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Pumpkin Pie

Every cookbook needs a simple pumpkin pie recipe, so here it is. This one came straight out of The Encyclopedia of Creative Cooking. which I inherited from my Mother. Published in 1985 and 800 pages thick, it weighs about 6 pounds! Though I’ll never throw it away, a tablet is a little lighter.

The picture above is what I get when I’m not even trying. Deeeeeelicious!

Pumpkin pie

Basic pumkin pie. Works every time.

1 8″ unbaked pie shell (see Easy Pastry )
1 cup pumkin puree
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1 cup milk (condensed, whole, or half and half cream)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Prepare the pie shell in an 8 inch pie pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Blend pumpkin and spices thoroughly.
Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well.
Bake for about an hour – pie is done when a knife instered into the middle comes out clean.
Set aside for filling to cool and set.

After about 1/2 hour, the pie is set and still warm. I feel this is the perfect time to cut into it and chow down. Some whipped cream on top, or ice cream on the side, make a nice addition. Cover leftovers with tin foil. Refrigerate if you feel it’s necessary, but chances are slim it will survive a full day after baking.

I’ll add a picture once I get the fluting of the shell down a little better.

Baking

Italian Mini-Meatballs

After many bouts of recipes that required spicy Italian sausage, we found that some of the sausages we bought tasted a bit “off”, and were probably composed of meat that was on the edge of turning, but with the comment of “picking toenails out of my food” met my ears…. well, the decision was made to make our own.

The first requirement was a satisfactory spice mix to use, and the second requirement was learning how to make the meat mixture.

The meat mixture we used was a one to one mixture of lean ground beef to regular ground pork. Our first attempt used a pound of each, with our own spice mix, to which was added 1 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper to get the “spicy” dialed in.

Spicy Italian Sausage Spice Mix

General spice used for sausage, or meatballs as it were.

Spicy Italian Sausage Mix

1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 Tbsp basil
1 Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp black pepper
2-3 tsp red pepper flakes (3 if you like it super spicy!)
2 tsp fennel seeds (crushed)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 – 1 tsp cayenne pepper (totally optional (if like it super spicy! I left this out))

Meatballs

1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound regular ground pork
3 eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 tbsp Italian spice mix
1 1/2 -2 tsp cayenne pepper

Seasoning Mix

To a small bowl or jar (recipe makes ~9 Tbsp of seasoning), add all spices (salt – cloves) + cayenne if you want it spicy.
Stir or shake to combine. Store and use to make sausage as needed!
TIP: ~3 Tbsp (depending on optional add ins above) = 1 lb of sausage

Meatballs

Place both ground pork and beef into a large bowl. Crack three eggs into it being sure no shell chunks fall in. Add the bread crumbs and begin to mix, either with dough beaters or by hand.
Once this is generally mixed, begin to add the Italian spice mix, and finish with the cayenne pepper. By the time you are done, you will have your hands in it….
Continue until thoroughly mixed, then remove from the bowl onto plastic. Wrap and cool for an hour or two to make division easier and less sticky. A scale came in handy for making 7 g balls.
Put parchment paper on two cookie sheets, and and fill them up. Slightly flatten the balls for easier freezing.
Cook for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, then remove to paper towel lined bowl. Repeat until all are cooked.
Separate into whatever divisions seem suitable. We made freezer packs of 300 g (after some got eaten).

The first dish we tried this in was our Spinach Sausage Pasta recipe, which tasted a bit different, but was close enough to use again. The other recipe so far is Jumbalaya, and I expect the same results there. Over time the cayenne and pepper flakes will need some adjusting, but all in all, this was a bit of work for a wild success.

Baking

Dundee Cake

I’ve been making this for about 40 years now, mailing it out, and calling it my “yearly lump”. I started adding cherries a few decades ago… no complaints.

It is the only “fruit cake” that I really like, living half way between fruit cake and Stollen – the heavy bread we would slather with butter Christmas morning for breakfast. Read more “Dundee Cake” →

Recipes

Ginger-Curry Carrot Soup

What a surprise this was… our problem was reserving enough carrots from our garden to eat instead of putting it all into this soup for freezing.

Read more “Ginger-Curry Carrot Soup” →

Pasta

Spinach Sausage Pasta

The basil in this dish brings out a flavor combination that I’m still trying to define – aside from just plain delicious.

Read more “Spinach Sausage Pasta” →