"Pumpkin pie, if rightly made, is a thing of beauty and a joy - while it lasts....." The House Mother

"Pumpkin pie, if rightly made, is a thing of beauty and a joy - while it lasts....." The House Mother


The changing of the seasons inspires my choices in the kitchen for creating culinary art. The bright, fiery reds, oranges, and yellow hues of autumn leaves first gracing then falling from the trees awakens my taste buds hunger for homemade pumpkin pie.


This past weekend was the perfect time to experiment with a new recipe. Kara flew to visit Barry and his Meghan for the weekend in Eastern New York. I drove her to the airport Friday after work to meet him for a fun filled weekend. They made plans for Kara to meet their friends, Catherine in particular. Together they explore graveyards, took pics of Barry's hero Andrew Carnegie's grave site, went to an apple farm, Sleepy Hollow and horse back riding pageant to cheer on family friends. It was a joy to hear of their adventure from afar. I look forward for free time in my schedule to soon make the a similar journey.

Here at home it was the perfect weekend to brush up on my pumpkin pie making skills.

Pate Brisee (Short Crust Pastry):
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/8 to 1/4 cup butter milk


Pate Brisee: In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour 1/8 cup cold buttermilk in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched. If necessary, add more water. Do not process more than 30 seconds.
Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour before using. This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour.

After the dough has chilled sufficiently, place on a lightly floured pastry cloth, and roll into a 13 inch circle. Fold the dough in half and gently transfer to a 9 inch pie pan. Brush off any excess flour and tuck the overhanging pastry under itself. Flute the pastry crust to make a decorative border. Refrigerate the pastry, covered with plastic wrap, for about 30 minutes before pouring in the filling.

Ingredients
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 large eggs
1 can 29 oz. can of Pumpkin Puree
1 can (12 fl. oz.)evaporated milk
1 cup buttermilk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell

You will have extra pumpkin pie custard to bake in a glass dish without the crust.

Directions
MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk and butter milk.
POUR into pie shell.
BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

This is the first time I tried using buttermilk when making Pumpkin Pie. I was very pleased with the results as it gives a pleasant creamy not to sweet taste to this nutritious dessert.


Jim and I spent a lovely afternoon leaf watching here in Western NY with a drive to Niagara Falls. We parked on the USA side to take pictures of the American and Canadian Falls as we walked in to Canada across the Rainbow Bridge.