And the fun begins!
Heading toward Thanksgiving here in the States many of us are knee-deep in preparations for company and for the day of celebrating. That is true for me, too. I’m going to have my first gathering for the holiday here in my new house, so I am working toward having the house cleaned, more boxes unpacked – yes, I am very slow – and being ready to turn over my kitchen to my daughter-in-law. She has offered to cook the major portion of the meal. Yeah Corina!
However, I do get to make the pumpkin pies.
Nobody would probably come if I didn’t. 🙂 My family,and many of my friends who have tasted the pies, swear that I make the best pumpkin pies ever. My secret? Less than half the sugar the recipe calls for, a can of sweetened evaporated milk and a special blend of cinnamon and spices and more cinnamon. If you’d like to try my recipe, here it is.
For four pies:
4 cans of pumpkin
6 eggs
4 cans of evaporated milk (1 sweetened)
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp nutmeg
4 tsp of cinnamon
Mix pumpkin and eggs well, add spices and mix well, then add the milk. Taste the mixture – it really is quite good – and more cinnamon and a bit of sugar can be added. Keep in mind that this mixture will not be nearly as sweet as what you may be accustomed to, but trust me, once you bake the pies and serve with whipped cream, it will be plenty sweet and the flavor of the pumpkin shines through.
Divide the mixture into four unbaked pie shells and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Test with a knife inserted in middle of pie. If it comes out clean, the pie is done.
Years ago, I made at least six pies. One for a taster on Tuesday or Wednesday, whichever day my son, David, could come to help me bake. This was a special holiday tradition that we started back when he was a teen still living at home, and it carried forward for many years.
The other pies would be eaten on Thanksgiving day, with enough left over for folks to take a piece or two, or a whole pie, home. The rule was that one always stayed at my house, so however they divvied up the leftover, they left a pie in my refrigerator.
More of my Thanksgiving memories and stories can be found in my humorous memoir, A Dead Tomato Plant & A Paycheck. It was compiled from weekly columns I wrote for a Dallas suburban daily newspaper, sharing the fun and foibles of raising a family.
That’s all for today, folks. I have to get started on all that cleaning and stuff. 🙂 I hope you week goes well, and your holiday preparations are bringing you joy. Mine are.
Before you leave, hop over to the Book Hub page to enter the thriller giveaway for a chance to win a bundle of books and an Amazon Gift Card. I’m one of the sponsoring authors, so you could get a copy of One Small Victory, as well as several other thrillers. Have you read any of these? I’ve read High Crimes, which is quite good, and I’m intrigued by several others, so I may be doing some shopping soon.
