Perfect Pumpkin Pie

We had three Thanksgiving dinners this year. One with Nonni on the day, one with my Mom the day after, and then I cooked one for us at home on Sunday. I’ve never cooked a whole Thanksgiving dinner in my life because we’re always away. It occurred to me that this is one of the things I want to do before I die, and that maybe I should start working on that list sooner rather than later.

So, I roasted a giant turkey leg that I had procured the week before from Diemand Farm in Wendell, MA with Annabelle of Calamity Shazaam in the Kitchen and her lovely family. Alongside the turkey leg were roasted carrots from Waltham Fields and potatoes from Picadilly Farm. Then I made oyster and chestnut dressing with Wellfleet oysters (courtesy of Grandpa P), as well as the stale, half-eaten baguettes I’ve been collecting from Russo’s. Finally, I made roasted Eastham turnip with local shallots and apples. Husband followed everything up with a homemade pumpkin pie.

One of the great things about this dinner was that the kids actually ate it. Not only ate it, but liked it. I was definitely not expecting that. The dressing alone was “food on the food” at its worst: many of the ingredients were green (leeks, celery, thyme, sage, parsley), several were gross-looking (chestnuts, oysters), and they were all mixed up with stale bread doused in the drippings of a dead bird. I did not explain it to them in this way, however. Maybe that’s the secret.

After they had eaten every bit off their plate, and my dad had eaten every bit off his plate (yes, including the turnips), they had pumpkin pie and ate every smear of filling right out of the crust. Since when is pumpkin pie popular with kids? Now they suddenly adore it, which means Husband will be even more inclined to sneak downstairs in the middle of the night for secret pie.

Husband’s recipe is as simple as, well…pie. It’s the simplest pie you’ll ever make, put it that way. He makes it with canned pumpkin and a Pillsbury crust, so it’s super-quick to put together. If you don’t already have a standard pumpkin pie in rotation, I’d suggest starting with this one and building off it.

Now, all we have to do is marry his pumpkin pie technique with my homemade lard crust, possibly also real CSA pumpkin or squash, and then there will be world peace.

Someday.

Husband’s Pumpkin Pie

His secret is to mix fresh, grated nutmeg along with the powdered stuff, half and half.

3 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar, lumps sifted down
1 can pumpkin pie filling (or 1½ cups cooked and puréed fresh pumpkin)
1 Tbsp. flour
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. salt
1¼ cups low-fat milk, heated (not boiled)

Preheat oven to 450°F. Let pre-made dough come to room temperature for 15 minutes to unstiffen. Grease the pie plate, line with dough, and crimp.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugars. Mix in the pumpkin, flour, spices, and salt. Slowly add the heated milk, whisking all the while, over the course of a minute or so. If you like your pies creamier, you can use whole milk instead or go up an extra ¼ cup on the low-fat milk. However, Husband likes his dark and firm. His words. Hmmmmm…

Bake pie for 10 minutes at 450°F, then lower heat to 350°F and bake 55-60 minutes longer. Let cool, then refrigerate until chilled. Serve with whipped cream or, as Husband prefers it, plain.

Comments

[Julia]

I know this post is about pumpkin pie, but I'm intrigued by the turnips.> I just bought some macomber turnips at Russo's and think I'll use your recipe to roast them with shallots and apples. That sounds delicious!

[Amy]

Pie? Did someone say pie? You know my love and devotion for anything pie, right? And let's see...two children under the age of 4 1/2 - I am all about the canned pumpkin puree and pre-made pie crust. Bring it on!

[emma]

no cinnamon? boyfriend and i are intrigued. if for some reason we have a need for more sweets around, we'll give this one a shot... we love pumpkin pie. he is partial to the "cooking for engineers" recipe... haha

[Husband]

Tammy forgot the secret ingredient: I like to add some fresh grated nutmeg in addition to the 1/2 teaspoon of dried stuff (maybe a couple pinches worth). This may make it more "spicy" than some like, but to me it makes it perfect. Thankk goodness I have a wife who has such things in the house - I would never even recognize "real" nutmeg on the street.

[Karen @ Mignardise]

Funny...my kids all love pumpkin pie too. It's gone by breakfast the next morning. My husband makes it too, because he knows it's the only way he'll get one. I always want something chocolate (even for Thanksgiving).

[Word Nerd]

Since I am the only one in my house who likes pumpkin pie, I never make it. But I might need to try this one at Christmas...are your kids available to strong arm, er, convince mine to try it (lest I end up eating the whole thing)?

[Husband]

Secret midnight pie is the best pie.

[Husband]

Whoops! Tammy DID include the fresh nutmeg, but it was in sneaky italics, the font enhancement that taunts me with its specialness.

[Tammy]

Husband: Yes, I specialize in font trickery. And I agree that secret midnight pie is significantly better than the alternative: morning-after empty pie dish littered with crumbs.

Word Nerd: My kids are definitely available for peer pressure purposes, but I think you'll be surprised at how easy it is to eat the whole thing yourself.

Karen: Breakfast pie is second only to secret midnight pie. My husband used to always make them in twos: one for us and one for him only.

Emma: Nope, no cinnamon. See what you think (though I'm sure the Cooking for Engineers recipe is great, too).

Amy: Awesome. I'm a crust snob, but I guess Husband's pie wouldn't be Husband's pie if it had my crust, now would it? And I'm fine with canned pumpkin.

Julia: The turnip recipe is a good one. It turns turnip-haters into less vehement turnip-haters. I love Macombers, too!