Mmmmmmm...Pie!

[roseland]

I don’t have it personally. I’m not the baker in the family. That title belonged to my Grandmother and has been passed down to a cousin and my younger sister. I can try and get it from them if you’d like. (Warning: They may not share. My grandmother’s pie crust recipe is possibly a heavily guarded secret but I’ll do my best.)

I also need to clarify that the requirement that pumpkin pie be homemade is only demanded for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. And that is the basic requirement for most of the dishes for holiday dinners. The only exception I can think of off the top of my head is that some people still insist on that canned cranberry sauce over homemade.

[angelaudie]

Normally, I'm Team Cake but I can appreciate a good pie. I'm not usually a snob about it. Good pie is good pie after all. Which brings me to the point of my post...

My mom is on a baking spree lately (it started way before the holidays). I don't mean following the back of the box baking either. She's tackling homemade baking for the first time and for the most part she's had success (she's become a cake snob). Anyway, she decided she was going to tackle pie for Thanksgiving and make a sweet potato pie. I love me some sweet potato pie so needless to say I was really looking forward to some homemade sweet potato pie. So we do turkey, stuffing, pea salad, and sweet potato casserole (because one can not have enough sweet potatoes) and it's time for PIE. I put a nice healthy helping of pie in my mouth and OMG?! WHAT THE HELL WENT WRONG?! The filling tasted like sweet potatoes with absolutely nothing in it. No cinnamon. No nutmeg. No cloves. No nothing. My mom could immediately tell something was off and asked me what was wrong. Only thing I could bring myself to say it tasted off. Turns out the recipe my mom used off pinterest didn't call for any of the "pumpkin spices" because she's a sweet potato purist (whatever that means). Recipe maker claims pie is supposed to taste like vanilla goodness but I fail to see how that will happen with a teaspoon of vanilla in at least 3 cups of sweet potatoes. It basically called for 1/2 brown sugar and a 1 tsp of vanilla to add flavoring. My poor mom isn't as familiar with sweet potato pie so she had no idea the recipe list alone should be a sign this pie would suck. She felt horrible and I had to assure her my annoyance is with pinterest lady and not her. I sprinkled pumpkin pie spice over my slice which improved it immensely. My mom has declared she will avoid any recipe that is labelled pure.

In closing, I'm really not a pie snob. I just want my pie to not be bland. I can't believe I'm still worked up over this days later.

[ratscabies]

Now THAT is a pie worth being horrified about!

[scarlet]

Nov 26, 2017 9:11:43 GMT -4 roseland said:

I also need to clarify that the requirement that pumpkin pie be homemade is only demanded for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. And that is the basic requirement for most of the dishes for holiday dinners. The only exception I can think of off the top of my head is that some people still insist on that canned cranberry sauce over homemade.

That's my Dad. I make the cranberry for Thanksgiving and I don't understand how he turns him nose up at my delicious, whole cranberry relish for that gelatinous goop from a can. The homemade is far, far superior.

[divasahm]

The only things I have to add to this discussion are:

1. If it weren't for Pillsbury's ready-made pie crusts, I doubt our family would even attempt pies any more; and

2. For non-holiday, "Gee, some pie would taste good..." moments, our family are big fans of Edwards' frozen Key lime pies. Nothing is better around bedtime on a hot summer night...

[azaleaqueen]

If you have a Village Inn nearby, their pies are quite good. A bit pricey though. If you go thereto eat on Wednesday, you can get a free slice.

[famvir]

I use the recipe for pumpkin pie on the back of the Libby’s pumpkin can, but replace the evaporated milk with heavy cream. You get a yummy pumpkin pie.

Chonies, it you are interested, I make 2nd day turkey soup that is majorly requested for Thanksgiving, more than any other thing actually made during Thanksgiving food. I make homemade egg noodles that are spaetzle like.

You make a stock with the entire turkey carcass.

As you can imagine, it makes a ton of soup (gallons).

[mrspickles]

Nov 26, 2017 13:54:13 GMT -4 famvir said:

I use the recipe for pumpkin pie on the back of the Libby’s pumpkin can, but replace the evaporated milk with heavy cream. You get a yummy pumpkin pie.

Chonies, it you are interested, I make 2nd day turkey soup that is majorly requested for Thanksgiving, more than any other thing actually made during Thanksgiving food. I make homemade egg noodles that are spaetzle like.

You make a stock with the entire turkey carcass.

As you can imagine, it makes a ton of soup (gallons).

How the hell big is your stock pot, for Pete's sake? Where do you store it?

#hellaimpressed

[chonies]

I already do that, famvir! I have four quarts of stock in the icebox right now, in big-ass mason jars, and another gallon or so in the freezer. And I have a giant stock pot*, so a 15 lb turkey's carcass fits just fine. I even simmer it overnight because of the aforementioned storage issue. I just hate getting all the meat off the bones before I put the carcass into the pot. This weekend, it simmered for about 12 hours. I don't do anything too fancy, just the veg that were inside the bird, with some fresh celery, apples, carrots and onions. I also used a pear cider for part of the basting liquid, but I don't know how much of that lingered.

Topic: I have an alarming volume of mashed potatoes, so I think I will make a shepherd's pie or similar sometime this week.

*I can't remember where I bought it, but it was either for the tamale phase of my life or the crawfish boil phase. In any case, it's very, very handy.

[famvir]

Why am I not surprised you are already a major stock potter, chonies....

Mrspickles, I used to use a canning pot, that thing holds a least 3 gallons. My current pot is about 2 gallons, but it curves in on the sides and has a lid, so all the condensation goes back in the pot. I usually do a 23 pound turkey, but if you pull it apart the whole thing will fit in, then cover with water, a few onions and some celery, and let it percolate for 4-6 hours.