Jan D'Atri

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vegetable shortening

Apricot Pie

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What Scottsdale resident Susan Jaramillo remembers most about her Grandma Denise Nerone was her magnificent homemade bread. In fact, Susan vividly remembers her grandma’s words:


“You’re the only little girl I know who begs for bread for dessert!”

Susan said the only time she would choose dessert over bread was when her French born grandmother made Apricot Pie. Once Susan shared her mouthwatering memories about the sweet-but-tart apricots arranged in a flakey homemade crust with a juicy apricot sauce poured on top and covered in lattice strips, I had no choice but to go into bake mode. What a fabulous, unique fruit pie! It’s delicious warm or cold, and of course, the better quality of dried apricots you use, the better the filling will turn out so look for plump, moist apricots. The original recipe called for whole apricots, but Susan and I agreed that cutting them in half is a bit easier to eat. You can cover your pie with an entire crust instead of cutting lattice strips if your choose. Either way, it’s Vive le Apricot Pie!

Hummingbird Cake

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The one thing we do know about this cake is that it was first printed in Southern Living Magazine in 1978 and eventually became the most popular and requested recipe in the magazine’s history. What we don’t know about Hummingbird Cake, is how it got its name. This moist, 3-layer slice of heaven was created and submitted to Southern Living by Mrs. L.H Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina forty one years ago. Over the years, information about Mrs. Wiggins was lost, but a recent post on line from Southern Living revealed this:

“Stay tuned, because in the coming weeks, you’ll more about cracking the case of the Hummingbird Cake in a new Southern Living podcast—including exclusive interviews with Mrs. Wiggins’ family and Southern Living food editors throughout the decades.”

So maybe we will find out about the cakes’ origin and its name. Once you make it, you’ll find out why it’s been a time-tested and beloved recipe for dessert lovers for decades!