Thayer in the Kitchen

We spent a very pleasant Thanksgiving in north central Missouri with my brother and sister-in-law.  I volunteered to bring the pies.  Since it turned out there were only going to be four of us, I decided two pies were sufficient.  I made a pumpkin and a cranberry apple.  The recipe for the cranberry apple is in an earlier post.  Priscilla said this was the best pumpkin pie she had ever had.  I really liked it too.  I think using fresh pumpkin makes a difference in the end result.  I also like this recipe because it is not too sweet and is very mildly spiced (no cloves!).  Choosing and preparing your pumpkin :  Smaller is better: Choose sugar pie pumpkins or other flavorful varieties. Small and sweet, with dark orange-colored flesh, they're perfect for pies, soups, muffins and breads. A medium-sized (4-pound) sugar pumpkin should yield around 1½ cups of mashed pumpkin. This puree can be used in all your recipes callin...

This is a chili made with chunks of beef rather than the traditional ground beef.  I made it primarily to use up the last of the green peppers from my CSA farm.  I'm not really a green pepper fan, but I felt compelled to use them rather than have them fade away in the frig. 2 pounds cubed stew beef Flour 1 1/2 cups (8 ounces) chopped onion 1 cup (5 ounces) diced fresh green bell pepper (I used 2 large green peppers because that's what I had and wanted to use up) 2 or more cloves garlic, peeled and minced, depends on how big the cloves are. 2 cups (15 ounces) chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned (I used canned) 6-ounce can tomato paste 2 tablespoons dried cilantro (optional, but good)  I did use it but I don't think it made much difference 2 teaspoons chili powder (you can add more later) 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons salt, to taste up to 2 tablespoons sugar, to taste, optional; cuts the acidity of the tomatoes 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chi...