I behaved myself today

Oh was that kitchen calling. More specifically, the oven. After yesterday's frolicking in the kitchen, I really wanted to do more. It was such a dreary and drizzly day, the oven just sang to me. "Bake something." "Bake something gooey!" "Bake something that is warm and comforting." And guess what. As hard as it was, I controlled that urge and continued with my sewing. I am almost finished! :-) I have one dress remaining to actually make, and then I am done with the actual sewing projects for the show! Yippee! I still have a lot of shopping to do, but other than minor alterations, it's almost time to put the sewing machine away. For a little while anyways. After this success, I am feeling a little adventurous, and I may attempt to make Abigail her Christmas dress this year, but we'll see about that.

Tomorrow our Company is bringing dinner, but I am thinking about trying a new pie. This one will be a bit of a leap for me. I am going to take a pumpkin pie and try to weave a ribbon of cranberry into it. I'm not sure how well that will work, with pumpkin being a slightly custardy pie, but I love pumpkin, and I love cranberries, it just seems to me that I would like that combo. If that doesn't work, I am thinking about attempting a pumpkin cheesecake that I can top with a spiced cranberry sauce. But we'll start with the pie. I need to get it perfected, because in two weeks I will be hosting the first of two Thanksgiving dinners. Our dear friend Dan will be home on leave for one week before deploying for Iraq. So we are going to give him and his family an early Thanksgiving dinenr together as a family. It will also be our way to send him off in the best way possible- with a belly full of love. :-) So until tomorrow, have a great night. And here is the pumpkin pie recipe that I plan to use as my base for the pumpkin cranberry concoction.


PUMPKIN PIE WITH SPICED WALNUT STREUSEL

1 Butter Pie Crust Dough disk
Streusel
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon minced crystallized ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Pumpkin filling
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown suga
r3 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sweetened whipped cream

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch deep-dish glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang under; crimp edges decoratively. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until edges begin to brown and crust is set, about 17 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until golden brown, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to rack. Maintain oven temperature.
For streusel: Mix flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg in medium bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Stir in nuts.
For pumpkin filling: Whisk pumpkin, 1 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in medium bowl. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Whisk in melted butter and vanilla. Pour into prepared crust.
Sprinkle streusel over filling. Bake pie until streusel is golden and filling is set, about 45 minutes. Cool on rack at least 2 hours. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Serve with sweetened whipped cream.
Makes 10 servings.
Bon AppétitNovember 2003