The Great Pumpkin Experiment of 2011

It started out small. 

For several years, I have been tempted to make a pumpkin pie from a fresh pumpkin rather than from canned pumpkin.  I'm always too busy when the pie pumpkins show up in stores, so I think, "Maybe next year."

The fall of 2010 was as busy as ever for our family when the pie pumpkins appeared in the produce aisle.  Resolutely, I made my decision.  Busy or not, this would be the year.  Into my cart went a cute, perfectly round little pumpkin. 

At home, my pumpkin looked picturesque among the jack-o-lantern pumpkins on a bale of straw at the front door.  The red leaves of the nearby Japanese maple tree were a brilliant backdrop for my fall display. 

Halloween came and went.  The jack-o-lanterns were quickly decomposing in the compost pile, the leaves had fallen off the Japanese maple, and my little pie pumpkin looked rather lonely on the front porch. 

Then, suddenly, it wasn't so lonely anymore.  All over our neighborhood, folks were putting their pumpkins by the curb to make room for the Christmas decorations.  My husband thought all these would be great fodder for his compost pile, so he took our two youngest out to rescue about twenty-five pumpkins from a humiliating trip to the landfill in a garbage truck.  When they returned, I couldn't help but notice that several  looked like pie pumpkins.  I set those on my straw bale with the original.  I decided to see what kind of pumpkin pie could be made out of a larger jack-o-lantern type pumpkin, so I took one of those, too.

Thanksgiving came and went.  Snow was predicted.  Worse yet, the weatherman said an Arctic blast would follow the snow.  I couldn't put it off any longer.  As snow fell outside on Saturday, I began the process of making pumpkin puree.  It was supposed to be a small little side job, but it took me all day. 

When all was said and done, I had 29 cups of pumpkin puree.  My already-full freezers are now bulging with the addition of the puree, neatly boxed into 2-scant-cup portions.  What to do with it all?  Embark on a quest to develop the best possible pumpkin pie, of course.  With that goal in mind, I hereby announce the CommonSenseMom's Great Pumpkin Experiment of 2011. 

Actually it will be 2010/2011 as the experiment has already begun.  The baseline standard will be the pumpkin pie I made for Thanksgiving. Delish!  It was made with canned Libby's pumpkin using the recipe on the can.  The crust was the tried-and-true crust from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.  Can I make wonderful even better?  We shall find out.

I figure I will need to make a pie about every 2-3 weeks during the winter, spring, and fall months...14 pies in all.  I have many ideas bubbling around in my brain of tweaks to try.  I'll use one tweak at a time so we can fairly judge the results. 

Follow the Great Pumpkin Experiment of 2011 here:
http://www.commonsensemom.net/search/label/Pumpkin Experiment