How To Make Pumpkin Pie

Realize after making pumpkin pie for almost ten Thanksgivings that you need milk and heavy cream; not either/or. It’s always good to read through the instructions and ingredient list no matter how long you’ve been baking.

A “pat in the pan” crust is easiest. Just mix together flour, a little salt, butter and a little milk or cream (either/or is just fine here).  Once you can pinch the ingredients together with your fingers, you can put the dough in a pie plate and start patting it down so it fills the bottom and sides.

There’s time to think while you pat the crust. You can think about Thanksgivings past: the first one in DC when it was warm enough to sit outside at the Starbucks on Connecticut and have coffee, then walk around the National Zoo and see the hippos. That night you ate with friends at the parsonage and discussed Harry Potter and which coffee beans were the best.

There was the Thanksgiving after the miscarriage, when a friend came to visit from Pennsylvania. You made filet instead of turkey and she watched a ridiculous amount of episodes of the OC with you while your husband made you soup and grilled cheese. She said she’d met someone and it seemed serious.  You walked around the neighborhood together, wondering what was in store next, just like you did in college.

There were the Thanksgivings after the brand new babies were born, so fresh and chunky in their onesies and caps and just-starting-to-focus eyes. There were the dinners in Baltimore, with friends you realize now as you spread the buttery, flaky crust around the pan that you’ve known for fourteen years.  You still think it’s funny that you and they moved here from South Bend within days of each other.  The move didn’t seem so overwhelming knowing they’d be coming along, too.

Once you are happy with how the crust looks, prick the bottom and sides several times with a fork and pop it into the oven for about 20 minutes at 400.  While you wait for it to bake, get the ingredients for the pumpkin pie ready.

Your daughter may want to help with this part. You will suggest she wash her hands, and she’ll say, “Nah. I’ll just change my clothes and put on an apron instead.” You will suggest she wash her hands again and she’ll say, “OK, as long as I can change my clothes first.” You think that will be just fine.

Stirring the ingredients so they mix together appropriately is a delicate skill for some five year olds. Watch your daughter carefully.

She’ll get the hang of it, though.

When she’s finished, she’ll say, “Mama I did it!” You’ll say good job and she’ll say, “I can do this now so you don’t have to.” You nod. You’re happy she wants to do the baking, but you feel a little sting because you sort of want to do it. There aren’t many household things you’re good at, and you think you’re just starting to get the hang of baking.

Oh, but that’s selfish. There’s plenty of room in the kitchen, in this place, for the both of you. And she is going to come up with another type of pie one of these days, to make and bring to friends. And maybe while she’s baking her own creation in her kitchen, she’ll remember helping you.

You think of the friends you are baking the pie for. You’d like to bring something good, something tasty, but the problem with a pie is you can’t taste test it. You just have to do your best to follow the directions, keep an eye on things in the oven, and hope it all comes out OK.