A Traditional Farm Life - MeeMaw’s Pumpkin Pie
By Shasta Hamilton
Greetings from Enterprise, dear
friends! Have you ever watched a boy
make pumpkin pie? I had the privilege of
doing so this morning.
As I write it is the Wednesday
before Thanksgiving, and this year we are baking the pies a day ahead. (Last year, they took longer than expected
Thanksgiving morning, making us late to the big Hamilton gathering. After my husband received repeated hints
regarding the correct time to arrive this year, I decided arriving on time with
day-old pie was a win-win situation.)
We will be taking seven pies
tomorrow: three pumpkin, two apple, and
two cherry. When finalizing this over
the phone with my mother-in-law, she commented, “You have MeeMaw’s pumpkin pie
recipe, right? She made the best
pumpkin pies.”
My ears perked up, as I did not
have this treasured family recipe in my recipe box. MeeMaw was my husband’s beloved maternal
grandmother, so I had my pen and paper ready when my mother-in-law came back to
the phone—with an time-worn label from a can of Libby’s pumpkin, marked
“MeeMaw.” I transcribed the recipe over
the phone and made a mental note to buy a can of Libby’s and compare.
As my 12-year-old son’s favorite
pie just happens to be pumpkin, he quickly volunteered this morning to help
make the pies.
We used MeeMaw’s method (hers was
slightly different from today’s Libby’s label) when preparing the pie filling,
mixing ingredients in the order listed.
We got out our largest stainless steel bowl and a whisk, and got
started.
Because we had found earlier this
week on a pumpkin pie trial in the Test Kitchen that this pie recipe makes more
than our 9-inch pie pan could hold, we decided probably two 8-inch pans would
be about right. With this advance
knowledge, we doubled the recipe for three 9-inch pies.
First came beating the eggs. My son asked, “Do I beat them like scrambled
eggs?”
“Yes,” I replied.
Next thing I knew the whisk was
vigorously circling the bowl, and the eggs were lemon-colored in a matter of
seconds.
As I turned to get the sugar from
the cabinet, I directed, “Go ahead and add the pumpkin.”
I turned just in time to see him
give the can a hard shake to release the pumpkin—from about three feet above
the mixing bowl. The resulting splash of
lemon-colored eggs up and out of the sides of the bowl is permanently etched in
my memory.
The mess wasn’t nearly as bad as I
feared, so we pushed on and added the sugar, salt, ground cinnamon and
ginger. After that was vigorously
whisked, it was time to add the evaporated milk.
I got out the can opener and
directed him to punch a hole in each side, one for the pouring of the milk, and
the other to release the vacuum. It was
a teaching moment, as his first pouring hole was too small to allow much to
come out. After it was enlarged, he lifted the can up and down—with a big grin
and a playful look in his eyes--as the milk now flowed freely into the pumpkin
mixture.
Taking no chances with
Thanksgiving’s pumpkin pies, I divided the filling evenly between the three
prepared pie shells. It filled them
perfectly—just full enough to carry them on their baking sheets to the oven
without causing them to spill over the sides of the nicely fluted edges.
We followed the baking time as
directed, switching baking pans top for bottom around halfway through.
All in all, we’re looking forward
to a day full of food and family tomorrow.
There’s a chance, however, that my growing boys may be putting slightly
greater emphasis on the former. As we were
preparing the pies this morning, my “bottomless pit” boy helper tentatively
asked, “What’s my pie limit at Thanksgiving?”
MeeMaw’s Pumpkin Pie
2 eggs
1 can (15 oz.) Libby’s pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
1 can (12 oz.) Carnation evaporated
milk
unbaked pastry for 2
(8-inch) single
crust pies, or 1 (9-inch, 4-cup
volume) crust
1. Preheat oven to
425 degrees. Place pastry-lined pie pans
on baking sheet.
2. Combine filling
ingredients in order listed: Beat eggs,
mix in pumpkin. Add sugar, salt and spices; mix well. Slowly whisk in evaporated milk.
3. Divide filling
between the two pans; carefully place in oven on rack near bottom to ensure a
crisp bottom crust.
4. Bake 15 minutes;
reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake an
additional 40 to 50 minutes or until thin-bladed steak knife inserted near
center comes out clean.
Yield: 2 (8-inch) pies.
Copyright © 2015 by Shasta Hamilton
Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing in
Enterprise, Kansas. She and her husband
own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six home-schooled
children. You can reach The Buggy Stop
by calling (785) 200-6385 or visit them on the web at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com.
