I suck at baking

[Jenise]

So I'm supposed to provide a pumpkin pie today. I've made many a successful pie in my time--fresh pumpkin, butter crust extra decorations but by hand, all that. And I love real pumpkin pie and equally detest every grocery store version I've ever had which seem to only contain cinnamon but not the full suite (including mace and clove) of spices that create a balanced, complex flavor.

But I only do it once a year. And I haven't done it in two years.

So last night I made the crust, wrapped it and refrigerated it, and made the filling from fresh baked sugar pumpkin. This morning I got up at 8:00 to assemble the pie.

I rolled out the crust--looked great. So I docked it, loaded in the pie weights and popped 'er in the oven.

Fifteen minutes later I found A) a very oily crust that couldn't stand up on the sides and B) the pie weights embedded in it. As I stood there comprehending what I'd done I realized that, for one, I forgot to put foil under the pie weights so I could lift them out and 2) thinking back thru last night's measurements (which weren't really measured, I just used--I thought--the same ratios I've used since I was 15) I realize I'd used way too much butter.

So: must make another. I got another cube of butter out of the freezer and put that in my crippled microwave to lightly defrost. Ten seconds was not enough so I set it for ten seconds more. Only, the second setting wasn't on defrost I realized after I removed the cube and had it drip massively all the way to the prep station (a distance of about ten feet) where I'm mixing the dough. There was less than half left in my hand when I got there. Melted butter's everywhere! I haven't even cleaned it all up yet. I'm just stepping around it while defrosting yet more butter and mixing another batch of dough which is in the refrigerator resting as I type.

I am NEVER going to do this again, I swear.

[Jenise]

Addendum: four hours and 42 minutes after I leaped out of bed to assemble my pie, I took a finished pie out of the oven. I was working--or cleaning!--that entire time.

Well, I suppose, if you have to slop something around the kitchen, it might as well be butter!

I am, for now, out of the pumpkin pie biz. This year, my featured dessert is going to be pumpkin tiramisu. We'll see how it goes.

[Jenise]

That sounds delish. How'd it turn out?

Just made it tonight so I'll let you know tomorrow!

The recipe I'm working from is a rough creature; either the cook didn't really make it or s/he was not good at writing it down. But I got the gist of it so we'll see what happens. Basically, instead of a large amount of mascarpone enriched with egg yolk, the goo is a spiced pumpkin mousse.

Just made it tonight so I'll let you know tomorrow!

The recipe I'm working from is a rough creature; either the cook didn't really make it or s/he was not good at writing it down. But I got the gist of it so we'll see what happens. Basically, instead of a large amount of mascarpone enriched with egg yolk, the goo is a spiced pumpkin mousse.

Wow - that sounds good. I'm very interested to hear how it worked out.

Just made it tonight so I'll let you know tomorrow!

The recipe I'm working from is a rough creature; either the cook didn't really make it or s/he was not good at writing it down. But I got the gist of it so we'll see what happens. Basically, instead of a large amount of mascarpone enriched with egg yolk, the goo is a spiced pumpkin mousse.

Jean made a cranberry curd tart for Thanksgiving which we are still finishing (she used an almond flour crust so it's gluten-free). She also made pumpkin puree and is thinking about a pumpkin curd tart along the same lines. Any advice you may have would be appreciated.

The pumpkin tiramisu was a big hit. Luckily, I kept a quarter of it home and did not bring it to the dinner.

Advice... hm, I can publish, if that will help. It was pretty straightforward.

Riffing on Paolo Faustini, whose recipe I also have, probably the most important ingredient is letting it sit overnight!

Interesting, Jenise, we almost always have a scratch pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but rarely the same recipe twice. This year we tried a tart with unusual flavor profile. No pumpkin spices at all! I liked the purity of "pumpkin" flavor, which of course is actually butternut squash. Crust was standard. But it was topped with honey and orange zest scented whipped cream. Fantastic!