Better Than Pumpkin Pie

Recipe: Better Than Pumpkin Pie
Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/better-than-pumpkin-pie/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=better%20than%20pumpkin%20pie&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page
Time: 1 hour 20 total
Ease: 3
Taste: 10
Leftover Value: 10
Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

Not Pumpkin Pie, BETTER Than Pumpkin Pie!

I am not a pumpkin pie lover.  In fact, I can't remember the last Thanksgiving that I ate a slice of pumpkin pie.  I always find them to be too heavy and the consistency to be too thick that after one bite I've had my fill of pumpkin taste.  (Then it's on to the chocolate desserts...)

Therefore, I've never made a pumpkin pie before.  I hear that using real pumpkin to make it can be a bit of an ordeal.  The challenge of using a real pumpkin (rather than canned pumpkin) is the only thing that ever tempts me to try my hand at making pumpkin pie.

But now I don't have to.  My good friend, Amy, who I've known a bazillion years, has a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) membership.  This means that during certain months of the year she gets a share of the local farmers crops.  I'm pretty sure this is the most awesome thing in the world.  Whatever they have a lot of that week, she gets a lot of.  And when she gets a lot, I get to share in her bounty.  Did I mention that I love Amy?

She's brought over anything from kale to collard greens, from zucchini to cucumbers, from red kuri squash to this week's butternut squash.

Amy's mom, Wendy, who I also love very much, sent over a recipe to go with the butternut squash.  It's name: "Better than pumpkin pie" had me intrigued.  I had to make it immediately.

It was everything I have always wanted in a pumpkin pie.  Creamy and light, but not lacking any of the usual flavors of pumpkin pie.  The one exception was it doesn't use any pumpkin.  Not a lick of the orange beast.  As you might have guessed, the secret ingredient in this recipe is the butternut squash from Amy's CSA crop this week.

The squash was not very big, so I thought perhaps I wouldn't have enough for the one and a half cups that the recipe called for.  I was wrong.  It was absolutely perfect.

Peeling and chopping the squash up, on the other hand, was an interesting event, one I wish I had taken pictures of.  

After the squash was chopped, it boiled in water for a few minutes.  Then all the remaining ingredients needed to be blended together with the squash.

It wasn't until I poured my batter into the pre-made pie crust that I bought at Bottom Dollar Food just for this occasion that I remembered reading or hearing somewhere that pies like such should be placed on top of a baking sheet.  I remembered this tip when I tried to pick up the pie and the filling began to shake back and forth until it spilled drastically over the sides of the crust and onto my stove top burner.  (I guess I should mention here that I chose to do this on top of my stove....not a good life choice at all).

After the pie was placed on the baking sheet everything was coming up daisies.  It baked for 50 minutes and despite all that I spilled onto my stove top, the filling was perfect.

I am definitely adding this to my desserts to make for Thanksgiving breakfast*.

 
*I just realized, I've never written about Thanksgiving breakfast.  Look for it around Turkey Day.  You won't want to miss it.