Pumpkins

Tuesday, October 27. 2009

On Monday night we had the annual Motor pumpkin carving fiesta. While it is always a good time, I dread seeing so many sharp objects in so many inexperienced hands. But thankfully, no injuries occurred, save for a few nasty hangovers. I think they look pretty cool lit up on the patio. We'll try to keep them up through Sunday night.

Those flighty servers left a bunch of pumpkin innards! At least now I have a bunch of roasted salted pumpkin seeds to use as garnish for salads and for bar snacks (those won't last long, I imagine). With the smaller sugar pumpkins I get in I'll be making pumpkin gnocchi, spiced pumpkin vodka, and, of course, pumpkin pie.

I love pumpkin pie and I will say that I have a damn good recipe. And yes, I will be generous and share it with you. It's warming and good with its hint of ginger and winter spice. It's just sweet enough.

Pumpkin Pie filling

4 cups cooked pumpkin

3 cups cream

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground clove

4 eggs, beaten

Mix all together well and pour into raw 3-2-1 shells. Bake at 375 until set.

3-2-1 dough is my favorite dough for all occasions. It is easy to remember the 3 represents 3 pounds of all-purpose flour. The 2 represents the pounds of butter and the 1 represents pounds of ice cold water. This recipe makes about 8 pies crusts, but given the round numbers it is easy to shrink or expand to your needs. FYI a pound of water is equivalent to 2 cups

Using a standing household mixer such as a Kitchen Aid, I usually split the the recipe in half so as not to make a giant cloud of flour. Place the flour in the mixer followed by a pinch of salt. Finely cube the cold butter and add to the mixer and turn on low, using the paddle attachment. Wait until the mixture resembles cornmeal and then add the ice-cold water just until a dough forms. Remove the dough from the mixer and knead by hand until it forms a cohesive ball. It is important to work fast to prevent the butter from warming up. This could result in a tough greasy dough.

Oh yeah if you take the filling recipe and remove the eggs and cream you have a great starting point for the pumpkin spiced vodka.

Posted by Tim Peters in Local Food at 10:26 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

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