RECIPES CAN DEFINE THE HOLIDAYS.

Byline: Annie Hundley

Does your family have a holiday recipe you can't live without?

Something that it really wouldn't be the holidays without?

In my family, we make clam chowder for Christmas Eve -- every year. Valley News

Weird, I know.

But that was my parent's tradition, so I had to start my own. It's a Thanksgiving pie that I've made for four years straight now and has made me lots of friends wherever I go.

What is your family's special recipe? Share it with your community by posting it on valleynews.com. It might just get published in one of our print editions!

Here's mine, which I got from National Public Radio's cooking show, The Splendid Table.

This Bourbon, Chocolate, and Walnut Pecan Pie recipe is adapted from It's All American Food by David Rosengarten (Little, Brown 2003).

Bourbon, Chocolate, and Walnut Pecan Pie

Makes one pie (9 1/2 inches), six to eight servings

one pie crust

1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans

1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts

four large eggs

1/2 cup light corn syrup 

1/4 cup honey

1/3 cup granulated sugar 

1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

six tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

three tablespoons bourbon

one tablespoon all-purpose flour

one tablespoon vanilla extract

Pinch of ground nutmeg

Pinch of ground cinnamon

1/2 pound high-quality bittersweet chocolate, broken into 1/2-inch square chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, 1 inch larger than the pie plate. Drape the crust over the rolling pin and carefully fit into the pie plate. Trim the edges to 1/2 inch wider than the rim of the pie plate. Fold excess under the rim, on the outside of the plate, and crimp, pinching the dough between your thumb and forefinger at 1-inch intervals.

3. Toast the chopped pecans and chopped walnuts in a small saut pan placed over medium-high heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until they are evenly toasted and crisp, about 4 minutes.

4. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, light corn syrup, honey, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, melted butter, bourbon, all-purpose flour, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and cinnamon and blend until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the toasted pecans, toasted walnuts, and chunks of chocolate. Pour the mixture into the piecrust.

5. Bake the pie on the center oven rack until it is set, about 40 to 50 minutes. A cake tester inserted into the center of the pie should come out clean (unless you hit a chocolatey spot). Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

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Bourbon, Chocolate, and Walnut Pecan Pie