Ciao friends,
Well, here I am a day late and a dollar short, as it were. In actual fact, I’ve been quite swamped with my other work (I moonlight as a voice actor), which can get a little dicey when you come down with an unexpected cold, which is another thing I did last week. Moving forward, I’m going to be switching to a bi-weekly release schedule to accommodate my work and other creative projects.
This week, I have some thoughts on the challenges of creating classic American autumnal treats without certain key ingredients. If you live outside the US, I hope you find it useful. If you’re still back in the states, I hope you find it entertaining!
Pumpkin pie recipe at the end (including my SECRET INGREDIENTS, which I have never before shared!).
Probably one of the best— and also least convenient— things about living in Italy is the lack of the range of pre-prepared ‘food’ items so commonly found in American grocery stores.
Before I moved here, I’d prided myself on cooking mainly from scratch, especially dessert items. In fact, once or twice before I’d even made pumpkin pie straight from the pumpkin, which at the time I’d felt merited some sort of minor award, or at least a more significant number of likes on Instagram.
I now laugh at my naivete: what a sweet summer child I’d been, for when I went to the grocery store here in Turin to pick up some ingredients for my favorite pie, I failed to find not only canned pumpkin, but condensed milk and pie crust as well. Then, when I went to get the ingredients for pie crust, a distinct lack of shortening became apparent.
Fortunately, I am possessed of an inordinate amount of curiosity in addition to a determination to share my favorite holiday treats with new friends who have never tried them. Although I knew it was possible to create pumpkin pie using only milk or cream, I personally find condensed milk to be a showstopper ingredient.
Naturally, I decided I had to try to make all of these ingredients from scratch. After all, someone had originally invented them, right? And pie crust was often made with only butter, right? And the hardest part of making the pie from fresh pumpkin was actually cutting open the pumpkin itself (once we’d managed to source the right kind of pumpkin after visiting several stores and markets), right? No problem.
That was how Adam discovered me on Saturday evening, hands slick with stringy pumpkin goo, milk boiled over onto the stovetop, ice melting all over the counter as I tried to figure out how much kneading was too much kneading when it came to crust consistency. All of this— myself, the kitchen, the cat— covered with a fine dusting of flour, of course. I felt like Dr. Frankenstein assembling his monster: a little of this, a little of that— I wish I had this, but only have that, but it’ll do in a pinch! My new creation began to take shape.
Being that pumpkin pie is far more delicious if it has at least several hours for all of the ingredients to settle in and get know each other after baking, my hope was to create a classic pumpkin pie to bring to our friend Sebastiano’s for dinner the following evening, even if I didn’t have all of the exact right ingredients.
Sebastiano, you see, had never tasted pumpkin pie as it is not a thing in Italy at all.
I have mentioned before that I have some trepidation in cooking for Italians (see last week's essay for more on that). Naturally, any form of Italian food is definitely out of the question to prepare. But beyond that, it actually feels somewhat safer to make something really distinctive— my go to is Nashville Hot Chicken— because if they don’t like it, at least it’s a cultural experience for them.
Still, I was moderately nervous bringing the pumpkin pie to Sebastiano. A man of few words, he is nevertheless a person of excellent taste and opinions about food and wine. Realizing that pumpkin pie isn’t always a favorite even with people who grew up with it, I wondered if it was even possible for a person to enjoy something that is so very different from other, sweeter pies.
My anxiety worsened as we discussed the star ingredient upon arrival.
”I don’t usually like zucca,” Sebastiano said as he began creating the dough for our pizzas, though I don’t think he made the connection between the abstract concept of pumpkin in general and the dessert I’d plopped onto his kitchen counter. “The texture… Actually, in Lombardy they make a ravioli stuffed with pumpkin that I like quite a lot.”
I gulped slightly and crossed my fingers that my pie would hit a similar note, or at least that I wouldn’t lose our friend’s respect if he didn’t end up liking the pie.
It was finally time to put it to the test. Sebastiano had boiled tea and we were relaxing in a comfortable silence at his kitchen table, the shadows slowly growing longer as we waited for the pizza dough to rise. He pulled out some small china plates and crystal wine glasses as I cut three pieces of pie for myself, Adam, and Sebastiano.
I tried not to wait with bated breath as he took his first bite. He chewed, swallowed, and nodded.
“Bene,” he said simply by way of judgment. Good.
As I said, a man of few words— but he finished the slice so eagerly, I knew that he meant it.
It’s a pie, it’s a piiiiiie! I thought to myself cheekily. With Sebastiano’s endorsement, I was finally able to fully enjoy the fruits of my mad kitchen scientist labor and we happily discussed the merits of more savory, spicy desserts.
Just call me Dotoressa Frankenstein.
Ashlinn’s “As From Scratch As One Can Get Without Raising a Cow and Growing the Pumpkin Personally” Pumpkin Pie
Crust
2.5 cups flour
1 cup butter (frozen)
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup water (ice cold)
I grate the butter frozen to make it easier to work into the dough.
Combine butter and flour gently. There should be obvious chunks of butter.
Add egg yolks and water 1 tbsp at a time. Make sure the water is ice cold.
The dough is ready when it all sticks together. Do not overknead.
Ball up the dough, cover in plastic wrap, and put in the fridge for several hours, or preferably overnight.
Filling
Baked Pumpkin
1 ‘sugar’ pumpkin
Cut the pumpkin in half and remove all of the seeds and the stringy pulp.
Bake cut side down at 350 F for about an hour but up to 1.5 hours: the skin should be starting to peel back, and a fork should easily slide through the flesh.
Condensed Milk
2 cups whole milk
1/2 - 3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
Vanilla
Simmer milk and sugar on low for up to 1 hour, until the volume of the milk has approximately halved.
Take off heat, stir in butter and a tiny bit of vanilla extract.
Let cool to thicken.
The Pie
2 cups of freshly baked pumpkin
1 cup of condensed milk
Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger as you prefer (I do about 2 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp of nutmeg & ginger)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
Dash of cream
Pie crust
1/4 cup frozen butter
Ashlinn’s Top Secret Ingredients: ~1 tsp lemon zest, ~1 tbsp almond extract
Mix the baked pumpkin, condensed milk, sugar, spices, & salt with a hand immersion blender until well combined.
Taste and adjust seasonings to your taste: more ginger will give you a spicier pie! You can also add cardamom, allspice, or cloves. You can also add Ashlinn’s Secret Ingredients at this point: I find the zest makes the flavor pop, and the almond extract gives a wonderful depth and complexity to the pie.
Add eggs and egg yolk and blend until combined. You can add a dash of cream at this point as well for extra richness.
Roll out your pie crust— crust should be COLD from the fridge— and place into pie tin.
Grate frozen butter onto the cold crust.
Fill with pie filling.
Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 for 30-60 more minutes (for me this varies widely depend on what oven I’m using. 45 minutes is a safe bet).
To test doneness, put a toothpick in the center: it should come out clean, but the center should jiggle a bit when you move it as the pie continues to set further after you remove it. You want to avoid burned bits on the top!
Vanilla Whipped Cream
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup vanilla powdered sugar
Pour heavy cream into a large bowl with vanilla powdered sugar. Whisk until desired whipped cream consistency, about 2-3 minutes if using an electric mixer.
BONUS RECIPE
Baked Pumpkin Seeds
Take the pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin you just cut up and dry them off as best you can. Cover them in a small amount of olive oil, and season as desired. I personally enjoy garlic powder, paprika, and salt, but you can use the same pie seasonings as well!
Bake at 425 F for about 12 minutes, or until they seem slightly toasty.
Note: I like to stick these in the oven after I bake the pumpkin but before I begin assembling the pie ingredients, as it utilizes the warm oven!
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Ciao for now!
x ash