I've been doing some experimenting lately with different flavors and trying to replicate that feeling one gets from those Thanksgiving Day foods. With luck, I stumbled onto some recipes that I was able to tweak to what I think works well.
I found an incredible recipe from River Cottage Veg cookbook. In fact, the entire book is well worth owning as I've made many wonderful things from its contents. But the Chestnut and Sage Soup recipe results in what I've come to call Thanksgiving in a Bowl. It's worth owning the cookbook if only for that recipe.
That leaves a few more things to make a meal, doesn't it? My typical vegetarian Thanksgiving consists of veggie pot pies, two kinds of potatoes, and of course a vegetable side. Then there's dessert.
I love a good pumpkin pie. However, good has been a little tough to come by since one canned pumpkin manufacturer has made it too easy to open a can and dump it into a prepared crust. So this year, I went on a quest to create a better pie.
One entire morning and three pies later (let's just say thanks to the unreadable dials on my current oven, a new stove is due in in three weeks), I was done burning things and had come up with a darn good pie. I'll confess I was too tired and frustrated to really appreciate the full flavor of the pie (maybe because my hair still smelled of burned crusts), but the slice I had the next day was pretty great. Here's what I've come up with:
Lori's Bombshell Pumpkin Pie
2 cups pumpkin (canned is fine)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup milk
4 large eggs
Process the first seven ingredients for about a minute. Move it to a saucepan and heat to a low simmer, stirring constantly, for 3 or 4 minutes. Whisk in milks and bring back to a low simmer. Add eggs to the processor, then with it running, add the pumpkin mixture. Process until all ingredients are blended.
Pour into hot pie crust and back about 20-25 minutes at 350 (keep an eye on it). I started it at 425 for five minutes, then notched it down. May take some experimenting with your oven, but test with a knife -- if it comes out clean, it's finished.
I put a great whipped cream on top. I used about a cup of heavy cream, a tablespoon of brandy, and a tablespoon (or more, depending on your sugar tolerance) of confectioners' sugar.
I found the best Crust Recipe here.
