Guest Post - Fiona from The Corner Of The Internet That I Call Home

We are about to start off another round of guest posts with Fiona from The Corner Of The Internet That I Call Home. 
Fiona is a fellow Londoner, but only for a little while longer... She and her husband (they are a brand-new married couple, I'll have you know) will emigrate to Australia soon. Excellent for her, but I am sad to be losing a blogging buddy to a different continent.
I don't know how Fiona knew that pumpkin pie was one of my favourite fall foods ever since I lived in the States, but I am glad she decided to devote a whole post to this orange delicacy. Be prepared to salivate!
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Operation Pumpkin Pie

Hello there! I’m Fiona, very happy and honoured to be guest posting here for Annika. I’m insanely jealous of her off in Canada, which must be beautiful right now!  I’m a big fan of autumn. Perhaps because my birthday is in autumn so I’ve always loved it, but as I’ve grown older I love the colours, the crispness, the excuse to wear layers upon layers of gorgeous knitwear, and of course…the food! Sitting in our flat with a cup of hot chocolate or a bowl of stew… perfect!

My aim this autumn is to master pumpkin pie.  As a Brit, pumpkin pie is a strange phenomenon to me. To be honest, up until a few weeks ago I wasn’t 100% sure if the dish counts as sweet or savoury! However, I have made this my goal, and I won’t be defeated.

I made my first pumpkin pie just over a week ago, and so I thought I’d share this attempt, the recipe, and some of the lessons I’ve learned in my endeavours.

Fiona’s Pumpkin Pie Mark 1 {Rich & Rustic}

My first pumpkin pie recipe was derived from the Moosewood Cookbook and Joy of Baking. 

To make the pumpkin puree, roast two halves of pumpkins in the oven for about 50 minutes.  This gives you plenty of time to make and chill the pastry.  It’s a basic shortcrust pastry although I used brown sugar (we never seem to have white sugar in the house!)

I opted for a pecan and gingersnap layer, as I didn’t have that much faith in my pastry and didn’t want the final pie to be too wet.  This requires toasting the pecans briefly then crushing them and the gingersnaps into little crumbs.  I have a brilliant tool that I use for this…his name is Liam, and his arms are significantly better than mine.  This then lines the pastry, and the whole thing sits in the fridge (atop your champagne bottles) until you’ve completed the filling.

I don’t own a blender, so I was forced to choose a rustic-styled pie, where the pumpkin pulp wasn’t blended into a uniform puree.  Scooping the pulp from the skins, I then added cream, sugar, spices, and of course, the ingredient I rarely cook without… rum.

The Joy of Baking site is particularly straightforward if you’re thinking of trying the recipe for yourself.  Likewise, I swear by the Moosewood Cookbook, and you can often find some cheap secondhand copies on Amazon.

And here’s the finished product.  She’s not a looker, but she tasted great!

Lessons Learned:

·         I didn’t use enough pastry, and it was a little thin at the bottom… I’ll scale up the pastry recipe next time.

·         The pecan-gingersnap layer was perfect – it added a little texture to it, and really tasted brilliant. 

    Not blending the pumpkin wasn’t a big problem.  Once the pumpkin cooks, it becomes relatively uniform anyway, so while it makes the top a bit bumpier, it doesn’t detract from the texture of the pie filling.

If anyone reading this has any foolproof pumpkin pie tactics or secrets, please do share – I’d love to have a perfected recipe to share with my friends for my birthday at the end of October, so please do give me any hints you might have!

Annika, thank you very much for having me here in your lovely space.  It was an honour to guest post, and I hope you’re having a wonderful time in Canada.

Fiona x

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And? Are you writing your pumpkin pie shopping list already? I thought Fiona's first attempt looked delicious! I know I will enjoy reading more about her quest for the perfect pie on The Corner.... Maybe she will make me one as a goodbye present??? 

Fiona, thank you so much for sharing this with us, and for the yummy pictures! If you would like to compliment this girl on her cooking skills, please do so on her blog. And you might also want to check out in what other ways her creativity manifests and have a look at a wedding-related project of hers...

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