How I Met “Bourbon Pumpkin Pie” (published in TLV #168 on November 8, 2012) #TBT

It was a Friday after payday. I entered the kitchen of my second home, that of my BFF Shannon and her now-husband (also my cousin), Michael. For a few years our dinner arrangement was sort of communal—one of us cooking, one doing dishes, one doing nothing, etc. On this particular payday, my swag included a pretty “pie” pumpkin which weighed about four or five pounds.

I held my pumpkin up proudly and Shannon asked, “What the hell are you gonna do with that?” My answer, simply, “Pie.”

I picked up Michael’s copy of the first Bell’s Best cookbook because it’s been my Momma’s go-to cookbook as long as I can remember (well, it was published in 1981, the year I was born). I flipped through the strangely organized index for a pumpkin pie recipe and found only “Pumpkin Pie, Bourbon.” Ding-ding-ding! A bell went off in my brain and I remembered I had purchased a pint of Southern Comfort from my third and fourth grade teacher for weekend enjoyment. Although SoCo doesn’t really count as bourbon (though it once did and won the gold medal at the 1904 World’s Fair for its superior taste), I knew it would work just fine in pie.

I checked the well-stocked pantry and fridge, and everything I needed was already on a shelf or in my Marketplace bags. The tiny sticker on the pumpkin gave me a crash course in roasting this large squash, information I share with you here. I followed the following recipe…mostly. I recall adding an extra tablespoon of Southern Comfort (“because it’s not really bourbon”), and the three teaspoons of spices were slightly different in my pie—there was no mace in the pantry and probably no ginger. Also, we had no “pumpkin pie spice” but it contains cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice, and it would have been tasty in place of all the spices in the recipe.

My particular pumpkin yielded two tasty, traditional pies. The Southern Comfort’s flavors of fruit and spice added more complex flavors to the spices called for in the recipe, and the freshly roasted pumpkin just made the pie. Prepare to make several pies if your pumpkin is larger than my four-five pounder. One and a half cups of flesh per pie isn’t a lot, so you might want to buy more than a two-pack of pie shells (or make your own).

This is the point at which I must address canned pumpkin: use it if you want, or must, but know that it’s inferior in practically every way. I’m not really a food snob, I’ve formed the opinion through experience that the consistency, nutritional value, and taste of a pumpkin roasted in my own oven is far superior to that eerie orange glob from a can.

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Roasting a Pumpkin:

What you will need: pumpkin, cutting board, sharp knife, spoon, fork, large baking dish (at least 1” tall sides), strainer, patience

First, there are jack-o-lantern pumpkins and pie pumpkins. You want a pie pumpkin, three to five pounds. They’re smaller and sweeter than jack-o-lantern varieties and have fewer seeds and thicker walls, meaning more flesh for pie. Jack-o-lantern pumpkins are bigger and stringier.

Wash the squash. You’d be surprised how many people skip this step. Cut the sucker in half—easiest not to try to cut through the stem. Please don’t try this after a six-pack or with a dull knife. Be diligent about keeping your digits.

Scoop out the seeds and strings, leaving only the flesh inside. You can save the seeds to roast later, but you’ll have to find instructions for that elsewhere.
Place cut-side down in baking dish. Fill dish with water until ¼” deep.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Check tenderness after 45 minutes—when cooked, the skin should easily indent when poked with finger, and flesh should be tender all the way through when tested with fork. If not ready, return pan to oven until done—check every 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and scoop out flesh, being careful to discard all the bits of skin. Place the flesh into a sieve, strainer, or colander with cheesecloth, and let excess water drain off. This step keeps your pie from being watery—very important. Stir it around in the strainer every few minutes, and remove when it no longer drips.

Puree using food processor (best results), hand mixer (decent results), or potato masher (will do in a pinch). Use in pumpkin pie, muffins, cookies…whatever.

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Bourbon Pumpkin Pie

1½ c. pumpkin pulp
2 T. melted butter
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ginger
¼ t. EACH: allspice, cloves, mace, nutmeg
3 T. bourbon (or more to taste)
½ c. white sugar
½ c. dark brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1 T. lemon juice
1 c. milk
2 eggs
2 T. all-purpose flour
2 – 9” unbaked pie shells (ingredients above will fill ONE pie shell, but your pumpkin will probably yield enough flesh for TWO pies)