The Pilgrim Pumpkin Pie

The Mayflower left Plymouth, England in September, 1620, with 102 passengers and 30 crew members on board. During the 66-day voyage, the Pilgrims faced treacherous storms, two deaths and one birth.

On November 11, 1620, the Mayflower reached what is now Provincetown Harbor on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Winter set in quickly, during which time more than half of the pilgrims died. And those who survived had only 5 kernels of corn a day on which to live.

In early autumn of 1621, the 53 surviving Pilgrims celebrated their successful harvest with what is remembered as the “First Thanksgiving in Plymouth.” Their celebration included the great Indian king Massasoit and 90 of his men.

While pictures of this celebration usually include pumpkin pie, there were no milled flours for making a fine pie crust, no sugar and no spices. Their “Pumpkin pie” was most likely served as custard baked inside a pumpkin.

My family traditionally enjoys this kind of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. My youngest started clamoring for one when Halloween pumpkins first hit the market. These are easy to bake and impressive to serve.

1. Start by selecting a small sugar (baking) pumpkin. If your pumpkin is too big it will take too long to bake the custard through. Since you will be eating the pumpkin, be sure to wash the outside of the pumpkin as well.
2. Preheat your oven to 350. You need a moderate oven so the pumpkin won’t burn before the custard is cooked through.

3. While the oven is heating up, prepare your pumpkin and your custard:
   • Carve off the top nicely- you’ll want to put the top back on for baking and serving.
   • Clean out and scrape the inside lid & walls of the pumpkin very well. You will end up eating any stringiness you leave inside the pumpkin.
4. Make your favorite custard recipe or combine in a pan:
   
   • 6 eggs
   • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
   • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
   • 1 tablespoon molasses
   • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
   • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
   • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
   • 1 tablespoon butter
5. Cook over a low heat stirring constantly until warmed (but not cooked or thickened) and then pour the mixture into the pumpkin. This helps the custard cook evenly without overcooking the pumpkin.


6. Replace the lid on top of the pumpkin and stand the pumpkin in a shallow baking dish with a small amount of water at the bottom. Place in the center of your preheated oven. It should take 60-90 minutes to bake through. You will need to check the custard for doneness to be sure. The custard should look mostly set when you remove it from the oven.

It’s most impressive to serve the pumpkin warm but can also be made a day ahead and refrigerated. When you serve it, you slice it like an apple. Each slice has some custard in the center and the fresh baked pumpkin on the edge. It’s not nearly as sweet as the pumpkin pie we’ve come to know, but this “pie” will make your friends and family thankful they came to your table for this celebration.

My wish is that you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Eat Well,

Dawn

The Dark Side of Chocolate...

This week I continue my focus on the chocolate we use at Specialty’s.  In my previous article I talked about how Cacao (pronounced 'ka-KOW') pods are harvested and turned into Milk Chocolate.  Today I’d like to share a richer, deeper chocolate experience… Semi-Sweet chocolate; my favorite!
 

Our Semi-Sweet chocolate contains a higher percentage of cacao (55%) than our Milk Chocolate (30%) giving it that dark appearance and extra rich flavor you can taste in our cookies.  We use chunks of Semi-Sweet chocolate in our cookies, so when you bite in to them, you can see and taste that gooey-chocolatyness (spell check says there is no such word, yet I know it to be true) all throughout the cookie.  Semi-Sweet chocolate has no milk. And since it has more cacao there is less room for sugar.  What that means is the resulting chunk is only semi-sweet and is filled with more chocolate flavor.  I like using Semi-Sweet chocolate in my baking because it balances out the sweetness of my pastry.  I also use it in my cooking; it adds a depth of flavor and a touch of sweetness to many dishes.  Of course, I eat it straight out of the bag as well.  

  

I always keep a supply of Guittard chocolate on hand for baking and eating.  Storing it properly (described in my milk chocolate blog) ensures it looks and tastes its best when I bake or eat it.   Since chocolate contains Theobromine, I’m careful to store it safely.  Theobromine is an alkaloid and just an ounce of baker’s chocolate contains (400mg) enough to send a 40lb dog to the vet.  Please take care in keeping chocolates out of reach of pets.

  

One of my favorite ways to use Guittard Semi-Sweet chocolate is in brownies. This brownie recipe is a super easy, one bowl dessert that is quick to whip up, quick to bake and quick to disappear!  One batch will yield 16 – 2” inch squares.  But who eats a two inch square???
 

Quick & Easy Brownies

1 cup (6 ounces) Guittard Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips*

1/4 cup butter

2 large eggs

1/2cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

*For extra chocolaty brownies, stir another cup of semi-sweet chips into the batter.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and butter the bottom of an 8x8-inch pan.

1) In a microwave safe bowl: combine 1 cup of chips with butter and melt on a 50% setting in the microwave, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. Then, set aside to cool.

2) Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

3) Stir in the melted chocolate with a rubber spatula.

4) Add flour and salt, stirring only until combined (it’s OK if there are some small lumps)

5) Spread the batter into the buttered pan, getting batter all the way in the corners. 

6) Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center still has moist crumbs on it.

When cool, cut the brownies into 2-inch squares.   Dust with powdered sugar for a festive presentation.

 
Baking Tip:  If you bake brownies so the toothpick comes out clean, the brownies will be cakey.  If you pull them out when they are just a little underdone, when they are cool they will still be chewy.

 

Eat Well,
 

Dawn