Thanksgiving 2013 - Pumpkin Pie

This morning I continued the adventure of making pumpkin pie that I began last night. 

Top left: My own puree.
Top center: Adding the other ingredients (see below)
Top right: Mixing
Middle left: The baker
Middle center: Yes, it's Thanksgiving 2013
Middle right: Embellishments added before putting in oven
Bottom left: Out of the oven!
Bottom center and right: I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as the pie baked. I love Snoopy. This balloon is his 7th incarnation according to Matt Lauer.

Here's the recipe I used from allrecipes.com:

"Ingredients

2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

In a large bowl with mixer speed on medium, beat pumpkin with evaporated milk, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well. Pour into a prepared crust. Bake 40 minutes or until when a knife is inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean."

Note: I added a dash a ground cloves, used a Pillsbury pie crust, and left in the oven about 5-10 minutes than called for by the recipe. This whole process was a blast!

Thanksgiving Eve 2013 - Getting Ready for the Big Day

We managed to get to Kowalski's by around 10 a.m. to pick up all the food for tomorrow. Dale called his mom and dad when we got home. Athena rested on his foot while he chatted with them.

I'm attempting to make pumpkin pie this year using an actual pumpkin and not just the canned puree. I started the process of getting the pumpkin ready at around 9:00 p.m.

Top left: The pumpkin

Top center: Halved

Top right: Seeded

Middle left: Cubed

Middle center: Boiling

Middle right: Skin removed (I think next time I'll remove the skin before boiling. 

Bottom left: Ready to mash

Bottom middle: Mashed!

Bottom right: Ready to spend the night in the fridge until tomorrow morning when the pie will be made.

Here's the directions for preparing the pumpkin from allrecipes.com:

"Use 1 1/2 pound of skin-on, raw pumpkin to yield 2 cups of mashed. Halve pumpkin and scoop out seeds and stringy portions. cut pumpkin into chunks. In saucepan over medium heat, in 1 inch of boiling water heat the pumpkin to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. Drain, cool and remove the peel. Return pumpkin to the saucepan and mash with a potato masher."

Note: I didn't pay attention to how much the pie pumpkin I bought weighed. I chose one that wasn't too big and wasn't too small as compared to the other pie pumpkins at the store. I ended up not cubing about 1/8th of the pumpkin. What I yielded from what I used was about twice as much as I need for the pie. Next time I think I'll save what's left over for another pie!

Pumpkin Muffin

Out and about with my friend Noel yesterday. We stopped by Breadsmith and I picked up a pumpkin muffin for myself and a pumpkin scone for her. I just can't get enough of all things pumpkin.

Even MORE Signs of the Season

I love seeing these signs of fall appearing at the supermarket.

More Signs of the Season

Pumpkins! Another recent photo from Kowalski's. I admire people who can make pumpkin pie from an actual pumpkin. I tend to buy these for decorative purposes.

Thanksgiving 2011

Today turned out to be a beautiful, 59 degree, sunny day. Dale and I took the turkey out around 10:30 and got the neck and giblets out. That damn metal hook thing is always a bugger (you have to push down, not up, on it to get it out). Rinsed it all off and patted it dry. We let it sit for a couple of hours to bring it up to room temperature. Dale had the turkey patted down again, buttered, seasoned and in the oven by 12:30. Basted it every half hour. Made the cranberries at around 2:00. Got the giblets boiling at 2:15 to use in the gravy. Turned the turkey at 2:30. The turkey came out of the oven close to 3:00 so it could rest for an hour. Mom made green bean casserole and sweet potatoes. We ate around 4:00 and it was all delicious. I think it was our best turkey ever. Watched The Bishop's Wife later with Mom and ate pumpkin pie and had coffee. It was a beautiful, relaxing day.