Homemade Pie

This year for Thanksgiving I decided to make a pumpkin pie from scratch. When I went to the pumpkin patch the farmer told me this greenish pumpkin would make a delicious pie. I had no idea what kind of pumpkin to use for a pie, so I trusted the farmer. This decision was confirmed when I watched an episode of Good Eats, with Alton Brown, and he stated the Jarrahdale pumpkin was one of the three best options for making pumpkin pie from scratch.

The night before Thanksgiving we made the pie. I DVRed the pumpkin pie episode of Good Eats and watched it a few times before so I would know what to do. It actually is very simple. The hardest thing was cutting the pumpkin and scraping out the seeds. By watching the show we learned a few tips from Mr. Brown (he's a genius). We cut the pumpkin open with a big knife and rubber mallet. The mallet made it so easy and now lives in the kitchen so I can use it for all the winter squash Ava likes to eat. After scraping out the seeds we roasted it until tender, scraped out the flesh and pureed it. That was pretty much all there was too it. We just added a few spices, half-and-half, couple of eggs, and some brown sugar. We also didn't use a traditional pie crust. Alton Brown made a gingersnap cookie crust, but I altered that and made a vanilla wafer cookie crust.

I think it came out pretty good. Of course I didn't eat any, but Rich said it was very good. He thought it tasted fresher and had a nice mellow pumpkin flavor. He also liked the crust and preferred it to a typical pie crust.

Jarrahdale Pumpkin

Rich enjoyed helping me cut the pumpkin open. It was easier and probably safer with the two of us working together. Although, Rich's face is a little sinister in the picture.

I scrapped out the seeds. I didn't use my teeth. I used an ice cream scoop which was another tip from Alton Brown.

Roasted pumpkin

On the morning of Thanksgiving I made a blackberry pie. I have been promising one to Rich since summer and finally got around to it. I was excited to use the French rolling pin Rich gave me. I also used the rolling pin bands my parents gave me to help keep the crust an even thickness. Both tools worked great and the pie was tasty (according to Rich).

To add a little something special to the blackberry pie I made whipped cream. Homemade whipped cream isn't that big of a deal, but this one was blackberry whipped cream. I saved some of the berry juice and thought it would be fun to add it to the whipped cream. It gave the cream a subtle berry flavor and turned it a light violet. Rich really enjoyed this topping and I was impressed by my ingenuity.

We had three pies for Thanksgiving. I made the pumpkin and blackberry. Rich made me a chocolate since I don't like the other two.