All sorts of things including two pies
Friends -- I had so much fun meeting so many of you in the past few weeks! Thank you, all of you, who came out to see me on my tour for The Proposal, and thanks to all of you who bought it and read it and checked it out from your library and reviewed it on Amazon and Goodreads, it's all so so helpful! And speaking of Goodreads, The Wedding Date is now a finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards in Romance, and I'd be honored if you voted for it. And if you missed me on my book tour, The Proposal is the Target Diverse Book Club pick for November, so there are signed copies in Target stores all over the country, go look for it as you do your pre- or post-Thanksgiving shopping! And if anyone wants a personalized signed copy of either of my books for a holiday gift (or just for yourself!) you can always call my local bookstore, East Bay Booksellers in Oakland, and order from them, and I'll go down there and sign it for you and they'll send it off.
As you may or may not know, we're having a bit of apocalypse situation here in the Bay Area. Because of the horrible Camp Fire, the air quality right now is somewhere in the upper 200s or lower 300s, which is in the hazardous range. There are also a lot of people who are homeless and sleep outside in the Bay Area, and this Twitter account is buying masks to give out to them. And here are a few of the ways to help the victims of the Camp Fire: the California Community Foundation, the North Valley Community Foundation, the California Fire Foundation, and Caring Choices. The devastation from these fires is unimaginable, and your donation of any amount of money can help.
This is likely a completely unnecessary book recommendation, but I'm going to do it anyway. I started Becoming, by Michelle Obama, on Wednesday night, and it's such a great read. Most political memoirs are neither interesting nor absorbing, but this one manages to be both. A brief story she told about her parents already made me cry, and it's so relatable without pretense. And the thing I keep thinking while I read it, even in the midst of this climate change disaster, and the current president, who is a stain upon America, is this: no one can take the Obamas away from us. We had them, for eight years. We still have them. No matter what, these two incredible people and their family lived in the White House and modeled their excellence and their grace and their blackness to America and the world. We will always have them.
And if you are anywhere near Washington D.C., go see their portraits in the National Portrait Gallery. I was surprised at how emotional they made me, and Barack Obama's portrait is especially incredible in person.
As unimaginable as it is, Thanksgiving is next week, you guys! As always at this time of year, I'm starting to see pumpkin pie vs. sweet potato pie arguments, and I am here to settle those arguments: have both pies! I love them both, there's no need to choose! And I am here to give you my favorite recipes for both pies, because I love you and want you to have a pie filled Thanksgiving. First, my favorite pie dough comes from this old newsletter, so go find it there. Second, this Serious Eats piece about blind baking pie dough changed my pie dough life, especially the part about using SUGAR as a pie weight -- it's so much easier, you can just pour the sugar back into a canister when you're done, and it makes everything work so much better! Third, if you're going to purchase a pie dough, I've had very good luck with the Trader Joe's frozen pie dough, if you're near one of those stores.
Okay to the recipes. The pumpkin pie recipe is originally from Flour bakery, and the sweet potato pie recipe is originally from Saveur magazine. I've tinkered with them both some and added some clarifications based on a few years of making both.
Pumpkin Pie
Pie crust for a 9 inch pie
One 15 ounce can pumpkin puree*
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sweetneed condensed milk
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
*The Flour recipe calls for a 16 ounce can, but pumpkin puree almost always comes in 15 ounce cans or 29 ounce cans and not even I am going to measure out 16 ounces from a 29 ounce can. The 15 ounce can is fine.
Make, refrigerate, roll out, and parbake the dough as directed in the recipe above and in the Serious Eats article. Set aside to cool. Turn your oven to 350 degrees F, if it isn't already there.
In a medium saucepan, cook the pumpkin puree and the brown sugar together over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula, for 40-45 minutes until the pumpkin has reduced to a thick paste and darkened. (Do not forget this on the stove until the pumpkin burns; this is a stay near the kitchen and do other kitchen tasks kind of a job). Remove from heat and whisk in the spices and salt, then whisk in the condensed milk and evaporated milk.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolk until blended. Slowly add the heavy cream and vanilla, then add the pumpkin mixture and whisk until everything is well mixed.
Pour the pumpkin custard into the prepared pie shell and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until the custard is just set. The edges will be a little puffy and the middle will still be a little jiggly, but not liquid. Let cool for at least two hours (if you're doing this the day before you're serving, cool all the way, cover well, and refrigerate until an hour or so before serving). Serve with whipped cream or ice cream or alone.
Sweet Potato Pie
Pie crust for a 9 inch pie
8 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups boiled and mashed sweet potatoes*
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ginger.
2-4 tablespoons bourbon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
*For me, this is always two large sweet potatoes, but this varies depending on how big your sweet potatoes are.
This recipe doesn't have you blind bake the crust, but I usually do (especially when I'm already doing it for pumpkin) and I like it better that way. But if you aren't in the mood to do so, just roll out the pie dough, place in a 9 inch pie pan, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to an hour. If you blind bake, do it as the Serious East recipe above tells you to do. Set aside to cool, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients until smooth. Pour filling over the top, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until filling is set, about 1 hour. Let cool completely before serving.
Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Jasmine
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