Thanksgiving Update

Over the lovely long Thanksgiving weekend, we cooked alot of different things. I made a pumpkin pie that was so good that I ate three large pieces, some amazing scones, and yorkshire pudding. Clancy's prime rib was also excellent.

Pumpkin Pie
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Show:
Follow That Food
Episode:
Follow That Feast


1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed 1 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten 1 cup half-and-half 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional 1 piece pre-made pie dough Whipped cream, for topping
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.
For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.
Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

I made the crust from America's Test Kitchen cookbook, and it was exactly as promised--easy to handle and roll out. I find that it is often incredibly difficult to roll out a pate brisee and then pick it up and put it in a tart pan or pie pan.

And Deb, over at Smitten Kitchen had a post about America's Test Kitchen's scone recipe so I had to (1) buy the cookbook and (2) make the scones. They are PERFECTLY DELICIOUS. See Deb's post http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/11/dream-a-little-dream-of-scone for some pictures and comments about the scones. I had previously been using a Joy of Cooking recipe, and the America's Test Kitchen recipe was infinitely better.

As for the Yorkshire pudding, I screamed when I saw them cooking in the oven, all puffed up and golden. I have never tried Yorkshire pudding previously, so I was expecting an actual custard kind of thing, not a giant puffy beautiful roll kind of thing. They are so easy to make, and very impressive. I used reamekins instead of a muffin tin, which worked very well.

I was as happy as this guy.

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

1/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons of beef roast drippings

6 eggs

2 cups milk

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 10 cups of the muffin tin with a teaspoon of the dripping fat. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy. Whisk in the milk and remaining drippings. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt together. Whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the pudding for about 50 minutes, undisturbed. Remove from the oven and serve hot.