SWEET!
Little bitty pie pumpkins are packed with pure, sweet pumpkin flavor. Not at all stringy or tough, these roast up dense, tender and creamy for soup, or as a side dish, and for their highest and best use -- Pumpkin Pie! You can find pie pumpkins for a great price at farmers markets through Thanksgiving. I use them as decorations until I'm ready to cook (stacked outside the front door; piled on a side table). The colors speak Fall. Fresh pumpkin puree makes a huge difference in the flavor of a pumpkin pie and it's worth the very little effort it takes to make. (It's almost as easy as opening a can.) Just slice the pumpkin in half, remove the seeds and bake in a moderate (350 degree) oven until very tender (about 1-1/2 to 2 hours or so). Remove, allow to cool and then scrape out the flesh. Bake two or three pumpkins at once and freeze the puree in pint containers (1 each is enough for 1 pie). Sugar pumpkins (shown here) are the sweetest and best. (They also make fabulous soup, too.)
The quintessential American dessert, pumpkin pie dates back to northern Italy (the Po Valley in the 16th Century). The concoction traveled to France and then to England before coming here with the early settlers in the late 1600s. The first American cookbook author, Amelia Simmons, recorded a recipe for it in her "cookery book"as a custard. Soon, though it was being baked off in a crust. The mark of a really good pumpkin pie is one that is simple and custardy, light but with some body, the flavor rounded with a little vanilla, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. The taste of pumpkin, not spice, should shine through.
In the good old days, folks ate pie for breakfast. So, now that Thanksgiving is moving quickly upon us, it's a good time to test your favorite pumpkin pie recipe using real pumpkin puree in lieu of the canned or frozen. Freeze the extra pumpkin puree now to use in making Thanksgiving dessert. Enjoy the pie you're "testing" for breakfast. What a sweet way to start the day.