pumpkin pie
I seem to be incapable of accoplishing much of anything today besides blogging. So here's some more of it. Besides, it's been a while since Catherine's put up one of her baked masterpieces.
Most guys have a some sort of culinary specialty. Sometimes it's pathetic, along the lines of this guy. Sometimes it's useful, like Kriston's famed breakfast tacos. I suppose my specialty is pumpkin pie. It doesn't really hit the masculine or practical notes that I'd prefer, but it's damn tasty. And I only have to make it once or twice a year.
Mom's recipe and associated pics below the cut.
Pumpkin Pie (yields one)
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp cloves (optional — I don't like 'em)
1 1/2 c. pumpkin
1 2/3 c. evaporated milk or heavy cream
2 eggs
A few things: you can use white or brown sugar. White will make a sweeter pie and avoid clumps; I like brown, though. Same goes for the dairy component: evaporated milk will make the pie significantly sweeter and have a firmer texture. I prefer cream, or 1:1 mixture of the two. All spices are dried, although I used freshly ground nutmeg. If you use fresh ginger, you'd probably better cut down on the amount.
The most important thing is to use real pumpkin. Canned pumpkin is pureed, and judging from the color, may still contain the skin. It tastes nasty and it's got an awful texture. Real pumpkin has a pleasant texture and no offensive taste. It'll keep forever if you freeze it, and it's a good way to thicken up curries. So go buy a goddamn pumpkin already. Gut it, chop it up, boil it until it yields to a knife, cool, peel the skin off and mash it. I hear you can cook it in the microwave, too.
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, trying to avoid clumps of brown sugar, if that's what you're using. Add the cream and egg, mix thoroughly. Add the pumpkin last. Fill your bought or made pie crust and place into a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 and bake for 35-45 more minutes. The pie will be jiggly, but not liquid, when it's done. It'll firm up and settle down once it's refrigerated.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that, when purchasing your pumpkin for purposes of pie-making, you should buy a small pumpkin — ideally one that's labelled as a "sugar pumpkin". Large jack-o-lanterns will have meat that's tougher and more fibrous. You don't want that.
The seeds from all types of pumpkins are equally suitable for eating, though. Separate them from the innards (but don't wash them!), toss them with oil, salt them and spread them out on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees, turning every 10 minutes or so, until they're nice and toasty looking. Exactly how brown you want them is up to you.
Mmm. Why can't store-bought pumpkin seeds be that good?
Comments
Ah, more food porn. Good post. Have you ever tried sweet potato pie?
Store-bought crust? For shame.
I know, I know. I don't think pumpkin pie really benefits from a flaky crust, though. The filling is so wet when it goes in that the crust ends up very very flat and plain no matter how well-made it is. The crust adds some salt and a toasted taste to the proceedings, both of which I like, but the texture is kind of irrelevant.
Also, I don't own an adequately-sized food processor, or a pastry masher thingy. And making it with the criss-crossing knives method is a huge pain in the ass.
Scott: I think I've had sweet potato pie only once. It was pretty tasty, but the super-pureed texture didn't appeal to me. It's better than bad pumpkin pie, I think, but worse than good pumpkin pie. But then maybe I just haven't had a really good one.
Oh man, Tom's too modest—that's some damned good pumpkin pie he makes. I'm not sharing the stuff you left over here.
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