Pumpkin Pie

One of my guests for tomorrow just told me her favorite food is pumpkin pie, so it must be added to the menu...

Never liked it, so I know nothing about it. Other pies will be made from fresh or frozen fruit. Should I go get a small pumpkin, a can of filling, or a frozen pie?

Get a can of pumpkin puree and add your own mix of clove, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. (...and a couple eggs, some cream -- google it)

( Starting from an actual fruit is really more work than it's worth. I don't buy pre-seasoned goo because, well, I can do my own seasoning. Frozen pie? Nah. )

HTH.

[Jenise]

Get a can of pumpkin puree and add your own mix of clove, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. (...and a couple eggs, some cream -- google it)

( Starting from an actual fruit is really more work than it's worth. I don't buy pre-seasoned goo because, well, I can do my own seasoning. Frozen pie? Nah. )

HTH.

Oh Jeff: no it's not. Pumpkin Pie made from fresh is amazing. Life changing. A gift from the gods. Your husband's lying to you about this.

What Jeff said.
The recipe on the back of the Libby's canned pumpkin is excellent. A frozen crust would do fine.
Don't bother with making your own pumpkin. They've done taste tests and they found the canned actually works better (and obviously is much, much easier.)

If she didn't offer to bring it as a a gesture, think no more about it at this late date! You are providing Thanksgiving dinner, not a Royal Fork buffet. Chances are she will find something in your pastry line up that she likes just as well. She can always have pumpkin pie as her midnight snack at home. I'm just sayin'.

If you have a Costco near you, go get their pumpkin pie. It is large and I have heard nothing but good about it. People swear it tastes just as good and the home made ones. I'm really not fond of pumpkin pie, but someone brought me a couple of pieces and I have to agree it was good. Gene said it was great! Oh, by the way, I'm speaking of the fresh ones in their bakery dept.

If you have a Costco near you, go get their pumpkin pie. It is large and I have heard nothing but good about it. People swear it tastes just as good and the home made ones. I'm really not fond of pumpkin pie, but someone brought me a couple of pieces and I have to agree it was good. Gene said it was great! Oh, by the way, I'm speaking of the fresh ones in their bakery dept.

Karen, that's good to know. I've seen them there and they LOOK really good--and I love, love pumpkin pie.
Have you had their apple? Someone told me a few years ago that they weren't very good. Maybe they've improved them since then though.

Starting from an actual fruit is really more work than it's worth.

Oh Jeff: no it's not. Pumpkin Pie made from fresh is amazing. Life changing. A gift from the gods. Your husband's lying to you about this.

Dearest Jenise, I trust you implicitly.

AND

I have done it. The entire kitchen, including the chef, was orange by the end of the process and I came away with a heightened regard for the fine folks at Libby's.

( ...Libbys, Libbys )

One of my guests for tomorrow just told me her favorite food is pumpkin pie, so it must be added to the menu...

Never liked it, so I know nothing about it. Other pies will be made from fresh or frozen fruit. Should I go get a small pumpkin, a can of filling, or a frozen pie?

Sam's Club pumpkin pie is very good, and cheap. Even I can eat a whole slice of it!

Cindy has made pumpkin pie from whole pumpkins for years now....and we both believe it is far superior to pies made from canned pumpkin.

BTW, good luck finding canned pumpkin......lots of stories circulating that there is a shortage, stores sold out last week.

What Jeff said.
The recipe on the back of the Libby's canned pumpkin is excellent. A frozen crust would do fine.
Don't bother with making your own pumpkin. They've done taste tests and they found the canned actually works better (and obviously is much, much easier.)

I second the Libby's recipe. I've been using that for years, and it always gets compliments.

Thanks everyone. Decided to go the Libby's route.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

[Jenise]

What Jeff said.
The recipe on the back of the Libby's canned pumpkin is excellent. A frozen crust would do fine.
Don't bother with making your own pumpkin. They've done taste tests and they found the canned actually works better (and obviously is much, much easier.)

Carrie, canned does work very well. I grew up loving my grandmother's pumpkin pie and it came right out of the Libby's can, as did her recipe. That said, I don't know who "they" are but they must have been on crack because I know your taste buds are good and that if you'd ever compared two pies made from canned pumpkin (and, I believe, canned milk per the Libby's recipe and made from fresh with fresh cream side by side, you'd be a believer. I was astonished at how incredible fresh was the first time I made a pie from fresh ingredients, and I've never gone back to Libby's.

Jeff, you're hilarious--all over the kitchen? How hard is this: cut pumpkin in half, remove seeds. Place halves on baking dish with half a cup of water, cover loosely with foil and throw in the oven for an hour. Total prep time: at the most three minutes. When done, remove from oven and allow to cool. That takes about 5 seconds. When cool, scoop flesh into a bowl and toss the shell away. That takes about two minutes. At pie time, measure two cups and place in blender. Add cream: puree. Add eggs and spices: blend. Pour into pie shell. At what point does this thing go off like a bomb to create all the havoc you report? It couldn't be easier.

Thanks everyone. Decided to go the Libby's route.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

The Libby's will be just fine. Why kill yourself?

use freshly grated ginger and add a quarter cup of cognac - to both you and the pie.

[Jenise]

Cindy has made pumpkin pie from whole pumpkins for years now....and we both believe it is far superior to pies made from canned pumpkin.

BTW, good luck finding canned pumpkin......lots of stories circulating that there is a shortage, stores sold out last week.

First EGGOs and now canned pumpkin. Just can't count on nuthin' no more!

Cindy has made pumpkin pie from whole pumpkins for years now....and we both believe it is far superior to pies made from canned pumpkin.

BTW, good luck finding canned pumpkin......lots of stories circulating that there is a shortage, stores sold out last week.

Mike, who started that rumor? Krogers?

What Jeff said.
...place in blender...

It really says, "Put pumpkin in bomb bay. Aim at ceiling. Fire."

I don't follow the recipe on the Libbys can; I have my own sources for that! But I started with fresh pumpkin for both a pie and a soup, and, at the end, I was not convinced that either one was really the better for it.

Pumpkin pie is like sex and donuts. Even bad is pretty good.

Thanks everyone. Decided to go the Libby's route.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

My wife (who is quite an accomplished baker) went the Libby's route tonight. The pie was excellent. I think she did this because this was <the> pumpkin pie recipe for her as a child. Came out very well.

I know this is late but what Karen suggested. My sister brought a fresh baked, large, Costco pumkin pie to Thanksgiving celebration, and it was wonderful. Sturdily packaged for transport and under $6.00...such a deal!

Drew

Pumpkin pie is like sex and donuts. Even bad is pretty good.

Apparently you have never had Baker's Square pumpkin pie.

Carrie, canned does work very well. I grew up loving my grandmother's pumpkin pie and it came right out of the Libby's can, as did her recipe. That said, I don't know who "they" are but they must have been on crack because I know your taste buds are good and that if you'd ever compared two pies made from canned pumpkin (and, I believe, canned milk per the Libby's recipe and made from fresh with fresh cream side by side, you'd be a believer. I was astonished at how incredible fresh was the first time I made a pie from fresh ingredients, and I've never gone back to Libby's.

Jenise, when I was in my twenties I never took shortcuts of any kind in kitchen and went the fresh pumkin route one year. I think I may have boiled it though, and then drained overnight in cheese cloth or something Martha Stewart would have advised. The results were not good. It still seemed a bit watery, and the texture was a little "off" somehow. Stringy maybe? Can't remember exactly as that seems like a long time ago now! I'm sure it would have been different had I baked it like you suggest. Still, like Mike F's wife, I'm not sure that recipe on Libby's can can be beaten by my taste buds. Last night it got rave reviews. Even from people who don't typically like pumpkin pie. I remember for years I was convinced that a recipe from Bon Appetit Nov '93 (The Ultimate Pumkin Pie) with its sour cream and heavy cream was far superior, but then tasted it next to my sister's Libby's pie and hers was much better.

Thanks everyone. Decided to go the Libby's route.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Jim, how'd it come out? Was she happy?