Butternut Pie

Sorry food blog, I've been neglecting you...Thanksgiving and Open Studios and all...

But here you go.  The butternuts have been baked and made into a side dish for Thanksgiving dinner, a beautiful, decorative pie, and enough left over for butternut burritos!

To bake squash, cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds.  Place cut side down on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F. for one hour.  Poke with a fork to be sure all parts are done.  (The hollowed out part cooks faster.) 



Here you see the squash after baking.  I've turned them over with a fork and a potholder.  They are steaming hot and need to cool before you can scoop out the flesh.  Cooking them upside down keeps them from drying out, but in this type of pan (cheap) they will pick up an off color (!) from the metal if you don't turn them over right away

Once the squash has cooled, use a spoon to scoop the flesh into a large mixing bowl.  Puree by mashing with a potato masher until no large lumps remain.

Measure out two cups of squash for the pie, and save the rest for other cooking projects.

 

To make a 10 inch pie you will need:

 

a 10" unbaked pie shell, chilled

scraps of pie dough to make leaves and cat

5 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup molasses

3/4 cup half and half

2 cups butternut puree

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Cut out leaves and/or a cat, dog or pumpkin from pie dough scraps if you have them.
Put them in the oven to bake for 10 to 12 minutes while you prepare the pie filling.

 

Whisk eggs in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.

Add spices, molasses, half and half and whisk again.

Stir in butternut puree and stir till well mixed.

Pour filling into crust and bake for 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 45 minutes.

Filling shoud look "set," and an inserted butterknife should come out clean.

If pie is not done, cook for another 10 minutes and test again.

Allow to cool before adding the pie crust decor and serving.

 

Recipe by Martha Stewart.  Cut-out cat by Jessanne Collins.