Thanksgiving Adventures: Pumpkin Pie

Let's talk Turkey Day. Since I'm currently living about 6 1/2 hours away from family and am at the whim of my graduate school's academic calendar, it was up to me to make Thanksgiving happen this year.



It wasn't all bad, though. My lady and I hunkered down in the kitchen and kept up a steady intake of beer and wine to aid in the cooking process. In fact, everything turned out really well and a real-deal, grown-up Thanksgiving was had.



Don't believe me? Check out the photographic evidence below.



Yum. Makes me hungry all over again just looking at it.

Clearly, this spread is just too much to catalog in a single blog post, so I'm going to parcel it out over the next week or two. Start taking notes for next year, folks. I'm starting this series of posts off with dessert, because I'm an adult and can have dessert first if I want to, damn it!

Here is my pumpkin pie.

Ingredients:
1 Frozen Pie Crust (Deep)
1 15 Ounce Can of Pumpkin
1 12 Ounce Can of Evaporated Milk
3/4 Cup of Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
3/4 Teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 Eggs



Steps/Analysis: Start off by preheating your oven to 425 degrees.

Next, in a small bowl, mix the sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Pumpkin pie spice, for those of you who don't know (which included me until just a couple days before Thanksgiving), is a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. It smells like the holiday season in a canister--it's a beautiful thing.








In the largest bowl you own, crack and beat the two eggs. Slowly stir in the canned pumpkin and the mixed dry ingredients.

Work in the evaporated milk in small installments, thoroughly incorporating each one before adding in the next. Take your time with it because this is your pie filling, for better or worse.

Pour the filling into the pie crust. Hopefully, you trusted me and bought the deep variety. Otherwise, you'll have half a bowl of pumpkin soup to deal with.

Carefully slide the pie into the oven and set your timer for 15 minutes. Once that goes off, you'll want to back down the oven temperature to 350 degrees and let it bake for another 40-50 minutes.

I say 40-50 minutes, but, really, the only way to know when the pumpkin pie is done is if you can insert a knife into its center and pull it out clean as a whistle. When you've attained that state, let the pie cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

Serving/Notes:

I actually baked this pie the day before Thanksgiving in preparation for the big day. I cooled the pie, as noted above, then covered it with aluminum foil and popped it in the refrigerator. I think this is probably the way to go to guarantee solid, un-runny pie contents.

When you are ready to serve, there's only one way to go: topped off with loads of whipped cream. Otherwise, enjoy the cool, creamy, pumpkin-y finish to your meal.