Happy Birthday Pumpkin

I'm celebrating my b-day morning with the window open to the rain and Nanci Griffith playing in the kitchen. The cool damp air and the music remind me of home and I would like to thank my family for growing me up and instilling in me the appreciation for treats. And for just being wonderfully loving, flawed, funny, and ever themselves. I miss them, though I've got great peeps here, too. Tonight it'll be margaritas and tres leches for my adult Texan life. As a kid it was either cake with Cool Whip frosting or whatever I requested, such as pineapple upside cake, which was not as delicious as the name promised, or pumpkin pie, which has never failed me. Hence, here's my tribute to the perfect birthday pie. (Click on the photo for a close-up of creamy goodness).I made this pie to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with friends this weekend. Who knew they had T-giving a whole six weeks earlier? I think I need to celebrate it from now on. After all, I grew up close to Canada. Yes! More excuses for big meal gatherings.

I followed Chris Kimball's detailed instructions. Whew. That involved finding both bourbon and brandy, grating frozen butter for the crust, and cooking pumpkin on the stove. I didn't actually gut a real pumpkin and I don't think you need to. Canned works fine. This pie turned out rather amazing, but not as amazing as all the steps would suggest. It wasn't quite as firm or sweet as I would have liked, and the brandied whipped cream was a bit boozy. My Grandma's sober version of this pie, with the evaporated milk, has always tasted just as good. Still, I'm glad I tried it, if only because the butter grating trick made for a rich-yet-flaky crust (I caved and used half shortening, which does up the flakiness factor, I'll admit). Next time I'd roll it out less to get more crust on the bottom, and probably cook it longer, despite Mr. Kimball's admonition that you have to "take heart" and remove the pie when it's still jiggling. Indecent for the poor pie! Final verdict, though: yum. The silky, lightly spiced flavor did pumpkin proud.


Recipe coming soon!

Comments

long beach kelster said…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRENE!!!
Love ya!
October 15, 2008 at 4:18 PM
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