My Thanksgiving memories are full of family, food (turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie) and cold and snowy weather. As a child each thanksgiving was filled with family get togethers, Thanksgiving day dinner together and of course days off from school. Dinner would be a grandma’s and grandpa’s and the menu was delightfully without change.
Turkey- basted, browned and ready for carving, stuffing, corn or green beans for vegetables and fruit salad. The best was saved for last – Pumpkin Pie with cool whip. To this day the spices and texture of pumpkin pie are my absolute favorite food at Thanksgiving.
These days the foods of thanksgiving are so varied. You can have deep fried turkey, smoked turkey, BBQ turkey and ten different ways to cook a baked/brined turkey. Even our approach to stuffing has changed because these days they recommend you don’t stuff the turkey for health reasons (difficult to get it done enough to cook the stuffing without drying out the turkey). Today when families get together the meal is a smorgasbord of new recipes, dishes for vegans, sugar-free or gluten-free. Thankfully, recipes abound and you can accommodate just about any dietary request.
In honor of Thanksgiving this week I am sharing a favorite recipe for Pumpkin pie. Can’t you just smell those spices as you read the recipe!
Classic Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
1 disk pie dough (plus 1 disk, if decorating)
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 15 -ounce can pure pumpkin
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
Directions:
Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp the edges with your fingers. Pierce the bottom and sides all over with a fork. Chill at least 1 hour or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the chilled dough with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Transfer to the oven and bake until the edges are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until the crust is golden all over, 10 to 15 more minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.
Make the filling: Gently whisk the pumpkin, cream, granulated sugar, 2 eggs, the cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and salt (do not overmix). Beat the remaining egg and brush on the crust edge; sprinkle with coarse sugar. Pour the filling into the crust and bake until set around the edges, 50 minutes to 1 hour (the middle will still jiggle slightly). Transfer to a rack; let cool completely.
Read more at The Foodnetwork.com.
Something different this Week:
Click HERE for an amazing quiz on all things Turkey.
Happenings this Week:
Thursday, November 26th: Thanksgiving!
Reminder:
In the days after Thanksgiving the Lamp Poles in Stillwaters get decorated with red ribbon, in preparation for Christmas. They are happily put up by volunteers and will be removed around January 1st. Greeting your pole wrappers with a wave and a thank you would be greatly appreciated.
Weather: Brrrrr! Very cold nights ahead but sunny days through the weekend. What a beautiful Thanksgiving week. Next week the temperature warms up a bit and we are back to rainy days.
