How to Make Pumpkin Pie: Thanksgiving Dinner Recipe | Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn Party Planner: Thanksgiving Dinner Pumpkin Pie Hi I'm Karen Bates from the Apple Farm in Mendocino County. We're gonna make a pie today and I'm going to show you the way my grandma used to make pumpkin pie. My mom, actually never used a real pumpkin for a pie, she always used canned pumpkin and there's nothing wrong with it, it's one of the few things that actually cans just beautifully and you shouldn't feel at all, um, like you're not doing it right if you're not using real pumpkin. So I use a generous two cups of flour because it's just a little bit of a generous recipe on the fat so if you use big scoops of flour that kind of evens it out. About a teaspoon of salt is what we want, mix that in, cut the butter into the flour and I think the easiest thing to do is put half the fat in and smear it pretty well, now you want a light crisp pie crust, so it's really important to handle it in a light way. and then this second half of the butter that goes in is gonna be left in bigger pieces and that's what's kind of gonna make the flakes in the pie crust. And the next step is to add the water and I am gonna use nice cold water. So I'm gonna add, you know, maybe three tablespoons I'm guessing, of water here, and at this point you can make your pie crust tough, with over-handling, and this is where people get nervous. I think it's important to get enough water in here though to really get your crust to come together. I have this nice flattened disk here, and I want to make sure that there's plenty of flour on it because at this point I don't want it to be sticking to anything. So I'm just going to flour it here in the bowl. If at this point your crust is feeling a little dry to you, you probably wouldn't put the extra flour on it and maybe want to cover it with a damp towel to make sure it stays kind of moist. And at this point I'm just going to stick this uncovered into the refrigerator for about fifteen minutes, which will firm it up just a little bit, I don't want to go any longer than that. So the pie crust filling is really pretty straightforward, it's actually a custard, and the only thing you need to worry about is not to overcook it or overcook it at too high of a temperature. I'm gonna start with a pumpkin that comes from our musque de Provence, First I strain it, I just pour all this into a strainer, kind of squeeze it out to get rid of some of the excess moisture. And after it's drained, run it through the blender, I used an immersion blender, and then I added a portion of the cream measurement and blended it. I do want to beat the eggs a little bit. So I'm just gonna break these into the bowl, and then we want to just whisk these up, to get them kind of smooth and homogenous before we start adding the other ingredients. I'm using this organic sugar which I like to use as much as possible, it has a little bit of a molasses flavor to it, pie is really all about spices. and I'm gonna use cinnamon, I use more of a scant measurement. So let's get that in here. I'm gonna use a little bit of nutmeg because I love using my mom's nutmeg grinder, or grater I should say. I'm just gonna use a scant measurement on the powdered ginger, and then I'm gonna take this piece of fresh ginger, and grate it with a micro-plane which is a really good way to do it. That way you don't have to chop it up at all. I think it's a really good addition. So now the other ingredient here is cloves, and uh, cloves are wonderful, and we just ned to add the salt. Salt is a really important ingredient in baking, it really helps bring out the flavors. So let's just mix this up and now we just need to add our pumpkin, and cream mixture, and let's add the rest of the cream and we'll be ready. And that's ready to go, so now we just need to roll out our pie crust. So what I want to do is just flour this board generously, Put your crust back down and then a little more flour on the surface. You don't want it to start sticking. This is rolling out beautifully. So then, I like to lay the pie plate down, I want it to have enough extra crust to turn it under to get my crimped edge and have it be thick enough. Now crimping is one of those things that gets passed down from mother to daughter so I pinch in and out at the same time and that makes a really pretty crust. So it's always kind of hard to figure out how to physically get the filling into the pie crust but I think a ladle is a good idea, and I'm using this bowl just to catch the drips, because I don't want to get drips on the edge of my pie crust. That goes right in the middle of the oven and for about fifteen minutes and then turn it way down. I also will probably open the oven door, so that it doesn't cook too fast. So it's nice to put this on a cooling rack if you have one, it needs to set up and really be, it can be kind of room temperature when you cut it, I don't ever like to put it away in the refrigerator before I eat it, not on the first night. And I love it for breakfast, and I usually just let it sit on the counter. After that it should go in the refrigerator if you haven't finished it yet. BUt it looks just perfect, I'm very happy with it. Basic Pumpkin Pie Steam or roast in oven, your favorite pumpkin or winter squash. When tender, chop, drain, and blend to make a puree. Make your favorite pie crust and have ready. Preheat oven to 425í. In a large bowl combine: 2 Eggs, Beaten 2 Cups Pumpkin 3/4 Cups Sugar 1/2 TSP Salt 1 TSP Cinnamon 1/2 TSP Ginger 1/4 TSP Cloves 1 2/3 Cups Half and Half Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 425í about 15 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 300í and bake until just barely set. Pottery Barn Please visit www.potterybarn.com/recipes for a printable copy of this recipe.