One of the best things about pecans is how incredibly versatile they are. We love them in all sorts of dishes, not to mention on their own as a delicious and nutritious snack. In breads and entrees, appetizer nibbles and sophisticated desserts, you’re always able to find a new way to use pecans in the kitchen.
Toasting
Many recipes start with toasted pecans, a process which brings out the aromas and flavors of the nut. While you can buy them that way, it’s easy to toast your own pecans and the freshness of the flavor is worth the extra effort.
Spread your pecans out on a greased baking tray and put them in the oven at 350° for 5-10 minutes. To add spices, coat the pecans in a mix of melted butter (about a tablespoon per half cup of pecans) and spices before adding, and toast for 20-25 minutes.
If you want less oily pecans, let them cool on paper towels or in a paper bag, then toast again for around ten minutes at 250°. Keep an eye on them to make sure you don’t scorch the delicate exterior.
It is a gentle reminder that pecan season is here when you begin to see the “We Buy Pecans” signs grace the front of many local businesses here in the Deep South. Typically the signs appear in front of small town feed stores, convenient shops or lumber yards. And typically it is the same businesses year-after-year who do the buying. Local residents get accustomed to bringing their daily pick to these locations, have their bag or bucket weighed and paid, cash, on the spot for a few hours’ worth of pecan picking. 
Whether it’s the golden-brown turkey of Thanksgiving or the lovingly shaped latkes of Hanukah, the end of the year brings a feast that will draw the whole family together. However, getting the components of a meal together can be an ordeal, one that’s compounded by the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Don’t waste time sweating in the kitchen when you could be making memories with your loved ones. Follow these simple rules to get your holiday meal on the table in a snap and enjoy the free time under the mistletoe with your favorite dinner guests. 
One of the main reasons our pecan company has flourished over the past few decades is due in large part to our supportive community here in Acadiana and specifically our home town of New Iberia, Louisiana. We cannot begin to tell you how many of our customers are local and loyal and work as brand ambassadors for our products and services. We are sincerely humbled when we think of the local oil and gas companies, commercial banks, healthcare professionals, wealth advisors, contractors, engineers, law firms, insurance groups and more who patronize our company year in and year out to provide their clients, customers and employees with gourmet pecan gifts from our company. And of course we cannot begin to forget the scores of consumers who come to us for their pecan needs to include in every holiday dish imaginable or want the chance to ship a bit of “home” to every corner of this big world we live in. We are blessed and extremely thankful to our base of local customers. 
My family has been in the pecan industry for the past 45 years and never have we seen the escalating pecan prices that we have seen during the last few. Pecan prices are at an historic high. There have many national stories from Forbes to The Wall Street Journal that have covered the bewildering high pecan prices and how this will affect the common consumer. I feel compelled to weigh in and give my perspective since it is my livelihood. 
I have memories of being cold – really cold – on Cane River. A large portion of our orchards in Natchitoches Parish, La., was located on a beautiful stretch of this scenic river, which is actually a lake due to dams built in the early 20th century. It meanders through a part of Louisiana that is graced with historic plantation homes, huge stately oaks, occasional cotton fields and beautiful pecan orchards. Even though we are located here in the Deep South, many in the area consider the Cane River country North Louisiana. (We tend to think of anything above Interstate 10 in Louisiana as North!) Only about 120 miles separate Cane River Country from South Louisiana, but in those few miles the land begins to take a new shape. The dirt turns from black to red, crops go from sugar cane to beans, cotton and pecans, and the temperatures are relatively cooler. It’s almost as if you’ve entered another state.