Leo's noodles went together without a hitch. Here he is cutting
and hanging them
So far, so good.
But my crusts were a different story. Remember how I told you not to worry if you had to put them together like a jigsaw puzzle? Well, both of mine were jigsaw puzzles...
Here's the bottom crust of the IGTMT...
That's not too bad, right? After all, I told you it might be a jigsaw puzzle. Here's the top...
It looks messier, but it wasn't. Here is the way it came out of the oven. I think it looks like a Jackson Pollack, very rustic, very modern... There's something truthful about it, as though the baker had grown beyond worrying about it.
And, in spite of it all, it was really quite delicious. I think.
The real surprise is the regular crust for the pumpkin pie.
It would not. hold. together. I had to patch it and form it just like the cookie crust dough of the IGTMT. Which is NOT all right. You ruin the flakiness when you press it. But no matter, it, too, was good. I used Edna Lewis's recipe for pumpkin pie, using a heritage long pumpkin for the... well, you know, pumpkin. It has some bourbon in it, I believe, and I used... surprise... surprise...bourbon. And it calls for evaporated milk, which is a common ingredient of southern, turn of the century, early 20th century, recipes. But since I didn't have any, after a day's worth of interrupted thought about it, I used coconut milk. It was dense, but I think it always is, and very sweet! But then so was the IGTMT. Must be my tastebuds. This is how they looked when done. I decorated each with a single red oak leaf.
I love Thanksgiving, our wonderful secular holiday in stick season. I love the muted colors of the sticks and the old leaves, the mauves and grays multiplied now. I love the murmuring voices of Thanksgivings past. Happy Thanksgiving season, everyone.
4 comments:
I LOVE the hanging noodles, and all the recipes pasted to the inside of the cabinet! Is that simply a dishtowel rack?
You see, Sharon, if you baked pies weekly your piecrusts would always turn out picture-perfect. But who wants perfection, and who wants a weekly pie? (Okay, in stick season, you can spin it up a bit, like--for us--turkey pot pie!)
happy feast!
Actually it's three long, singed chopsticks. And yes, my common recipes. Inside the cab door.
It was the lard -- personally rendered, too much liquid left in it. That happened to me last time, too.
Imperfection keeps us grounded. Your pies look like works of love. Would love to share another meal with you.
Penny, Can't think of anything I'd like more than to share another meal with you and David. Cooking together is one of my joys.
BTW, I just made an apple pie using a different batch of lard (with the butter) and the crust came out beautifully.
And i wonder if either of you have ever made pasties, with a suet crust? I know David has some familial interest in them, Penny. They are delicious.
Post a Comment