Helen Kents Pumpkin Pie Food

JULIA CHILD'S AUNT HELEN'S FLUFFY PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Separate eggs and set aside.
• Using a mixer, blender or large bowl, blend pumpkin, the 2 cups of the sugars, 1 teaspoon salt, molasses, bourbon or rum (if using), cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, egg yolks, cream and milk until smooth. Add more milk, a tablespoon at a time, if the mixture is stiff: it should be a soft purée.
• In a clean bowl, whip egg whites until foaming. Whip in a pinch of salt, then gradually whip in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar until shiny white peaks form. Beat 1/4 of the whites thoroughly into pumpkin mixture; gently fold in the rest.
• Immediately ladle filling into the shells, filling to just below the rim of the pan. Place in oven and bake just until rim of crust begins to turn gold, 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake another 25 to 30 minutes, until a tester inserted into the filling 2 inches from the rim comes out clean. (The center should still be a bit wet; it will cook more as it cools.) If the rim of the crust starts to get too brown, cover it with aluminum foil.
• Immediately turn oven off, leave door ajar (stick in a wooden spoon to hold it open if necessary) and let sit 20 to 30 minutes more as the oven cools; this will prevent the filling from turning watery. Serve warm, or let cool, wrap tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Let pie come to room temperature before serving.

PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Make the dough by hand. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles yellow corn meal mixed with bean-sized bits of butter. (If the flour/butter mixture gets warm, refrigerate it for 10 minutes before proceeding.) Add the egg and stir the dough together with a fork or by hand in the bowl. If the dough is dry, sprinkle up to a tablespoon more of cold water over the mixture.
• Alternatively, make the dough in a food processor. With the machine fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Add the butter and pulse until it resembles yellow corn meal mixed with bean-sized bits of butter, about 10 times. Add the egg and pulse 1 to 2 times; don't let the dough form into a ball in the machine. (If the dough is very dry add up to a tablespoon more of cold water.) Remove the bowl from the machine, remove the blade, and bring the dough together by hand.
• Form the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 hour.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough with a rolling pin into a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan and trim the edges, leaving about an extra inch hanging over the edge. Tuck the overhanging dough underneath itself to form a thick edge that is even with the rim. Flute the edge as desired. Freeze the pie shell for 30 minutes.
• Set separate racks in the center and lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Put a piece of parchment paper or foil over the pie shell and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake on a baking sheet on the center rack until the dough is set, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift sides of the parchment paper to remove the beans. Continue baking until the pie shell is lightly golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Cool on a rack.
• Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
• While the pie shell is cooling make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, half-and-half, spices, and salt until smooth. Return the pie shell to the baking sheet and pour in the filling.
• Bake on the lower oven rack until the edges of the filling are set but the center is still slightly loose, about 50 to 60 minutes. (If the edges get very dark, cover them with aluminum foil.) Cool on a rack. Serve room temperature or slightly warm.

ULTIMATE PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Place two racks in the oven: one in the lower third and one in the upper third. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the lower oven rack and heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Line another rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spread butternut squash on it. Drizzle squash with 2 tablespoons of the heavy cream, sprinkle with granulated sugar and dot the top with butter. Roast on the upper rack, stirring once or twice, until squash is very tender, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Meanwhile, on a lightly floured surface, roll pie dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch metal pie pan. Fold over any excess dough, crimping the edges. Transfer to the freezer for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. (This helps the crust hold its shape so the edges don't slump.)
• When the squash is soft, transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes (and up to a few hours). Raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees.
• In a food processor or blender, purée the squash with the remaining cream until smooth. Add eggs, brown sugar, spices, bourbon and salt, and pulse to combine. The mixture should be very smooth.
• Pour mixture into the chilled pie shell. Carefully transfer pie to the hot baking sheet on the bottom rack. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 300 and continue to bake until the crust is golden and the center jiggles just slightly when shaken, 35 to 45 minutes longer. Transfer pie to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving. Pie can be baked up to 24 hours ahead of serving; do not refrigerate before serving.

HELEN KENT'S PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Have ready two 9-inch pie pans. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a pie pan; gently press dough into pan. Trim dough 1/2 inch larger than pan; tuck excess under, forming a thick, rolled crust. Crimp edges in a decorative pattern. Chill 20 minutes. Repeat with remaining disk of dough and pan.
• In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, lightly beat eggs on low speed. Add pumpkin puree, milk, ginger, sugar, salt, and lemon zest; combine on low speed. Divide filling between two crusts.
• Bake pies until crusts just begin to turn brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, and bake until crusts are browned and filling has set around the edges, about 35 minutes; the filling with appear loose in the center, but will set as pies cool. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve.

PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into crust. If there is extra filling, pour it into a baking pan for a crust-less pumpkin pie or custard.
• Bake the pie for 10 minutes at 450 degrees, then approximately 35 minutes at 350 degrees or until set.

PERFECT PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

HELEN KENT'S APPLE PIE WITH QUINCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the quinces in a saucepan, cover with water and place over high heat. Boil until they begin to soften, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain. When cool, core and cut them into thin slices.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Using a fork, gently blend the shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Combine the egg white, water and vinegar and add to the mixture. Blend gently with a fork until the ingredients just hold together.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal balls. On a floured surface, roll out one ball of the dough to about 16 -inch thick. Ease the crust into a 9-inch dish and trim the edge with scissors. Repeat with another ball of dough and a second pie dish. Refrigerate the remaining dough.
• In a bowl, combine the sliced apples with the remaining sugar and the cinnamon. Place the apples into the pie crusts. Lay the slices of one quince on top of the apples of each pie. Roll out the 2 remaining balls into 10-inch circles for the top crusts and cover the apple mixture, pinching along the perimeter to seal the edge. With a sharp knife make 8 small cuts in the top crusts. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the middle of the oven until the crust is golden and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm with cheddar cheese.