For one, I’m thankful that the election is over.
This year, I’m attempting to roast the turkey breast side down. According to Elise at Simply Recipes, it keeps the breast meat moist and delicious. And honestly, any recipe that has the endorsement of “Mom” no matter whose mom it is is worth at least one shot.
Happy Thanksgiving Alameda, and thank you for your last minute generosity in helping us (and by us I mean the bloggers over at In Alameda) raise enough money to buy enough turkeys to give to needy families in Alameda. And we’re still collecting so that we can help make sure these families have a good December holiday as well.
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DON GIBERSON MEMORIAL PUMPKIN PIE November 20, 2007
INGREDIENTS
4 eggs (minus 2 yolks), lightly beaten
1 29 oz. can solid pack canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/4 cups dark brown or raw cane sugar, moderately packed
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3-4 TBSP Wild Turkey bourbon whiskey—Don’s favorite (2 TBSP = 1 oz.)
1 12 oz. can evaporated low-fat or fat-free milk (unsweetened)
2 each deep-dish 9” frozen pie shells (whole wheat, Mrs. Smith’s or Marie Callender’s)
Preheat a conventional oven to 375° F. (Preheat a convection oven to 350°.) Thaw 2 frozen pie shells for 10-15 minutes. Prick the sides and bottom of the shells with a fork. Cover with aluminum foil, parchment paper, or lightly greased empty pie pans. If not using pie pans on top of the crust, weight the foil or parchment paper with ceramic pie weights or 1.5 cups dry white rice per shell. Bake 15 minutes at 375° (350° in a convection oven) on a middle oven rack. Remove pie shells from the oven; take off the pie pans, parchment paper, aluminum foil, and/or pie weights.
Pre-heat the oven to 425° F. (conventional) or 400° F. (convection oven). Verify temperatures with an oven thermometer for best results. Libby’s recommends using a cookie sheet underneath metal pie pans. (Preheat the oven with the cookie sheet inside.) DO NOT use cookie sheets if using glass or ceramic pie pans.
Combine brown sugar and spices in a small bowl, set aside. Open canned ingredients, set aside.
In a second small bowl, lightly beat the 2 eggs plus 2 egg whites. Combine the eggs and canned pumpkin in a large mixing bowl, blending thoroughly. Add the sugar and spice mixture, stir or whisk together. Blend in the canned evaporated milk and bourbon. Mix thoroughly: color and texture should be uniform.
Ladle the pie filling into the baked deep-dish pie shells, leaving 1/8 – 1/4” for filling to expand. Pour remainder, if any, into a small baking dish or custard cup(s) for sampling.
Bake the filled pies at 425° F. (400° F. in a convection oven) for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° F. (325° F. in a convection oven), bake an additional 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle of the pie comes out clean. (Cover crust with aluminum foil if needed for the last 10-15 minutes to prevent burning.)
Remove pies from oven, cool on baking racks for 3 hours in a pet-proof location. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired. If not serving immediately, cover the pies with aluminum foil and refrigerate.
Our friend Don Giberson, then a patient at St. Mary’s Medical Center, suggested adding Wild Turkey bourbon to our pumpkin pies on November 20, 2001, shortly before he died. We miss him very much.
-Linda Hudson & Jon Spangler
Comment by Jon Spangler — November 25, 2010 @ 9:04 am
Inquiring minds want to know: How did that breast-down roasting technique work out?
Comment by Jill — November 27, 2010 @ 9:14 am
Badly.
Comment by Adam Gillitt — November 27, 2010 @ 12:46 pm
I’ve found that the best way is to first brine the turkey, then before you cook it, put an herbed butter under the skin like so
you don’t have to put the truffle though.
Comment by E — November 28, 2010 @ 11:51 am