over again when I gave him a slice. I think using good bourbon is the key. Its scent permeates the filling and adds a wonderful depth to the pie’s flavor, so use the good stuff.
Also, this pecan pie happens to be corn syrup-free, so you don’t have to buy a bottle of that heavily processed stuff—regular brown sugar and cane sugar work just fine. I can’t say how my pie stacks up with the one I had in Fort Davis, or how similar or dissimilar the recipes are, but I can say that both pies are pretty darn good.
