Pumpkin Pie, and why it represents me

Pumpkin pie is DEFINITELY an American thing, but what many people don't know about pumpkin pie is that it was actually created using traditional English baking recipes. English settlers were introduced to the pumpkin by Native Americans, they saw it had similar properties to some English produce and created pumpkin pie by substituting pumpkin for ingredients they were used to in England but didn't have access to in colonial America. The first pumpkin pies probably resembled mince pies, with a full covering of shortcrust pastry.

I think that is why it kind of represents me, the English settlers took something very American and adapted it to be a kind of American-English hybrid.

I have been craving pumpkin pie since last year but never had a chance to make one because I didn't anticipate that the pumpkins would be available only for a few weeks in October. This year a friend of mine from choir was growing pumpkins in his garden and gave me one of his a couple weeks ago. My mom also brought me a can of pumpkin when she came to visit this year, so now I have a freezer full of pumpkin just waiting to become some delicious holiday recipes. However, even though its only October I just couldn't wait another minute for a piece of pumpkin pie so I made one yesterday.

First I cut the pumpkin in half and scooped out the guts. I saved the seeds and plan on roasting them today for a little snack.

I placed the pumpkin halves on a greased baking sheet and baked them for 1 1/4 hours at 350º until the flesh was soft. I let them cool for a bit so I could handle them and scoop out the flesh.

Then I pureed the pumpkin, most of the recipes I looked at suggested straining water from the puree but my puree was incredibly thick so I never had to drain it. It was a really rich sweet pumpkin, perfect for pie making.

I quickly whipped up a basic shortcrust pastry in my food processor and chilled it in the fridge while I mixed up the filling. I used a recipe that called for beating 3 eggs then adding two cups of pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream and 1/2 cup of brown sugar as well as a blend of cinnamon, allspice and ginger.

Once the pie was ready I baked it in a 375º oven for 45 minutes and it turned out perfect!

I whipped up some heavy whipping cream and confectioner's sugar (by hand with a whisk, it was hard work) for some fresh homemade whipped cream. The first bite was magical, it was instant taste memory and it was such a comforting taste. It was definitely worth all the work of making it totally from scratch!