Pumpkin Pie Puzzle

I love fall and holidays, especially Thanksgiving. I usually get the dinner for 20 of my family catered, but was feeling like trying a few things this year. I pulled out my treasured Southern Heritage Pies & Pastry Cookbook today and my son and I made pumpkin pies. Sort of.
The SH series, of which I have only a few so far, is an amazing set filled with vintage recipes, pictures and stories gathered from Southern Living. My Lazy Susan cake came from the Cakes issue. I've been picking up some here and there from antique stores and eBay from the 19 volume set.

The Virginia Pumpkin Pie made enough for two pies, but I only have one pie pan. So - I used a 9-inch silicon pan. Trust me - this wasn't the problem, my glass pie pan pie turned out just as badly. Oh, these look beautiful, and my house now has a wonderful smell. But- the recipe calls for 40 minutes cooking time. After 1 hour and 20 minutes, I gave up - they were still raw in the inside. The cookie sheet this pan was on, I realized later, pushed the oven door a bit, but the seal should still have been in place. I jacked up the temp from the suggested 350 - no help.

The recipe used meringued egg whites - I should have known something weird would happen (see previous blog entry and the one entitled 'Esther failed me.".

I am unreasonably disappointed in this. I guess it seems everyone makes pumpkin pies easily. It used a ton of weird ingredients and made a huge mess, too.

I just clipped a recipe for a Harvest pumpkin chocolate cake. Maybe I will try that one.

I finished Jennifer Weiner's "The Guy Not Taken" and Debbie Macomber's new Christmas story from Blossom Street (I forgot the name). Both were good fun, but I've liked other books from both of these two better. I also finished Jane Heller's latest - she's always good, but again, it felt like some of her other books. I wonder if all adult writers are required to come out with something in November. I have another book due for a review Monday, but have been saving Jan Burke's latest.