Thirty Days of Thanksgiving - Day 16

Day 16. The Letter P for Pumpkin. 

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love pumpkin pie. It was one of my mom’s favorites, and she made yummy ones every Thanksgiving. I’m happy to say that today I still use her recipe – the one straight off the side of the Libby’s ® can. It’s smooth and rich, has just the right balance of spice that suits me, and with a dollop of whipped cream or Cool Whip ® on top, it’s just about perfection.

So today, I’m thankful for whoever the first person was who decided to cut the top off a pumpkin and was brave enough to scoop out that mess of stringy goo and slick seeds to find out what lay beyond. Perhaps the first pumpkins were roasted and served as a veggie, with a shake of salt and pepper. Or perhaps the meaty part was cut in chunks and thrown in some broth as part of an autumn soup. Pure conjecture here on my part. But it did make me wonder whether or not the harvest table at Plymouth Rock had pumpkin pie on that first Thanksgiving. The only thing I feel certain about is that in circa 1621 they didn’t have Cool Whip ®.

But I did a little investigating and found this article about what the probable menu was on that first Thanksgiving feast. The feast itself lasted three days, and I’m not in favor of reverting back to that. One day of being stuffed to the gills is enough.

More than likely they served deer and wildfowl (turkey perhaps?) but no bread-based stuffing. They may have used herbs or nuts to stuff the bird, however. And they laid the table with native fruits (yay for cranberries!) and local vegetables like leeks, carrots, and turnips. No mention of pumpkin. It’s a fascinating article so head on over there for a little history lesson.

For you today, though, my mom’s recipe for pumpkin pie – a la Libby’s.

LIBBY’S ® Famous Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 2 large eggs

• 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk

• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell

• Whipped cream (optional)

Directions 

MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

What are you looking forward to at Thanksgiving? Any special desserts or family recipes that you can't live without?

PS: Bonus: Libby's invented this recipe and started putting it on the side of the can in what year?