Needless to say, I got full. Really, really full. In fact, I'm still full. But then, it wouldn't be an American holiday if it didn't involve grazing over overflowing plates of snacks for six hours and then sitting down to an uncommonly large dinner and stuffing yourself silly. I should really learn to pace myself -- the marginal enjoyment of that third piece of pie may very well have been negative in terms of my long-term life expectancy.
I was also lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving with two of my very best friends from college, who couldn't make it home to their families this year. Erin and Alejandro have seen me through some of the best and worst times of my adult life, and I'm really thankful that they've settled in California because it means I get to see them every time I come home to see my family. Actually, they are more or less part of my family, which is why they put up with all my ridiculous antics. Case in point:
I was also lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving with two of my very best friends from college, who couldn't make it home to their families this year. Erin and Alejandro have seen me through some of the best and worst times of my adult life, and I'm really thankful that they've settled in California because it means I get to see them every time I come home to see my family. Actually, they are more or less part of my family, which is why they put up with all my ridiculous antics. Case in point:
So moving along...
I don't know much about roasting a turkey (except that it tastes best brined), and the rice stuffing I made last year in Japan turned out bright purple (long story...), so it's probably better that I stayed mostly out of my dad's way in the kitchen this year. The one exception, of course, was the dessert. I've discussed my love of pies at length on this blog before, and now that I have a crust recipe worth dying for, I've moved on to perfecting the filling.
Last year, one of my co-workers made the most amazing pumpkin pie from a Japanese Kabocha squash, so this year I decided to make my own version, from scratch. Kabocha is a really popular squash in Japan -- they grill it, steam it, fry it, toss it in soups, stir fries, salads... pretty much everything. It's a tasty little gourd, so I can understand the appeal.
To make kabocha puree, I first steamed the pumpkin whole for about 10-12 minutes.
You can eat kabocha rinds after they've been cooked like this, but since I was making this into pie, I cut off the rinds and pureed the whole thing in a food processor.
I don't know much about roasting a turkey (except that it tastes best brined), and the rice stuffing I made last year in Japan turned out bright purple (long story...), so it's probably better that I stayed mostly out of my dad's way in the kitchen this year. The one exception, of course, was the dessert. I've discussed my love of pies at length on this blog before, and now that I have a crust recipe worth dying for, I've moved on to perfecting the filling.
Last year, one of my co-workers made the most amazing pumpkin pie from a Japanese Kabocha squash, so this year I decided to make my own version, from scratch. Kabocha is a really popular squash in Japan -- they grill it, steam it, fry it, toss it in soups, stir fries, salads... pretty much everything. It's a tasty little gourd, so I can understand the appeal.
To make kabocha puree, I first steamed the pumpkin whole for about 10-12 minutes.
Then I cut it in half, scraped out the seeds (and later toasted those... Divine!), and cut the whole pumpkin into wedges and tossed those back into the steam for another 15 minutes or so, until the squash was soft enough for a fork to go through the flesh easily.
The color of this pumpkin is really fantastic -- it's perfect for fall and the holidays.
From there, I measured out 16 ounces of pumpkin for the pie for the Flour Bakery Super Pumpkiny Pumpkin Pie. I left my Flour cookbook in LA, but luckily, I found a version online at Flour Child. Bless the Interwebs! I also have a ridiculous amount of pumpkin leftover, so I'll try to bring that back to LA to whip up something delicious.
The other thing I tried this time around was to pour the extra pumpkin pie filling into small ramekins and bake them alongside the pie. I'm really pleased with how those turned out, and I'm now wondering if maybe I can do some sort of pumpkin pot pie in the future, because that would allow me to enjoy pumpkin pie without having to blind-bake the crust ahead of time.
Super Pumpkiny Pumpkin Pie
Makes (ahem) one 9-inch pie.
Pate Brisee II (recipe follows)
One 16 ounce can pumpkin purée (I made my own.)
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar (I used dark brown, as it's all I had.)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
My additions:
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon brandy
1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a well-floured work surface, roll out the dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Roll the dough circle around the pin and then unfurl it on top of a 9-inch aluminum pie pan or glass pie dish. Press the dough gently into the bottom and sides of the pan. Evenly pleat the overhanging dough with your fingers to create a decorative edge, or use scissors to trim the overhang, leaving a 1/4-inch lip (to allow for shrinkage in the oven). Refrigerate the pie shell for at least 30 minutes. (The pie shell can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 1 day or frozen for up to 2 weeks. Bake directly from the refrigerator or freezer.)
2. Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Line pie shell with parchment paper, fill with pie weights, and blind bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the entire shell is light brown all the way through.
4. Meanwhile, scrape the pumpkin purée into a medium saucepan and stir in the brown sugar. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the pumpkin has reduced to a somewhat thick paste and darkened. Remove from the heat and whisk in the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Then whisk in the sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolk until blended. Slowly whisk in the cream and vanilla (and the maple syrup and brandy, if using), then gradually whisk in the pumpkin mixture and continue whisking until thoroughly mixed.
6. When the pie shell is ready, remove from the oven and leave the oven set at 350 degrees F. Remove the weights and parchment, and pour the pumpkin custard into the shell.
7. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the custard is just set. The edges of the custard will puff up a little and the center should still have a little wiggle in it. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours. Serve at room temperature or chilled. (I found this pie tasted best after being refrigerated for 24 hours.)
8. The pie can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Pâte Brisée II
Makes about 10 ounces dough, enough for (ahem) one 9-inch single-crust pie, 10-inch crostata or 9-inch quiche.
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons cold milk
1. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Scatter the butter over the top and mix on low speed for about 45 seconds, or until the flour is no longer bright white and holds together when you clump it and pecan-size lumps of butter are visible throughout.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and milk until blended. Add to the flour-butter mixture all at once. Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until the dough barely comes together. It will look really shaggy and more like a mess than a dough.
3. Dump the dough out onto an unfloured work surface and gather it together into a tight mound. Using your palm and starting on one side of the mound, smear the dough bit by bit, starting at the top of the mound and then sliding your palm down the side and along the work surface (at Flour we call this "going down the mountain") until most of the butter chunks are smeared into the dough and the dough comes together. Do this once or twice on each part of the dough, moving through the mound until the whole mess has been smeared into a cohesive dough with streaks of butter.
4. Gather up the dough, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and press down to flatten into a disk about 1 inch thick. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Makes (ahem) one 9-inch pie.
Pate Brisee II (recipe follows)
One 16 ounce can pumpkin purée (I made my own.)
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar (I used dark brown, as it's all I had.)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
My additions:
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon brandy
1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a well-floured work surface, roll out the dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Roll the dough circle around the pin and then unfurl it on top of a 9-inch aluminum pie pan or glass pie dish. Press the dough gently into the bottom and sides of the pan. Evenly pleat the overhanging dough with your fingers to create a decorative edge, or use scissors to trim the overhang, leaving a 1/4-inch lip (to allow for shrinkage in the oven). Refrigerate the pie shell for at least 30 minutes. (The pie shell can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 1 day or frozen for up to 2 weeks. Bake directly from the refrigerator or freezer.)
2. Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Line pie shell with parchment paper, fill with pie weights, and blind bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the entire shell is light brown all the way through.
4. Meanwhile, scrape the pumpkin purée into a medium saucepan and stir in the brown sugar. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the pumpkin has reduced to a somewhat thick paste and darkened. Remove from the heat and whisk in the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Then whisk in the sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolk until blended. Slowly whisk in the cream and vanilla (and the maple syrup and brandy, if using), then gradually whisk in the pumpkin mixture and continue whisking until thoroughly mixed.
6. When the pie shell is ready, remove from the oven and leave the oven set at 350 degrees F. Remove the weights and parchment, and pour the pumpkin custard into the shell.
7. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the custard is just set. The edges of the custard will puff up a little and the center should still have a little wiggle in it. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours. Serve at room temperature or chilled. (I found this pie tasted best after being refrigerated for 24 hours.)
8. The pie can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Pâte Brisée II
Makes about 10 ounces dough, enough for (ahem) one 9-inch single-crust pie, 10-inch crostata or 9-inch quiche.
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons cold milk
1. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Scatter the butter over the top and mix on low speed for about 45 seconds, or until the flour is no longer bright white and holds together when you clump it and pecan-size lumps of butter are visible throughout.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and milk until blended. Add to the flour-butter mixture all at once. Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until the dough barely comes together. It will look really shaggy and more like a mess than a dough.
3. Dump the dough out onto an unfloured work surface and gather it together into a tight mound. Using your palm and starting on one side of the mound, smear the dough bit by bit, starting at the top of the mound and then sliding your palm down the side and along the work surface (at Flour we call this "going down the mountain") until most of the butter chunks are smeared into the dough and the dough comes together. Do this once or twice on each part of the dough, moving through the mound until the whole mess has been smeared into a cohesive dough with streaks of butter.
4. Gather up the dough, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and press down to flatten into a disk about 1 inch thick. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
OMG...those things in the ramekins...KABOCHA POT DE CREME (lol, a fancier way of saying "extra pumpkin pie filling")!??!!?*(&#&#&@^@!
ReplyDeleteYou're killing me...!
And yes, I shall go to sleep soon...