Monday, October 23, 2006

Better,but...



I was ready to throw in the towel on Pumpkin Pies. However, as I was looking at pumpkin muffin and bread recipes yesterday, my son said "How about we try a pumpkin pie again? Maybe it won't be raw."

OK. I pulled out my 1966 Better Homes and Gardens Pies and Cakes book. This version turned out pretty well, though I can't account for the weird white lumps in there. I bought a new metal pie pan which seemed to work better for the cooking, too. Mainly, I chose this recipe as it cooked in a 400 degree oven for almost an hour. I figured no way would this be raw. It is tasty but still a bit wet. I will keep trying, though I'm not going to try the version also in this book of pumpkin on top and mincemeat on the bottom. Do any readers of this blog eat mincemeat? Ugh. It, like prunes, shows up constantly in the vintage cookbooks. There are limits to what I will try.

Grandma's Pumpkin Pie (? Why does having Grandma in a recipe title give it credibility?)
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 - 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon (the recipe suggests adding spices to taste. I passed on tasting the raw-egg batter and added a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon as I love it.)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon ginger (didn't have any)
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cloves
3 slightly beaten eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 6-oz. can evaporated milk
1 unbaked 9-inch pastry shell

Combine first seven ingredients. Blend in eggs, milk and evaporated milk. Pour into pastry shell. Have edges crimped high because amount of filling is generous. (Obviously I forgot this.) Bake in hot oven 400 degrees for 50 minutes or till knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. (Why not center? I did both). Cool.

My son and I piped some more Halloween chocolates today into molds. The ease of this form of candy making is a big part of why my weight is creeping up again, I believe.

I'm reading Jan Burke's Kidnapped. She is such an excellent writer. Having seen her last month at Bouchercon only enhances the pleasure of reading this. There have been times when I've been so disappointed by an author in person that I can't go back to his/her books. Also, someone I met there was so funny that I decided to give his books another chance, when I previously dismissed them.

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