Celebrating Thanksgiving with Storey & Friends

Traditional pumpkin pie.

     I started cooking today. Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I thumb my way through one of my Moms recipe card folders in search of family favorites and with every page I scan, memories answer and my heart fills with gratitude.

     Truth be told Mom didn't look or need the recipe cards or cookbooks anymore on those pre- holiday cooking days as they had become part of her as naturally as the words that flowed from her lips. I was usually the one who would go in search of some new recipe to introduce in hopes it would become a regular holiday offering. But as in most families you have your Moms tried and true, traditional offerings and it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them. I can still here the cries of my brothers (and yes, even Me) if Mom dared contemplate trying a new turkey dressing. Usually she would then make hers and a small batch of the new recipe, which never went over well. For years she tried time and again to make her mothers sausage and rice dressing...it would sit sadly in its serving bowl at the end of the table virtually untouched.

     Thanksgiving growing up was always a much anticipated holiday.  It always saddens me now when I hear people bemoaning the family dinner as a trial.  When I was a young child early on Thanksgiving meant big 'Uncle Joe' was coming!
Uncle Joe was my father's friend. He was 6'5" tall, wore a size 17 shoe and his heart was as big as he was. He was Italian. His mother who had come over from the old country had babysat for my Dad when he was a kid. His mothers cooking was legendary.  He would arrive with bags of Italian grocery bags bearing cookies, candy, pasta, you name it including wooden glider airplanes and small toys for us.  And always a bright silver dollar for each of us kids was issued from his pockets.

     My mother would cook for days in preparation. We would all sit down, ohhing and ahhing over the abundant feast laid on the beautifully set table. At the end of dinner, which usually had at least four varieties of pies to chose from, the inevitable question would issue from moms lips..."so Joe, how was dinner?" All eyes and ears would be on Uncle Joe and we'd wait for it.  With a twinkle in his eye and a slight smile on his lips he would pause and always say "passable."  My Mom would roll her eyes and repeat "passable?" He would nod and repeat, "passable." Everyone would laugh. It became the family joke, all in fun. Then we would all bundle up and go out to the local tree farm to tag our Christmas tree.
   
     So yes, I still make Moms dressing, the broccoli casserole, butternut squash, and the fresh cranberry compote, and of course the turkey and gravy.  I just finished making her pie crust and its chilling in the refrigerator.  But, I thought let's try a new pumpkin pie filling this year...I'm not telling my brother!

     I came across this recipe in "500 Hundred Treasured Country Recipes" by
Martha Storey & Friends.  Storey Publishing, 2000.  A cookbook fittingly dedicated to the authors own mother. I trust this cookbook. I gleaned the best ever Chocolate Zucchini bread recipe from its pages years ago, one that people hide from each other so they don't have to share, lol! So let's try her Traditional Pumpkin Pie toted by her friend Gail Damerow the "pumpkin pie maven "as her absolute favorite."
   
Traditional Pumpkin Pie

2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
5 ounces evaporated milk
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 1/2 cups baked pumpkin
1/4 cup half & half
1 9" deep dish pie crust, unbaked

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl beat the eggs. Add sugar,          milk, cinnamon,  salt, ginger,  nutmeg and              water.
3. Place pumpkin and half & half in large bowl.
    Add the egg mixture, blend well.
4. Pour mixture into the pie shell and bake for          15 minutes. (You could also pour the batter
    Into 6 greased ramekins for a baked pudding.)
5. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to
    300 degrees and bake for 25 minutes more.            Filling should be firm except for a small.                circle in the center.

     My mom always signed her pies with a heart so I continue the tradition. Today's pie got a border crust of hearts with one in the center.

     Later when I was a teen and we lived in CT we would drive down to our Swedish cousins house for Thanksgiving. All the cousins, some from Long Island, would congregate around a large table.  The turkey would come out and it would be carved and the forks would be posed. The much anticipated prime piece to a Swede is the fatty turkey tail. With only one it could get competitive and comical. It never appealed to me personally. Fast forward 25 years and I was living in TX. Much to my surprise in the grocery store I came across an entire package of turkey tails! I couldn't resist as some of the  cousins were coming and with much aplomb I presented the platter of crispy tails at dinner. Happy surprised faces all around.

     So many Thanksgivings have come and gone. So many beloved family members and friends are now gone. So many turkey tails, side dishes, and pies have been consumed. So much laughter, so much conversation and so much love has been passed around our tables and so many memories made. Sharing a meal with family and friends is a precious gift no matter how many gather round your table. I invite them all in my heart to sit down and share in the festivities. I'm incredibly thankful for them all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Noel


11/28/2019
 
Best pumpkin pie ever! Silky, velvet like texture, light and perfect in my Moms pie crust. Enjoy!