After washing and drying the pumpkins I set them on the cutting board. At that instant, I had visions of Amy Adams playing Julie Powell in this summer’s movie Julie & Julia. I recalled her hesitation as she prepared her lobsters for cooking. Thankfully my little Sugar Babies weren’t alive or moving but…did I really want to cut them up? Yes!
Most everyone, at one point or another, has carved a pumpkin. This is the hardest part of the job, and one that I have consistently delegated to my husband. Cutting into a Sugar Baby is far easier than cutting a “regular” pumpkin, as they tend to be smaller and not quite so thick.
I made my cut at the top around the stem. Then I cut the pumpkin in half and scooped out the stringy stuff and seeds. I cut the pumpkin into one-and-one-half inch chunks, peeled the outer skin with a paring knife, set them in a large stockpot and covered the pumpkin chunks with cold water.
Over medium heat, I waited until the water boiled, then reduced the heat to low
and allowed the pumpkin to simmer about 25- 30 minutes (that is, until tender). I drained the pumpkin in a colander and crushed the pieces with a hand-held potato masher. (One can also puree the chunks in a food processor.)After the pumpkin is mashed, it must drain in a sieve for 20-30 minutes. What surprised me the most was how much lighter the color of the cooked pumpkin, compared to canned pumpkin! Additionally, fresh pumpkin generally has a higher moisture content than canned. For this reason, it is best not to substitute canned pumpkin puree in recipes calling for homemade mashed pumpkin.
While the pumpkin drained, my 25-year-old newlywed daughter, Toni and I had a brilliant idea. How great would it be if she made a pumpkin pie using canned pumpkin with a frozen crust while I made my pie completely from scratch, crust and all? It’s important to note, tha
t Toni has never baked a pie in her life. Honestly, other than baking cookies the week before, she’s NEVER baked anything.As her faithful assistant, I watched my daughter bake her first pie, carefully measuring each ingredient and following the recipe on the back of the pumpkin can. Her pie looked beautiful as she gently placed it the oven being cautious not to spill. She couldn’t wait for it to bake so that she could take it home to Maxx, her husband of six weeks.
With her pie in the oven, I prepared my own. I followed the recipe below, using my tried-and-true crust recipe (one that has never failed me). It’s listed below as well.
From the start I could tell that this was going to be a much different pie. Not only was the color lighter, the texture was far more substantial, less “liquidy” than my daughter’s pie. I added my spices separately while she had used store-bought “pumpkin pie spice,” a combined mixture of spices. Mine was definitely more aromatic, even before baking.
My kitchen smelled heavenly as the pies baked, whetting everyone’s appetite. After the pies cooled a very proud Toni took her picture-perfect pie home to her beloved Maxx. She called later that evening to say that he loved it and she was elated.
When I took my pie out of the oven, it looked very much like a homemade pie with a hand crimped edged crust and hearty pumpkin filling. To me, it looked divine.
As I served my husband, Kurt, my son, Tim and myself a piece of pie, I told them I wanted the absolute truth. They had both eaten plenty of canned pumpkin pies over the years. Now I wanted an opinion.
As the three of us sat at the kitchen table, Kurt took the first bite, looked at me with his mouth closed, squinted his eyes, opened his mouth and said, “Wow!”
“Wow as in good?” I asked, “or wow as in not so good?”
“Wow as in this is the best pie I’ve ever tasted,” he replied. By now Tim had taken a bite. He didn’t say anything, just looked at me nodded in approval and took another bite. Then with his mouth full (even though for 19 years, I’ve taught him better) he said, “Incredible!” and went in for another bite.
I took a piece of pie over to my mom. She agreed it was wonderful and was shocked when I told her I made it using fresh pumpkin. “You didn’t!” she said as she recalled with horror her own previous attempt. To this day, she doesn’t know what went wrong when she tried to make a fresh pumpkin, calling it “a first class disaster.”
Without a doubt (like most cooks and bakers), I am my harshest critic; but this “from scratch” pie was “the Real McCoy!” It’s what pumpkin pie is supposed to be, rustic and earthy. The taste and the texture is the taste and texture of pumpkin, not custard or spicy, but actual, real pumpkin!
And something else, too. The taste was something more. Maybe it was Kurt and I spending a fall afternoon together in the fresh air surrounded by acres of pumpkins, corn mazes and six-foot sunflowers, reminiscing about the good times we shared with our children. Maybe it was teaching my daughter how to bake her first pie for her new husband. Maybe it was laughing with my mom about the stringy mess when she made a pie using fresh pumpkin all those years ago. Maybe it was watching my handsome 19-year-old son shovel pie into his mouth with such gusto and delight. Maybe it was that other secret ingredient that made it so good; that essential ingredient called love!
Fresh Pumpkin Pie
(from http://southernfood.about.com/odpumpkinpies)
Ingredients:
½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ¾ cups fresh cooked pumpkin, pureed or mashed, (one 3-4 lb. Sugar Baby will yield this amount)
¼ cup light corn syrup
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 Tablespoons melted butter
½ cup evaporated milk
½ cup milk, scalded
egg white
1 unbaked pie shell (9-inch)
Preparation:
Mix sugar, salt and spices. Add pumpkin, then corn syrup, eggs, butter, evaporated milk and the hot milk. Brush bottom of the piecrust with egg white. Pour pumpkin filling mixture into shell and bake at 375 degree oven for 25 – 35 minutes. A knife should come out clean when inserted in the center. Top with fresh whipped cream.
Pie Crust: (For 9-inch pie)
(From Heart of the Home Cookbook, Susan Branch 1986)
1 ½ cups unbleached floor
¾ cup shortening (butter flavor or regular)
¾ teaspoon salt
Using pastry cutter, cut through till dough is in pieces the size of peas. Slowly add ice water, mixing with fork until dough holds together in a ball. Roll out on floured board, place in pie pan, trim edges and crimp edges.
Patti’s Tip: Use a gentle hand while making pie crust. Too much handling of the dough will make it tough instead of flaky.
Toni’s Pie recipe is the Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe found on the back of the can of pumpkin puree.
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell (Toni used Marie Callendar’s frozen pie shell)
Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
Pour into unbaked pie shell.
Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees; bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.
NOTE: 1 ¾ pumpkin pie spice may be substituted for cinnamon, ginger and cloves; however, the taste will be slightly different.
Enjoy!
