Alton Brown's Pumpkin Pie

I confess, I have never tried pumpkin pie. The whole thing just doesn't sound delicious to me. That being said, C requests a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving every year. This year, Alton Brown featured pumpkin pie on his Thanksgiving special. I followed his instructions, but I did change his ginger snap crust to a standard pastry crust. C insists pumpkin pie be served with Cool Whip (blech!), but this year he had to settle for extra creamy Cool Whip since Kroger was sold out of the regular. Do they not realize it is Thanksgiving?

Pumpkin Pie

16 ounces Pumpkin Puree, approximately 2 cups, recipe follows
1 cup half-and-half
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinammon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 pie crust

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring the pumpkin puree to a simmer over medium heat in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the half-and-half, nutmeg, and salt. Stir and return the mixture to a simmer. Remove the pumpkin mixture from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

Whisk the brown sugar, eggs, and yolk until smooth in a large bowl. Add the pumpkin mixture and whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the prepared filling into a prepared pie crust and bake on the same half sheet pan until the center jiggles slightly but the sides of the filling are set, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack for at least 2 to 3 hours before slicing. Pie can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance. Pie is best the day after it is made.

Pumpkin Puree

2 pie pumpkins
kosher salt

Slice a small piece of skin off the one side of the pumpkin so when laid on its side, the pumpkin will lay flat without rolling. Remove the stem and split the pumpkin in half from top to bottom, using a large cleaver and a mallet. Scoop out the seeds and fiber with a large metal spoon or ice cream scoop. Cut the fibers with kitchen shears if necessary. Reserve seeds for another use.

Sprinkle the flesh with kosher salt and lay the halves, flesh side down, on a parchment paper-lined half sheet pan. Roast until a paring knife can be easily inserted and removed from the pumpkin, 30 to 45 minutes. Test in several places to ensure doneness.

Remove the half sheet pan to a cooling rack and cool the pumpkin for 1 hour. Using a large spoon, remove the roasted flesh of the pumpkin from the skin to the bowl of a food processor. Process until the flesh is smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

Adapted from Alton Brown

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