The trees don’t have to be all shades of orange, yellow, and red for me to crave pumpkin pie. After I graduated high school, my family moved to hot, humid Miami. I dreamed of returning north and consoled myself all summer by eating loads of pumpkin pies, like it was my job.
Yes, I freely admit my love of food. It seems that my standards of food categories and portion size are not exactly like everyone else’s; and that point was brought home to me by my agent who is working with me on a proposal for my next cookbook. I was considering including a pastrami-layered potato kugel, and I put it into the chapter on side dishes. She took one look at it and said, “Jamie, you misplaced this recipe. It should go into the chapter on mains.” It was an “aha!” moment. Hubby and I got a good kick out of it. “Oh, so that’s our problem? Eating ‘mains’ as ‘sides’!” And too many pies.
But I digress. Back to the pumpkin…
Luckily, it’s inherently not bad for you. A pumpkin has lots of fiber and vitamin A and it’s low in calories and fat. When I am feeling well-behaved, I make my pie using fat free milk (for my dairy rendition) or low-cal soy or almond milk (for my pareve rendition), a sugar substitute and NO crust. That’s when I let my responsible nature take over. Or I happened to get on the scale that day. I mean, how would I look if I downed an authentic pumpkin pie daily, like my vitamins? (This is not a question to be answered in “comments.”)
This special Pumpkin Pie with Caramel Whipped Cream that I dreamed up for you sits in a chocolate graham cracker cookie crust. You simply fold a few tablespoons of caramel into whipped “cream” and spread a generous layer on top of your pie before serving. Give me a call and I’ll come taste-test it for you.
WIN A TURKEY!! If you want to be in with a chance to win an Empire turkey for your Thanksgiving Feast, answer this question in the comments: What’s your pumpkin pie twist? Or do you prefer traditional? Contest closes 9 am Friday Nov 18 2011. But you can win a turkey every day this week – just check out the contest info post for more details. For full contest rules and information click here.
THIS TURKEY HAS BEEN GIVEN AWAY – LAST CHANCE TO WIN HERE!
Entrants must be aged 18 and over, and US Residents. By entering the contest you give JoyofKosher permission to share your email address with Empire Kosher.
and the winner is LILYBISCUIT7!
I prefer the traditional pumpkin pie
anissacoupons(at)hotmail(dot)com
I am definitely a traditional pumpkin pie person. I wouldn’t be opposed to twists in general, but on thanksgiving day I only want traditional pumpkin pie with cool whip on top.
i prefer pumpkin cheesecake YUM
make pumpkin cheesecake now, and made pumpkin fudge..kids are not crust people
I make the crust from scratch and double up on the spices.
I cut out leaves from extra pie crust and use around edges of my pie.
I love the traditional, light on the nutmeg.
I love traditional!
I love it simple and classic : ) maybe just some dough leaves on top but then of course lol when i eat it i top it with a yummy touch of whip cream 🙂
I usually stick to traditional, though I’d eat pretty much any kind of pumpkin pie!
I dont really like pumpkin pie made pareve, but i make some awesome pumpkin cranberry bars!
Traditional all the way! Everytime I mention a different spin on pumpkin pie to my husband- he says: Some other time you can make that, but on Thanksgiving I want a real pumpkin pie! That is his comfort food- reminds him of all the wonderful times spent with family during the holidays!
Never been a big fan of pumpkin pie, but my mother always made a mean apple pie – none better – and I GOT THE RECIPE!!!!!!!!!
That pie looks fantastic! I never thought of using a graham cracker crust like that one….I am going to try this! Thanks!
I make a no-egg parve pumpkin pie recipe. Very easy … just mix the ingredients in the food processor, pour into a pie shell, then bake: http://ohyoucook.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-recipes-pt-iii-no-egg.html
I prefer the traditional pumpkin pie.
I like traditional or sometimes a cheesecake pumpkin pie : )
We love a traditional pumpkin pie, but it’s really just something to sit under lots of homemade whipped cream!
Instead of pumpkin pie, I make a sweet potato pie. I steam fresh sweet potatoes and mash them by hand, and them combine it with yogurt and spices. Comes out great!
i like a strudel topping on mine
Sometimes we make our pumpkin pie from a whole pumpkin. So delicious!
sounds good. i make a vegan kosher pumpkin cheesecake which is my personal fave
My friend makes a vanilla pie without the crust and flavors it with pumpkin. The kids love it!
Sounds a little richer than what I like. Would have to try it, though, to truly decide.
I go for traditional
Oh, and this year we’re also doing an apple-quince pie
When we do milchig/veggie Thanksgiving it’s pumpkin cheesecake. When we serve turkey it’s mocha pecan pie.
To JudiJR – I’ve made a parve pumpkin pie – adding some margarine to soy milk, to approximate the fat content of heavy cream. But I bet that coconut milk or almond milk could be used, too.
I usually make a traditional pumpkin pie, but this year I think I’m going to top it with a spiced pecan topping, and if I have the time, a gingersnap crust.
Im a traditional girl all the way!