Friday, November 16, 2007

Friday food.

"Eat your heart out" is actually a sort of creepy saying, isn't it? I tried to find its origins and
came across this quirky and amusing list.

In honor of the impending holiday I'm sharing the Best Pumpkin Pie recipe ever.

Don't roll your eyes - if you actually don't cheat and use canned pumpkin, this will be unlike any
pumpkin pie you've ever had. Growing up I loathed pumpkin pie - the weird solid texture and
overly-spiced-to-mask-the-fact-that-it's-canned flavor. Then I had a piece of real pumpkin pie,
and the heavens parted and the angels sang. It's that good. Fresh pumpkin imparts a delicate
flavor and fluffy texture that you just can't fake.

First, find a cooking pumpkin, preferably a jarrahdale or sugar pie pumpkin. Cut it in half,
scoop out all the seeds, and bake it at 400 degrees for around an hour. (This link has pretty good
baking instructions, but I'd omit the water in the baking pan - you want the pulp to be fairly dry.)

Once cooked, scoop out the pulp and puree it in a food processor. (Way easier than pushing the
whole mess through a fine sieve, which is what I used to do - ugh.) Now put it in that underused
fine sieve and let it sit to get any excess water out while you're making the crust.

(This is a great, fool-proof crust recipe. The only change I'd make is to mix the water and the salt
first, and then add it to the food processor.)

Now, in a mixing bowl, beat 2 cups of the fresh pumpkin puree with 3 egg yolks,
one 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup flaked coconut, and the
following spices:

1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. fresh ground nutmeg
dash of salt

Pour the pumpkin mix into your prepared pie shell, and bake at 400 for 30 minutes, checking to make
sure the crust doesn't burn. After 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 325 and continue to bake for
approximately 20 -25 minutes, until the center appears set. I like it best warm from the oven with
fresh whipped cream, but it can be served cold, too (it makes a great breakfast!). In this shot from
one of our dessert buffets, you can see stacks of tiny individual pumpkin pies along with lots of other
fall treats.