My mom likes to say that “in another life” she owned and operated a bed and breakfast. At the beginning of her foray into the world of B&Bs (when the fad was at its highest), she had a partner but it soon turned into a solo gig.
Mom persevered for another year or two before she sold her log cabin inn along with the family farm.
When I think of her time as an innkeeper, I am a bit nostalgic. When The Hubs (then fiance) and I would visit, we always hoped there was room for us to stay in the B&B. Sometimes there was and sometimes we were relegated to the “old” house. I think mom truly enjoyed her time as a host because she is truly a people person. She can have a conversation with anyone. I know of at least one lasting friendship she forged with a guest that booked the inn for an extended business stay.
The upkeep of both the farm and the inn became a bit too taxing for her and soon after she sold the properties, she found herself doing full time grandma duties in Iowa.
Mom, as a former home economics teacher, was always a great cook and I know this talent only added to the popularity of her bed & breakfast.
While she was here on Thanksgiving, we pulled out an old standby from the inn, The Homestead Pecan Pie. In fact, we created a new recipe because I did not have any corn syrup in the house and we used all honey. I think I like it better that way.
Homestead Pecan Pie
The absolute favorite dessert recipe from the Homestead B&B. The hostess always uses local Oklahoma pecans.1/2 c. butter
1 c. local honey
3 large farm fresh eggs
1/8 t. salt
1 c. sugar
1 t. pure vanilla
1 c. pecans
9″ unbaked pie shellPreheat oven to 425 F. In a saucepan, melt butter. Let it brown without stirring, but watch it carefully. In a blender, combine all ingredients except pecans. Carefully add hot butter while blender is still running.
Layer pecans on bottom of pie shell. Carefully pour mixture over pecans.
Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes. Then, reduce temperature to 325 F for 40 minutes.
Although the Homestead is no longer, the pie remains. Instead of using an entire cup of honey, you can substitute 1/4 c. honey and 3/4 c. corn syrup. I advocate for all honey. It gives the pie a truly homemade quality. The browned butter is also the key to this recipe.
