Traditional Pumpkin Pie #44

I have to say that pumpkin pie is one of the easiest pies to make.

For most people, the only thing that you have to do with the main ingredient is open a can, which is why I wanted to do this pumpkin pie panel in the first place. For years I've heard that it doesn't matter much whether or not you use canned or roasted pumpkins. Many people say it tastes the same and that it's not worth the work.

So, I thought I should try it and use a few friends to find out if that was indeed true.

We had three traditional pumpkin pies. One was a store bought pumpkin pie, another was a frozen store bought crust with canned pumpkin filling (using the recipe on the back of the can), and a third pumpkin pie which used a roasted pumpkin and the following recipe.

I was surprised to find that there were people who liked all three pies and those who disliked all three traditional pies as well. I wonder if that had more to do with nostalgia than anything else, but I think that it's important to note that there are people who prefer all options.

As for me, who is usually a pumpkin pie hater, using a roasted pumpkin made a big difference as well as for the majority of the twenty tasters who liked this traditional pie the most. In fact, many of them chose this pie as their favorite pie of the night.

And while I promise I'm not trying to make things more difficult, I think that taking a few extra steps with your pumpkin pie can make a huge difference in the end:
1-I am now a believer in roasting your own pumpkin (directions are at the end)
2-Blend or puree it in your food processor
3-Strain your pumpkin puree

So, while you want to keep the nostalgic taste of your pumpkin pie recipe or you want to try a new one, I believe that using a combination of these techniques can really take your pumpkin pie to a new level--an even better level. Going the extra mile will make your pumpkin lovers happy and I think can help those who don't normally like it to love it even more.

Traditional Pumpkin Pie

Pate Brisee
(Adapted from Julia Childs)

For an 8- to 9-inch shell.

1 cup flour, scooped and leveled
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon plus a pinch salt
6 tablespoons chilled butter
2 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening
4 to 4 1/2 tablespoons cold water

Pumpkin Filling:
(adapted from theworldlink.com)
2 cups pumpkin puree*

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 egg yolk

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS:
Crust--Place the flour in the bowl and mix in the sugar and salt. Add the butter and shortening and cut into dry ingredients until it resembles the size of small oatmeal flakes. Do not overdo this step as the fat will be blended more thoroughly later.

Add the water and blend quickly with one hand, fingers held together and slightly cupped, as you rapidly gather the dough into a mass. Sprinkle up to 1 tablespoon more water by droplets over any unmassed remains and add them to the main body of the dough. Then press the dough firmly into a roughly shaped ball. It should just hold together and be pliable but not sticky. Flatten the ball into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place a sheet of parchment paper inside the pie crust, and fill it with enough dry beans, uncooked rice, or pie weights to come nearly to the top of the pie. Bake for 15 minutes, remove parchment paper and weights and bake for another 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly and reduce the oven temperature to 350 F.

While the crust is baking, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Heat for 7 minutes, stirring often.

Transfer the pumpkin mixture to a blender or food processor. Puree for about 10 seconds. One at a time, add the eggs and egg yolk, pulsing the blender or processor briefly between each.

With the blender or processor running, slowly pour in the cream and puree until well mixed, about another 10 seconds.

Slowly pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 1 hour, or until the edges are puffed and the center is set and jiggles only slightly.

Cool completely on a rack before cutting.

*Directions for Pumpkin Puree
(Directions from 101 cookbooks)

1 3 lb. sugar pie pumpkin
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully cut the pumpkin into four big wedges - get rid of the stem. Scoop out the seeds and pulp (you can toast the seeds if you like), drizzle then rub the pumpkin wedges with olive oil, sprinkle generously with salt, and then bake on a baking sheet (middle rack) until tender throughout - about an hour. Scoop flesh out of the skins and puree with a hand blender or mash well by hand.

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie #43

So it seems like an obvious combination, right? Chocolate and pumpkin. I mean who doesn't love a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie every once in a while, or some warm pumpkin bread with chocolate chips? So yes, pumpkin and chocolate seem to be a perfect marriage of delightful indulgence and health (note the vegetable and antioxidant combination).

This pie, however, was not really the symphony of satisfaction that I expected it to be. And as far as the Pumpkin Pie Panel testers went, they rated this one as their least favorite of the non-traditional Pumpkin Pies.

Here's the thing, I don't think it awful. I finished mine and enjoyed it. Also, since there was SO much extra filling left over (really, there is SO MUCH FILLING for one 9 1/2 in pie pan--be prepared to make another small one or maybe just be smart from the beginning and prepare two 9 inch pans), I took a small pie (with a gingersnap crust) to work with me the next day and shared it with some co-workers. It got pretty good reviews there so again, I'm just saying, it's not awful--not at all.

But (and this is a BIG but), it doesn't taste like pumpkin.

That's kind of a problem for a pumpkin pie.

I mean, it's got the spices in there, and yeah, there's a wee stitch of pumpkiness in the flavor, but it just tastes like kind of an interesting chocolate pie.

I don't want to completely scare you away from this pie combination. It can be done. But the pumpkin shouldn't be masked and that's the problem with this pie, at least in my opinion. Hopefully this recipe can be used as a jump start for an even better pumpkin chocolate pie combination, but this, my friends, is probably not it.

(Speaking of putting together amazing pie combinations, did anyone else happen to read this article today? I know it's pie season and all, but YEAH FOR PIE!)

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

Graham Cracker Crust

2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 16 crackers)

3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), finely chopped

Filling

6 ounces semisweet chocolate (preferably 55 percent cacao), chopped

2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin (or two cups roasted pumpkin)

1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 pinch ground cloves

DIRECTIONS

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugars, salt, and cinnamon in bowl. Firmly press mixture into bottom and up sides of a deep, 9 1/2-inch pie dish. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, and sprinkle bittersweet chocolate over bottom of crust. Return to oven to melt chocolate, about 1 minute. Spread chocolate in a thin layer on bottom and up sides. Let cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Filling: In a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt semisweet chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.

Mix pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves in a medium bowl. Whisk 1/3 pumpkin mixture into chocolate mixture. Whisk in remaining pumpkin mixture until completely incorporated.

Transfer pie dish to a rimmed baking sheet, and pour pumpkin mixture into crust. Bake until center is set but still a bit wobbly, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pie dish on a wire rack. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours (preferably overnight). 

Citrus Pumpkin Pie #42

 Why I liked this pie:
-The citrus isn't overwhelming, but it is a really nice compliment to the pumpkin and nutmeg.  Also, I thought that the orange flavored whipped cream was a nice touch.
-If you haven't noticed already, it's kind of hard to make a pumpkin pie look good, but I thought that the zest looked really pretty on top (although it kind of looks like shredded cheese in the picture) and even when it was cut the crust and filling were firm and still looked good.

What I didn't like about this pie:
-While I loved the way the zest looked, I didn't love the way the zest tasted. I think that I should have put a little less zest on it or used something like candied orange peels. It might have just been that I got a big mouthful of zest on one of my bites and I thought it took away from the overall taste. So, take note, use a bit less zest than I used for a garnish or use something you can't get enough of--like candied orange peels.  And while we're talking about zest, I think that mixing the filling in the food processor or blender is the key to making this pie a success. It helps it to be smooth despite the added zest.

Pumpkin Pie Panel notes:
"Refreshing," "The citrus is a nice compliment to the nutmeg," "Love the crust!" "Liked the idea, but couldn't eat the whole thing." "Memorable flavors,"

While this wasn't the overall number one pie, it ranked as the best of the non-traditional pies. And although it had more ingredients than the other pies, I thought that it was easy to make and using the food processor to combine the filling was pretty brilliant (maybe that's really typical for pumpkin pies...I'm still learning). Also, while I really liked it and would be very happy to eat it if it was served at my Thanksgiving dinner, it wasn't my favorite of the night. However, you should know that this was probably Ryan's favorite pie. He loved how it held up, loved the slight variation on the traditional pumpkin, and loved the way it tasted as a left-over.

Thanksgiving timeline for this pie:

Make the crust on Tuesday night, roll out and freeze prepared dough early on Wednesday, cook pie on Wednesday night, cool (for about two hours after taking it out of the freezer), and chill until you're ready to serve.

Citrus Pumpkin Pie

(Adapted from Bon Appétit November 2006)
 All Butter Crust:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter (or 1 stick)
1/4 cup ice cold water

Citrus Pumpkin Pie filling:

1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin or 2 cups roasted pumpkin

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cloves
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

Topping:

1 cup chilled whipping cream

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoon orange juice
Zest from one orange

DIRECTIONS:
Crust: cut butter into small squares and freeze or refrigerate while preparing other ingredients. Measure 1/4 cup water and also place in freezer until needed. Combine flour, sugar, salt and whisk ingredients together. Add cold butter and stir so butter squares are covered in flour.

Cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 70 percent of the cold water and stir to evenly distribute the moisture. Use your hands to combine the dough by squeezing and molding it into a ball--make sure you don't overwork it! If the dough is too dry, add the rest of the water and continue to combine. Once in a ball, flatten ball into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least an hour.

Once chilled, roll out dough on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer rolled-out dough to prepared dish. Fold edges under and crimp, forming high border. Freeze prepared dough for at least an hour (this helps to keep your crust from shrinking).

Filling: Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 375°F. Line crust with foil or parchment paper; fill with dried beans. Bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans and bake until edges are light golden for about 10 minutes. Press crust with back of fork if bubbles . Cool at least 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Reposition oven rack to center.

Puree pumpkin in a food processor or blender. Mix in next 6 ingredients. Add eggs 1 at a time, pulsing after each addition. Gradually add cream, processing just until blended. Process 5 seconds longer.

Pour filling into warm crust. Bake until edges are puffed and center is set, about 1 hour. Cool completely on rack. Cover and chill. Can be made one day ahead.

Topping: Just before serving, whip cream until stiff peaks form. Add sugar and orange juice and whip again to combine. Top cooled pumpkin pie with cream and garnish with orange zest.

The Great Pumpkin Pie Panel

As a child, I remember preparing for Thanksgiving by making pies with my Aunt, peeling potatoes, and finding the stretchiest pants that I could so I wouldn't have to hassle with loosening a belt during my Thanksgiving meal.

I was meticulous about my gravy to mashed potatoes to turkey ratios. And while I never liked my food to touch I would plan out the savory to sweet route of my plate using rolls as the great mediator between the two palates. In any case, I always looked forward to the feast the way every little, closet fat, girl would. 

My one and only problem with Thanksgiving has always been the pumpkin pie. I mean no offense to my Aunt and Grandmother who spent the entire day before Thanksgiving making pies, it's just that the mushy vegetable has NEVER appealed to me. 

So, it was always a dilemma for me. I wanted to try everything so I would give it a taste and then I'd have to cover it in whipped cream so it didn't look like I was "wasting" it. For years I tried that method and then finally just gave up trying pumpkin pie at all and learned to just focus on apple pies and other desserts.

However, this year, I thought it was about time to figure out why anyone even likes this dessert at all, and to do so we had little pumpkin pie panel to help us out.

Six pies, twenty people, and a lot of tests later we've found that there are many people who are pumpkin pie traditionalist and those who need a little something different from the norm to be pumpkin pie fans.


The six pies I served are ranked in order of overall favorite to overall least favorite:
1-Maple Pumpkin Pie with a Gingersnap crust
2-Traditional Pumpkin Pie with an all-butter crust
3-Citrus Pumpkin Pie
4-Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
5-Traditional Store bought Pumpkin Pie
6-Traditional back-of-the-can Pumpkin Pie filling with a frozen store bought crust


So get your stretchy pants on because in preparation for Thanksgiving, I've got a new Pumpkin Pie recipe for you each day this week.

Caramel Apple Pie #41

So, I realize that this one sounds like a very similar concept to the candy apple pie, which I previously made.

They both involve: apples, caramel, a lot of sugar, and they were both pie contest winners.

So there. I just had to put that out there. I know. You know. We all know--and now I just sound defensive...

Any way, here's what was good about this pie: first of all, the filling was good. I'm beginning to believe that precooking your apples a bit before putting them in the crust might just be the right thing to do and is also the only way to combat having a big crust dome (I've been skeptical of this practice and I hope that in the future I can confirm what's best through some experiments). Also, it was like a one-stop-shopping experience, in that you just make caramel with your apples. Now, how's that for a smart, yet deliciously simple trick?

Here's what was mediocre about this pie: the struesel topping. The real reason I made this pie was because of the struesel topping. I was curious about how a crust on top of a struesel would turn out. I dreamed of the best of both worlds combining atop caramely apples and it was...well...meh.

Ryan was with me when I searched for the "toffee bars" that it "calls" for and we had a long debate in front of a not-so-thrilled clerk about what was the best thing to use. Finally we agreed to both be satisfied with scraping the chocolate off a Skor bar and using the toffee innards.

I'm not going to try and convince you that we made the best choice, because despite what I hoped for, the toffee bits just melted into the rest of the pie and there wasn't any toffee crunch or uniqueness to this whole streusel thing. Also, while I grew up loving Skor bars, I now realize that they are not quit the high-quality candy bar I remember sneaking out of my Dad's bulk-sized stash in the garage.

All I'm saying is, I would imagine that homemade toffee (or at least some high-quality toffee) would make a positive difference here. And while we had a hard time finding it in Harlem on a Saturday night, if you do have some positive success or have any good ideas, please let me know.

Here's what was not appealing about the pie: The crust. First of all, it was the most difficult crust that I've ever worked with. It crumbled, it ripped, it was hard to roll out. The crust was too thick and you know what? It was one of the first times I really didn't enjoy rolling one out.  So, if you are making notes about this pie, your second one should be: just use a completely different crust for this recipe.

However, I wouldn't throw this recipe out completely. I think that it has some great potential--most importantly the filling was awesome. But if you're not looking to experiment, I recommend you use the previously mentioned candy apple pie recipe--even though, like I said, they are different!

Caramel Apple Pie
(Winner of the Food Network Pie bake-off 2003)

Pie Crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled

4 tablespoons shortening

1/3 cup ice water

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 egg, beaten

Filling:

6 cups apples

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons heavy cream

4 tablespoons butter

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon butter

2 toffee bars or 3 ounces chocolate covered peanut or pecan brittle, crushed

DIRECTIONS:

Pie Crust:

Chill all ingredients, including the flour and vinegar. Combine the flour, salt and sugar. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles cornmeal. In another bowl, mix water and vinegar with the beaten egg. Add the liquid mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the flour mixture, tossing with a fork to form a soft dough.

Filling:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Peel and slice apples. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and add apples. Toss to mix. Add vanilla and cream. Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add apple mixture and cook approximately 8 minutes, to soften apples. Turn into pie shell.

Streusel Topping:

Combine the flour and sugar. Mix in butter with fork until coarse crumbs. stir in the crushed toffee bars. Sprinkle over pie. Add top crust. Seal, flute edge and vent top. Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake 45 minutes longer