A Tale of 2 Pies - Honey Butternut Pie

Our tale of two pies continues with -- Honey Butternut Pie, Also known as Good Ol' Pumpkin Pie (I don't think I have every used an 'actual pumpkin' to make pumpkin pie) This is extremely simple and only dirties the food processor bowl, unlike the Mapled Butternut Chiffon Pie in the previous post.

One of the things my dad likes to do with his Pâte Brisée, is to exchange 1/2 of the total Flour (the total being 1 1/2 cups) for Spelt Flour (3/4 cup). He doesn't use the cake flour like I usually do. Spelt is lower in gluten, just like cake flour, so it has the same effect of tenderizing the pastry, but adds that subtle 'nutty' flavor, which is great for this particular pie, as well as apple pie, rhubarb pie, pecan pie and any sort of savory pie. I think I will be filing this factoid away for future reference.

Honey Butternut Pie

(AKA: Pumpkin Pie)

1/2 recipe of Pâte Brisée in a 9 inch pie plate
2 cups of Butternut squash
1/4 cup Orange Blossom Honey
1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Mace
1/8 tsp Ground Ginger
1/8 tsp Ground Clove
2 eggs
1/2 cup Heavy Cream

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
Make 1/2 recipe of Pâte Brisée (using spelt if you like)and line a 9 inch Pie plate.

Retrieve your food processor with blade attachment;
Add Squash, Dark Brown Sugar, Salt, Honey; process until smooth;

Add the Spices and process some more.

Add 1 egg at a time, processing between each. (you can crack them through the feeding tube)

With open feeding tube, slowly pour in 1/2 cup of heavy cream.

When well blended, stop food processor and pour squash custard into the pie shell.

Bake at 325 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until the center still jiggles a little bit (Remember, this is a custard pie, you do not want to over-cook it or it will be dry and it will crack)

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack until room temperature is achieved, then move to the refrigerator.

Serve with Whipped Cream.... Lots and LOTS of Whipped Cream... ;)

Mangia!!
~~

P.S. Sadly, this will be my last post until Friday after Thanksgiving. Lot's of prep work for the Dungeness Crab Stuffed Peperoncini, Artichoke Wonton Cups, Prosciutto Wrapped Sweet Potatoes, Truffled Goat Cheese & Pancetta Salad and the Waldorf Salad while settin up the Deep Fryer for the Turkey (Gotta dunk the turkey with water in the pot to measure a safe level fro the Peanut Oil)

All y'all have a blessedly Happy Thanksgiving!!!

A Tale of 2 Pies - Mapled Butternut Chiffon Pie

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...... (not really but that is how the opening goes)
-- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Sure it doesn't make a whole lotta sense, but it went with the title, so I put it in anyway.

This is the story of 2 pies and 1 Butternut squash, that came from my dad's garden this year (It was Jarmungous). So my dad peeled, seeded, cubed and steamed it all up, then mashed it with a fork. There was plenty for 2 "pumpkin" pies. So in the interest of having a variety of pies for the "Big Day" my dad made our family's traditional Honey Butternut Pie in the food processor and I made a Mapled Butternut Chiffon Pie.

The only real difference between these 2 recipes is the crust, 1 egg, Maple Syrup and the method of putting everything together (which required Gelatin for the Chiffon). But it created 2 very different pies.

I made the 10 Grain Crust last night so it would have at least 12 hours in the refrigerator to get nice and cold before adding the filling today.

Mapled Butternut Chiffon Pie

1 10-inch 10 Grain Crust
2 Cups Butternut Squash
1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
3 large Eggs, Separated
1/4 cup Grade B Maple Syrup
2 1/4 tsp unflavored Gelatin
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Mace
1/8 tsp ground Ginger
1/8 tsp Clove
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup Heavy Cream (this should yield about 1 1/2 cups of whipped cream)

In the bowl of a food processor, combine Butternut squash, Dark Brown sugar, and Egg Yolks...

processing until smooth.

In a small bowl combine Maple Syrup, Gelatin, Spices and Salt;

In the top of a double boiler (bain-marie) over medium heat, combine the Squash mixture and Maple syrup mixture.

Stirring constantly, cook over, but not in the simmering water until the mixture begins thickening or the temperature reaches 155 degrees; Remove from bath and pour into a clean bowl to stop the cooking process; cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool to room temp, then refrigerate for 3 hours.



Prepare a Swiss meringue by whisking the Egg Whites with 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar over simmering water until they reach 140 F degrees.

Then remove the bowl from the heat and continue beating until the egg whites reach stiff peaks.

Remove squash custard from refrigerator and break up the mass with a whisk, then grab a big spatula.

In a well chilled bowl whip heavy cream until stiff.

Fold Swiss Meringue into the squash mixture,

followed by the whipped cream;

Fill the pie shell and refrigerate until fully set.

Yes, this recipe uses a lot of bowls. ;) But it is deliciously light and fluffy and well worth the extra load in the dishwasher. LOL If you would prefer to only dirty the food processor bowl, check out my dad's Honey Butternut Pie.

Mangia!!
~~