Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie Filling:

• 2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin (See Below)
  
• 1 can evaporated milk-- you'll need somewhere between 5 and 12 ounces
  
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (Maybe just a tad more...)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves

Making the Cooked Pumpkin: There are a couple ways to do this. Either way will require a pie pumpkin, which tend to be small and sold around/before halloween in the Midwest. The first (better) way is to, after gutting the pumpkin, slice the pumpkin into crescents, place on a greased pan, and cook at 375*F for about 40 minutes. When done, scoop the innards away from the skin, ad you've got your pie mixture. The second way, which looses a lot of nutrients and takes more time, is to cut the gutted pumpkin into chunks and boil them until you can easily skewer them with a fork (ala mashed potatoes). The problem with this is that water-soluble nutrients leak out of the pumpkin when you boil it.

Making the filling: Once you've got your pumpkin goo (you should have two cups!), put it in a blender of food processor and add a little bit of the evaporated milk and blend the hell out of it. This will take a little practice (and/or luck!): you want to make a mixture that's smooth and about the consistency of thick soup. If you add too much evaporated milk, you're going to wind up with a soupy mess that might not hold together well in the pie. If you add to little, it's going to have a grainy texture and might be a little chunky. If in doubt, I would add a little more rather than a little less. Once this is done, add the sugar and spices. The clove really give it a nice taste, but you've *got* to be careful with them. They can make the pie overpowering if you add much more than 1/4 tsp. Mix this all together with the blender/processor. Finally, mix in the eggs. I really recommend you add 2 eggs. The eggs help to give some consistency to the final product. I've been worried about getting a weird flavor from adding two eggs... but whenever I add only one I wind up with a pie that's pretty gooey at the end. Alternatively, I haven't had any problem with taste when I add 2 eggs. Anywho, add the eggs and blend.

Once this is all done, pour the mixture into a pie crust (if you want this to be home-made, you're on your own for now! We haven't given that a shot yet...), and bake at 400*F for 40 minutes. Let cool on the counter for an hour after removing from the oven. I recommend putting it in the fridge for an additional hour or two after that, but if you just can't wait, dive in. ;)