Fire in the Kitchen: _Pumpkin pie, the seasonal flavor on everyone’s lips_
Pumpkin pie
Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) package organic cream cheese ($3.99 at Ralphs)
2 cups Libby’s canned pumpkin ($3.49 at Ralphs)
1 cup brown cane sugar ($1.29 at Ralphs)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten ($5.49 at Ralphs)
1 cup organic half-and-half ($1.99 at Ralphs)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter ($3.79 at Ralphs)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract ($3.79 at Ralphs)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon ($1.99 at Ralphs)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
1 piece pre-made graham cracker crust ($1.99 at Ralphs)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
1.) Warm the pie crust (let it set in the oven for about 10 minutes, while preparing the filling.)
2.) For the filling, melt the cream cheese in the microwave until softened.
3.) In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with the canned pumpkin until fully mixed.
4.) Add the egg, two yolks, brown sugar and half and half. Beat until combined.
5.) Melt the butter and beat into the mixture.
6.) Add the vanilla, cinnamon and ginger, scraping the sides of the bowl until everything is blended.
7.) Pour the warm mixture into the heated pie crust and bake for 50 minutes.
8.) Let cool and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Compiled by Trevor Fuller, Bruin contributor.
Graphics reporting by Maryia Krivoruchko, Bruin senior staff.
By Maryia Krivoruchko
Oct. 28, 2010 1:13 a.m.
A can of Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin, now back after a shortage earlier this year, can be mixed with cream cheese to bake a classic pumpkin pie, as pictured above. During the fall, it is the perfect way to satisfy the inevitable pumpkin cravings, with or without whipped cream.
Correction: The original version recipe printed with this article contained an error. Step 4 should include adding brown sugar to the mix.
Pumpkin is like crack this time of year.
You can’t escape this designated fall flavor. In late October, beer is replaced with pumpkin ale. Banana bread is no longer good enough ““ we make pumpkin loaf.
Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin.
Starbucks is making capital off the pumpkin latte. I wake up to the smell of my roommate making pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (for which she does not divulge the secret recipe ““ pumpkin is just that sacred). My friend wants pumpkin candles for her birthday. Fun social event happening on Friday for a community service organization I’m in ““ pumpkin carving. Why exactly does this orange vegetable automatically signify fall?
And if I sound like I’m immune to the widespread addiction, I’m not. Kerckhoff Coffee House having no pumpkin-flavored baked goods on Monday afternoon was arguably the most devastating thing about my day. It’s an addiction that only kicks in when leaves start falling off trees in other parts of the country. You may even have to bake pumpkin products yourself to scratch the itch.
I tried to put my “˜tude about this culinary art of baking aside (and I really hate baking ““ I don’t know where the female gene that draws one to the stove got lost, but it did). While looking forward to making the lasagna and Persian recipes that were sent in this week, I instead had to give into the only seasonally appropriate food the week before Halloween ““ the all-American pumpkin pie.
There was a recent pumpkin shortage in the U.S. in June, as reported by the Washington Post. The same can of Libby’s Pumpkin that I used in this week’s pie was going for nearly $30 on eBay. Chalk it up to global warming or just a rainy summer, but Illinois got too much water from the skies, and the land where 95 percent of pumpkins are grown was no longer producing the goods. Luckily, by September, the pumpkin industry got back on its dry feet and the shortage was over. On Monday night, my sleep-deprived and bloodshot eyes feasted on dozens of Libby’s cans in Ralph’s baking aisle. No shortage was in sight.
Using a recipe that would make Paula Deen proud, I mixed the canned pumpkin and melted cream cheese in a bowl until it folded like a dust ruffle on a bed, something I wished I could be sleeping on instead of baking pies. I added half and half, melted butter and egg yolks, and substituted brown sugar for white ““ for no reason other than it might taste better. Brown sugar seemed more thematic. Finally, I threw some cinnamon, vanilla and ginger in the bowl. I was about to pour it into the graham cracker pie crust when I realized that even pre-made crusts should be warmed.
I popped the foil-covered pie dish in the 350 degree oven for 10 minutes and resumed with pouring the pumpkin mixture.
I was annoyed that the recipe made twice the mixture needed for a pie ““ I will have to buy a new pie crust (Lord knows, I won’t be making my own) and bake the rest so it doesn’t go to waste.
While the pie baked, a slight burning smell came from the kitchen ““ it was probably the remnants of my roommates’ baking past sizzling on the bottom of the oven. The pie came out untarnished, so it couldn’t have been the pumpkin scorching.
In about 50 minutes, the pumpkin pie was done, though it should be cooled for a bit. It is usually served with ice cream or whipped cream. I ate it 12 hours later, with water ““ still delightful.
The whole thing even stayed together. It’s probably hard to mess up a pie with canned pumpkin and pre-made dough, but crazier things have happened, so I was grateful. I also learned how to use our can opener, so it was time well-spent.
Overall, I give this simple pumpkin pie recipe two thumbs up. So bake this pie, cuddle up with a (text)book, buy some pumpkin syrup for your coffee and indulge in the never-ending fall addiction instead of questioning it.
To submit a recipe to be featured in an upcoming column, e-mail Krivoruchko at [email protected].
“Fire in the Kitchen” runs every Thursday.
