{"id":10663,"date":"2013-11-21T11:35:26","date_gmt":"2013-11-21T16:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=10663"},"modified":"2013-11-19T16:48:25","modified_gmt":"2013-11-19T21:48:25","slug":"how-i-met-bourbon-pumpkin-pie-published-in-tlv-168-on-november-8-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/how-i-met-bourbon-pumpkin-pie-published-in-tlv-168-on-november-8-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Met \u201cBourbon Pumpkin Pie\u201d (published in TLV #168 on November 8, 2012) #TBT"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ColumnHeaderBeckyLong_2012\"<\/a>It was a Friday after payday. I entered the kitchen of my second home, that of my BFF Shannon and her now-husband (also my cousin), Michael. For a few years our dinner arrangement was sort of communal\u2014one of us cooking, one doing dishes, one doing nothing, etc. On this particular payday, my swag included a pretty \u201cpie\u201d pumpkin which weighed about four or five pounds.<\/span><\/p>\n

I held my pumpkin up proudly and Shannon asked, \u201cWhat the hell are you gonna do with that?\u201d My answer, simply, \u201cPie.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"pumpkinpie\"<\/a>I picked up Michael\u2019s copy of the first Bell\u2019s Best<\/em> cookbook because it\u2019s been my Momma\u2019s go-to cookbook as long as I can remember (well, it was published in 1981, the year I was born). I flipped through the strangely organized index for a pumpkin pie recipe and found only \u201cPumpkin Pie, Bourbon.\u201d Ding-ding-ding! A bell went off in my brain and I remembered I had purchased a pint of Southern Comfort from my third and fourth grade teacher for weekend enjoyment. Although SoCo doesn\u2019t really count as bourbon (though it once did and won the gold medal at the 1904 World\u2019s Fair for its superior taste), I knew it would work just fine in pie.<\/span><\/p>\n

I checked the well-stocked pantry and fridge, and everything I needed was already on a shelf or in my Marketplace bags. The tiny sticker on the pumpkin gave me a crash course in roasting this large squash, information I share with you here. I followed the following recipe…mostly. I recall adding an extra tablespoon of Southern Comfort (\u201cbecause it\u2019s not really bourbon\u201d), and the three teaspoons of spices were slightly different in my pie\u2014there was no mace in the pantry and probably no ginger. Also, we had no \u201cpumpkin pie spice\u201d but it contains cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice, and it would have been tasty in place of all the spices in the recipe.<\/span><\/p>\n

My particular pumpkin yielded two tasty, traditional pies. The Southern Comfort\u2019s flavors of fruit and spice added more complex flavors to the spices called for in the recipe, and the freshly roasted pumpkin just made the pie. Prepare to make several pies if your pumpkin is larger than my four-five pounder. One and a half cups of flesh per pie isn\u2019t a lot, so you might want to buy more than a two-pack of pie shells (or make your own).<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the point at which I must address canned pumpkin: use it if you want, or must, but know that it\u2019s inferior in practically every way. I\u2019m not really a food snob, I\u2019ve formed the opinion through experience that the consistency, nutritional value, and taste of a pumpkin roasted in my own oven is far superior to that eerie orange glob from a can.<\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/span><\/p>\n

Roasting a Pumpkin:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What you will need:<\/strong><\/em> pumpkin, cutting board, sharp knife, spoon, fork, large baking dish (at least 1\u201d tall sides), strainer, patience<\/span><\/p>\n

First, there are jack-o-lantern pumpkins and pie pumpkins. You want a pie pumpkin, three to five pounds. They\u2019re smaller and sweeter than jack-o-lantern varieties and have fewer seeds and thicker walls, meaning more flesh for pie. Jack-o-lantern pumpkins are bigger and stringier.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wash the squash. You\u2019d be surprised how many people skip this step. Cut the sucker in half\u2014easiest not to try to cut through the stem. Please don\u2019t try this after a six-pack or with a dull knife. Be diligent about keeping your digits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scoop out the seeds and strings, leaving only the flesh inside. You can save the seeds to roast later, but you\u2019ll have to find instructions for that elsewhere.<\/span>
\n Place cut-side down in baking dish. Fill dish with water until \u00bc\u201d deep.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bake at 350\u00b0 for 45 minutes. Check tenderness after 45 minutes\u2014when cooked, the skin should easily indent when poked with finger, and flesh should be tender all the way through when tested with fork. If not ready, return pan to oven until done\u2014check every 15 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Remove from oven and scoop out flesh, being careful to discard all the bits of skin. Place the flesh into a sieve, strainer, or colander with cheesecloth, and let excess water drain off. This step keeps your pie from being watery\u2014very important. Stir it around in the strainer every few minutes, and remove when it no longer drips.<\/span><\/p>\n

Puree using food processor (best results), hand mixer (decent results), or potato masher (will do in a pinch). Use in pumpkin pie, muffins, cookies\u2026whatever.<\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/span><\/p>\n

\"pieanyone\"<\/a>Bourbon Pumpkin Pie<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1\u00bd c. pumpkin pulp<\/span>
\n 2 T. melted butter<\/span>
\n 1 t. cinnamon<\/span>
\n 1 t. ginger<\/span>
\n \u00bc t. EACH: allspice, cloves, mace, nutmeg<\/span>
\n 3 T. bourbon (or more to taste)<\/span>
\n \u00bd c. white sugar<\/span>
\n \u00bd c. dark brown sugar<\/span>
\n Pinch of salt<\/span>
\n 1 T. lemon juice<\/span>
\n 1 c. milk<\/span>
\n 2 eggs<\/span>
\n 2 T. all-purpose flour<\/span>
\n2 – 9\u201d unbaked pie shells (ingredients above will fill ONE pie shell, but your pumpkin will probably yield enough flesh for TWO pies)<\/em><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Instructions:<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Blend pumpkin, melted butter, spices, and bourbon in bowl.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mix sugars in second bowl and then add salt and lemon juice. Beat in milk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beat eggs well in third bowl, then add flour.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beat egg mixture into sugar mixture. Mix well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Add all to pumpkin mixture. Pour into unbaked pie shell.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bake for 15 minutes at 450\u00b0, then 30 minutes at 370\u00b0 or until set.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was a Friday after payday. I entered the kitchen of my second home, that of my BFF<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238,"featured_media":10672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-food"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/pumpkinpiefeat.jpg?fit=620%2C349&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}