"Quickly as you can, Grasshopper, snatch the nutmeg from my hand."
13 days. And Americans divide into two camps. Those who cook Thanksgiving dinner, and those who merely show up at the table and indulge in all of that beneficence and hard work...bringing only their appetite to the table. And at the end of it all there is pie. Lots of pie. And strong, black coffee.
Some of you are vaguely aware that Thanksgiving is coming up soon. You would be the ones who show up empty handed and ask "when is dinner ready?" Others, like myself, are all too conscious of the fact that Nov 24 is right around the corner, and have already started writing down possible menus options, looking at the grocery store ads, and began planning for the meal.
And by meal, I mean first and foremost, dessert.
Yup...I'm already thinking about pie. The reason is simple, and I think Jim Carrey said it best in "The Mask":
Hold on Sugar! Daddy's gotta SWEET tooth tonight!!
Everyone has their own Thanksgiving traditions...in my family the tradition is that we change it up every year to a certain extent. Especially when it comes to desert. There's always turkey, there's always dressing, there's always mashed potatoes and gravy. Everything else is open to change, and on any given year the gravy can be traditional giblet, or fig gravy, or who knows what. The dressing usually changes as well.
But the feast always ends with dessert...and that's what this is about.
I love your basic pumpkin pie...I'll eat it until it's gone. The recipe on the back of the Libby's can makes a damned good pie. There's nothing not to like about it. But there is a better one. There always is, isn't there?
Mine is a cross between a sweet potato pie and a pecan pie...sweet and sweeter, with a generous splash of Bourbon. You can also use walnuts instead of pecans in this pie, and the result is just as nice. The walnuts provide a nice bitterness to contrast with the inherent sweetness of the rest of the pie.
Sweet Potato Pecan Pie with Bourbon Sauce
1 1/4 cup cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon allspice
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons softened butter
1 (9-10" size) unbaked pie pastry for a single crust
PECAN PIE FILLING
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup dark corn syrup
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cup chopped pecans
BOURBON SAUCE
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix (4-serving size)
3 tablespoons bourbon, brandy or rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine mashed sweet potatoes, sugars, egg, cream, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and butter in an electric mixing bowl and beat at medium-low speed until smooth, do not overmix.
To assemble pie, spoon sweet potato filling into the pastry-lined pie pan. Fill shell evenly to the top with with pecan filling. Bake 1 1/2 hours or until a knife inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean. Store pie at room temperature for 24 hours.
Serve pie slices with Bourbon Sauce on top or to the side.
Prepare Pecan Pie Filling: Combine sugar, syrup, eggs, butter, vanilla, salt and cinnamon in an electric mixing bowl and beat on low speed until syrup is opaque, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in pecans, mix well.
Prepare Bourbon Sauce: Combine cream and milk in a large mixing bowl. Slowly whip in pudding mix. Add bourbon and continue whipping. Add vanilla and whip until mixture is well blended to sauce consistency (should not be as firm as pudding, but should not be runny). Sauce should be made about one hour before use; it will thicken as it sits.
Only 919 calories per serving!
Now...the other pie we always have for Thanksgiving is some form of apple pie. My favorite, hands down, is the French version...Tarte Tatin. It's an open faced pie, if you will, and I serve it with Chantilly Cream, but it really doesn't need it. You do need, IMHO, however, a large, well seasoned, deep cast iron skillet. This is a heavy pie (not in terms of eating, but in terms of handling the skillet. If you have weak wrists, you may need a helper:
Tarte Tatin
SOUR CREAM PASTRY
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
6 tablespoons chilled sour cream
APPLE FILLING
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
11 medium-size Pippin apples (or other green/tart apple variety)(about 4 3/4 pounds), peeled, quartered, cored
1 egg, beaten to blend (glaze)
Crème fraîche or sour cream
Blend flour, sugar and salt in large bowl of heavy-duty mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Add butter and beat at medium-low speed until butter is size of small lima beans, about 3 minutes. Ad d sour cream and beat until moist clumps form, about 1 minute. Gather dough into smooth ball; flatten into 6-inch-diameter disk. Wrap dough in plastic; refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated. Let soften slightly before rolling out.)
Spread butter over bottom of 12-inch-diameter ovenproof nonstick skillet with sloping sides (skillet should be at least 1 3/4 inches deep). Reserve 2 tablespoons sugar; sprinkle remaining sugar over butter. Place skillet over medium-low heat and cook until butter melts, sugar begins to dissolve and mixture starts to bubble, about 3 minutes.
Remove from heat. Arrange apples on their sides around edge of skillet, placing tightly together. Arrange as many of remaining apples as will fit, pointed ends up, in 2 circles in center of skillet. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar.
Set skillet over medium-high heat; boil until thick peanut butter-color syrup forms, repositioning skillet often for even cooking and adding remaining apples as space permits, about 45 minutes (syrup will continue to darken during baking). Remove from heat; wrap handle several times with heavy-duty foil.
Meanwhile, position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425 °F.
Roll out pastry on floured surface to 12-inch round; place over apples. Cut four 2-inch slits in top of pastry. Press pastry down around apples at edge of skillet; brush pastry with some of egg glaze.
Bake tart until pastry is deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to work surface; cool 1 minute. Cut around edge of skillet to loosen pastry. Place large platter over skillet. Using oven mitts as aid, hold skillet and platter together tightly and invert, allowing tart to fall onto platter. Carefully lift off skillet. Rearrange any apples that may have become dislodged. Cool tart 30 minutes.
Cut warm tart into wedges. Serve with crème fraîche. ( I use Chantilly Cream)
These are my two favorite fall pies...hands down. As I said, I love a straight forward pumpkin pie as well, but I tend not to get fancy with pumpkin pie. I just use the recipe on the Libby can, and it always tastes good.
But if you really want a true pie experience...try one of the above. You won't be disappointed, and you will unbutton your pants.