Pumpkin Pie (with fresh pumpkin)

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 : 

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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 calling for canned pumpkin.

Field pumpkins, which are bred for perfect jack-o'-lanterns, tend to be too large and stringy for baking.

 

Cut the pumpkin in half and discard the stem section and stringy pulp. Save the seeds to dry and roast (in my house we feed them to the birds).

In a shallow baking dish, place the two halves face down and cover with foil

Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for about 1½ hours for a medium-sized sugar pumpkin, or until tender

Once the baked pumpkin has cooled, scoop out the flesh and puree it.

For silky smooth custards or soups, process the pumpkin puree in a food processor until smooth.

Make a crust for a single crust pie or purchase a refrigerated pie crust.

Pie crust (makes enough for 2 pies)

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup cold water

Prepare pie crust by mixing together the flour and salt. Cut shortening into flour, add 1 tablespoon water to mixture at a time. Mix dough and repeat until dough is moist enough to hold together.

With lightly floured hands shape dough into a ball. Cut in 1/2. On a lightly floured board roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Gently roll the dough around the rolling pin and transfer it right side up on to the pie pan. Unroll, ease dough into the bottom of the pie pan. Flute the edge of the crust.

Pumpkin Filling:
2 cups pureed, cooked pumpkin

1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
In a large bowl with mixer speed on medium, beat pumpkin with evaporated milk, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, flour and salt. Mix well. Pour into a prepared crust. Bake 40 minutes or until when a knife is inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean.
Adapted from allrecipes.com