Thanksgiving 101 (25 page)
Authors: Rick Rodgers
Makes one 9-or 10-inch single piecrust, or one 9-to 10-inch double piecrust
Make Ahead: See the suggestions above.
SINGLE CRUST (FOR A 9-TO 10-INCH PIE)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1
/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening, chilled, cut into ½-inch cubes 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into ½-inch cubes
¼ cup ice-cold water
1 large egg yolk
½ teaspoon cider or wine vinegar
DOUBLE CRUST (FOR A 9-TO 10-INCH PIE)
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening, chilled, cut into ½-inch cubes
5 tablespoons (½ stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into ½-inch cubes
1
/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice-cold water
1 large egg yolk
¾ teaspoon cider or wine vinegar
1.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Using a pastry blender, rapidly cut the shortening and butter into the flour mixture until it is the consistency of coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Do not blend to a fine cornmeal-like consistency. If the fats stick to the wires of the blender, scrape them off.
2.
In a glass measuring cup, mix the ice water, egg yolk, and vinegar. Tossing the flour mixture with a fork, gradually add the ice-water mixture, sprinkling it all over the ingredients in the bowl. Be stingy with the water—you can always add more, but it is difficult to remedy pie dough that is too wet. Mix well, being sure to moisten the crumbs on the bottom of the bowl. Add just enough liquid that the dough clumps together. It does not have to come together into one big ball. To check the consistency, press the dough between your thumb and forefinger. The dough should be moist, but not wet and not crumbly. If necessary, gradually mix in more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you reach the correct consistency.
3.
Gather up the dough into a thick disk and wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap.
If making a double-crust pie
, divide the dough into two disks, one slightly larger than the other. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days. The optimum rest period is 2 hours, which allows the dough to relax and chill without becoming rock hard. If the dough is well chilled and hard, let it stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to soften slightly before rolling out.
4.
To roll out a single crust, sprinkle the work surface (preferably a pastry or cutting board) lightly but completely with flour, then spread out the flour with the palm of your hand into a very thin layer. Place the dough on the work surface, then sprinkle the top of the dough with a little flour. Don’t bother to sprinkle the rolling pin with flour—it just falls off. Starting at the center of the disk, roll the dough away from you. Do not roll back and forth. Think of stretching, not rolling, the dough into shape. (If the dough cracks while you are rolling out, it may be too cold. Let it stand for a few minutes to warm up slightly, then try again.) Turn the dough a quarter of a turn. Roll out again from the center of the dough. Continue rolling out the dough, always starting from the center of the dough and turning it a quarter turn after each roll, until the dough is about 13 inches in diameter and
1
/8 inch thick. (If you aren’t sure what
1
/8 inch looks like, stand a ruler up next to the dough and check. This sounds elementary, but many bakers make the mistake of rolling out the dough too thin or too thick, and until you learn by practice, a ruler is the best insurance.) Be sure that the dough is the same thickness throughout, especially at the edges, which tend to be thicker than the center. Work as quickly as possible so the dough doesn’t get too warm.
5.
Carefully fold the dough in half. If you think the dough is too warm to fold without breaking, and you have rolled out the dough on a cutting board, transfer the entire board to a cool place—if it’s a cold day, outside, on a windowsill, or in an unheated room is fine—for a few minutes to firm up. Transfer the dough to the pie pan, with the fold in the center of the pan. Unfold the dough, letting the excess dough hang over the sides of the pan. Gently press the dough snugly into the corners of the pan. If the dough cracks, just press the cracks together. Gaps can be patched with a scrap of dough, moistened lightly around the edges to adhere it to the crust. Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, trim the dough to extend only ½ inch beyond the edge of the pan.
6.
To flute the crust
, fold over the dough so the edge is flush with the edge of the pan. Use one hand to pinch the dough around the knuckle or fingertip of your other hand, moving around the crust at 1-inch intervals. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and freeze until ready to use, 20 to 30 minutes.
7
To roll out a double-crust pie, roll out the larger dough disk, place it in the pan, and trim the edges so they hang about ½ inch over the pan. Fill the pie with the cooled filling, if necessary. Immediately roll out the smaller disk of dough into a 10-to 11-inch round about
1
/8 inch thick. Fold the dough in half, position over the filling, and unfold. Press the edges of the two crusts together to seal. Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, trim the dough to extend only ½ inch beyond the edge of the pan. Flute the dough as directed in step 6.
CLASSIC RECIPE
Famous Pumpkin Pie
This recipe has been on the can of Libby’s Solid Pack Pumpkin for over thirty years—mildly spiced, smooth, and just about perfect. Not for nothing is it truly “famous.” Libby’s estimates that over 55 million pumpkin pies are made from their canned pumpkin every Thanksgiving. For classic results, mix the ingredients by hand in the order given. I have added some tips to the back-of-the can instructions, but the recipe remains unchanged.
There are a number of crust options, all with slightly different oven temperatures and cooking times. Homemade piecrust makes the best pie, so I start with those directions, giving variations for frozen deep-dish and regular piecrusts. To be sure the crust holds all of the filling, it is important to flute the piecrust to stand high around the edge of the pan. If you still have a little too much filling, just discard it.
A crack will appear where the pie was tested with the knife. To disguise it, just spread a thin layer of whipped cream over the top. With experience, you will be able to test the pie without cutting into it—when the pie is shaken, only the very center, a round area about the size of a quarter, of the pie will jiggle.
Makes 8 servings
Make Ahead: The pie can be baked up to 1 day ahead.
Perfect Piecrust 101 for a single-crust pie
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
One 15-ounce can Libby’s Solid Pack Pumpkin (1¾ cups)
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
One 12-ounce can evaporated milk or 1½ cups half-and-half
Sweetened Whipped Cream
1.
Following the instructions, line a 9-inch (1-quart/1-liter capacity) pie pan with the pie dough. Flute the dough so the edge stands about ½ inch above the rim. (Libby’s does not suggest doing this, but to reduce crust shrinkage, loosely cover the shell with plastic wrap and freeze for 20 minutes.)
2.
Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and place a baking sheet on the rack. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
3.
In the order given, place the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Place the pie shell on the hot baking sheet and pour in the pumpkin filling. Place on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F, and bake until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool completely on a wire cake rack. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. (The pie can be baked up to 1 day ahead.) Serve chilled with whipped cream.
Deep-Dish Pumpkin Pie (made with frozen crust):
Substitute one 9-inch (4-cup capacity) deep-dish frozen pie shell for the homemade crust. Preheat the oven and baking sheet to 375°F. While the oven preheats, allow the crust to thaw until the dough is chilled but malleable, about 20 minutes. Recrimp the pie shell so the edge stands ½ inch above the rim. Pour the filling into the crust and bake until the pie tests done with a knife as in step 3, about 70 minutes.
Double-Batch Pumpkin Pie (made with frozen crusts):
The pumpkin mixture will also fill two regular (not deep-dish) piecrusts. Let the crusts
thaw slightly while mixing the filling. Preheat the oven and filling to 375°F. Pour the filling into the crusts and bake until the pies test done as in step 3, about 45 minutes.
Berkshire Pumpkin Pie
For many years, we spent Thanksgiving with our friend Ron Dier in the picture-perfect Berkshire Mountains, on the border between New York and Massachusetts. Ron always made this pumpkin pie according to his mom Rita’s recipe. Its light texture and generous spicing had everyone coming back for more. In fact, many times when there was pie left when we cleared the table, it would be gone the next morning because we had all snuck into the kitchen during the night and devoured it in the time-honored tradition of the Thanksgiving Midnight Snack. If you are looking for an extra-special pumpkin pie, look no further.
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Make Ahead: The pie can be baked up to 1 day ahead.
Perfect Piecrust 101 for a single-crust pie
One 15-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin (1¾ cups)
1 cup heavy cream
2
/3 cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Sweetened Whipped Cream
1.
Following the instructions, line a 10-inch pie pan with the pie dough. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Freeze for 20 minutes.
2.
Position a rack in the top third of the oven. Place a baking sheet on the rack and preheat the oven to 400°F.
3.
Line the pastry shell with aluminum foil, then fill it with pie weights, dried beans, or raw rice. Bake on the hot baking sheet until the pastry seems set, about 12 minutes. Remove the foil and weights. Leave the oven on.
4.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the filling ingredients (except the eggs and whipped cream) until smooth. In another medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer set at high speed, beat the eggs until very light and tripled in volume, about 3 minutes. Fold the eggs into the pumpkin mixture. Pour into the pie shell.
5.
Place on the hot baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F. Continue baking until a knife inserted into the filling 2 inches from the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. The center will seem slightly unset when shaken, but will firm upon standing. Let cool completely on a wire cake rack. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight. (The pie can be baked up to 1 day ahead.) Serve chilled or at room temperature with the whipped cream.
It Isn’t Thanksgiving Without…Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin pie was certainly not included in the first feast. The
Mayflower
’s stores of wheat had long been depleted, and the first planting had failed. No wheat, no piecrust. As with so many other foods, the Indians taught the Pilgrims about pumpkin. Along with beans and corn, it was one of the three major foods in the Native American diet throughout the continent. There is some argument over pumpkin’s origin. Some botanists say it is a New World vegetable, and others claim it was known in Europe before the Exploration Age. It is likely that the “pumpkins” in the pre-Columbus era were really gourds, and that we can truly claim the pumpkin as an American original that deserves a place of honor at the Thanksgiving meal.
The Indians probably roasted pumpkin over an open fire or boiled it with maple syrup. Pumpkin pudding became one of the favorite dishes of the Puritan era. The pumpkin flesh was scooped out and mixed with milk, spices, and syrup, then returned to the pumpkin shell, where it was roasted for hours in hot ashes. It is easy to see where the basic recipe for pumpkin pie filling came from. Known to the settlers as
pompion
(the name given by French explorers in the late 1500s), it saved them from starvation in the lean early years of their colony.
One of the first recipes for pumpkin pie appeared in 1655 in a book called
Queens Closed Open
. This version represented the then-current taste for highly seasoned foods, and includes thyme, rosemary, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, cloves, and apple. In 1672, an English-American merchant named John Josselyn was already calling pompion stew “an Ancient New-England dish.” He says to take diced, ripe squash and “…so fill a pot with them of two or three gallons, stew them upon a gentle fire a whole day, then as they sink…fill again with fresh pompions not putting any liquor to them and when it is stirred enough it will look like baked Apples, this Dish putting Butter to it and Vinegar and some Spice as Ginger which makes it tart like an Apple, and so serve it up to be eaten with fish or flesh.” Josselyn’s “stew” would be recognized today as the pumpkin butter put up by New England cooks. Amelia Simmons included “pompkin” pie in the first American cookbook, published in 1796.
The history of the modern pumpkin pie can be dated to 1929. In that year, Libby, McNeil and Libby bought the small pumpkin pie cannery Dickinson Canning Company. The little cannery’s pride and joy was their special eating pumpkin, now called the “Dickinson” variety. Eating pumpkins, much different than the Jack-o’-lantern varieties grown just for size and appearance, are elongated and buff-colored, with thin walls. The Dickinson was noted for its bright orange color, creamy texture, and fresh taste. Libby’s took years to develop its own strain, improving upon the Dickinson, now called “Libby’s Select.” Today, Libby’s, a division of Nestlé, plants more than four thousand acres of pumpkin annually.