Pralines

Mom used to make these, but for some reason when I was a kid I didn't much care for them. Now I love pralines and can't for the life of me figure out what I didn't like then. Jay thinks that the only good pralines come from the south (made by large African-American women stirring huge kettles, he says!), but curiously Mom's recipe is almost an exact duplicate of one I saw recently from someone who lives in the southern US. So this is authentic!

2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons butter
2-1/3 cups pecan halves

Mix sugar and baking soda together in large heavy kettle; add the buttermilk and salt. Cook over low heat, stirring and scraping the bottom continually until it reaches 218° F. Add the butter and pecans, continue cooking to 230° F. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Beat until creamy and drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.

Note: other recipes I've seen tell you to cook mixture to the soft ball stage (235°-240°) and THEN add the butter and pecans. And, they don't all say to beat the mixture after it's cooked. Also, if you want to add a teaspoon of vanilla, add it along with the butter and pecans.

Praline is a confection made of nut kernels, especially almonds or pecans, stirred in boiling sugar syrup until crisp and brown. It may be eaten as candy, ground and used as a filling or dessert ingredient, or sprinkled atop desserts as a garnish. Supposedly, the Duke of Plessis-Praslin's cook, Clement Lassagne, invented the treat and named it after the Duke (the "s" was later dropped). After retiring, he founded the Maison de la Praline: the confectioner's shop which still exists in the town of Montargis, south of Paris.