Super Bowl Hoosier Pie

Go Colts! Hoosier Pie
Adapted from the heirloom recipe at Turkey Creek Lane

2 tbsp. flour
1/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. dark brown sugar (or, if you ran out of brown sugar like me, sub the remaining with turbinado sugar)

1-2 tbsp. butter

1 egg yolk
1 1/2 c. whole milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp.-ish freshly grated nutmeg (or cinnamon, if preferred)

1 pre-made pie-shell (homemade or store-bought)

1 carton blueberries, for Colts horseshoe (optional)

1. Pre-heat oven to 410 degrees Farenheit. Mix together the first three ingredients and spread on the bottom of the pie crust.
2. Dot the flour & sugar mixture with the butter.
3. Mix together the next four ingredients in a bowl and then pour over the sugar/flour mixture and dotted butter. You may have more wet filling than you need. Fill it nearly to the top. Give the whole thing a few stirs, to incorporate.
4. If desired, use the left over egg white to glaze the crust edge for a pretty shine.
5. Put pie in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 410 degrees, then turn the oven down and bake for an additional 45 minutes. The pie filling should be bubbly and jiggly, don't pull it out too late or it won't set. My wonky, cold oven added about 13 minutes to the baking time.
6. Let the pie fully set, then use the blueberries to create your decorative horseshoe.
7. Root for the Colts!

Turkey Day...Early Morning...Los Angeles

Not to be outdone by Robin, Deb and the gang, here are some pics from Turkey Day LA. This is the strawberry rhubarb pie for tonight (mom's recipe, to follow) that I made Tuesday night. 'Cause I'm on top of it like that.
Isn't it pretty in close up? It's my favorite pie in the world (Pumpkin? Pass). They only had rhubarb a few times at the Farmers Market this year, so I snatched some up and froze it when I saw it, in preparation for this day. Literally today, as I knew I wanted a strawberry rhubarb pie on Thanksgiving the minute last year's dinner ended. Yeah, man, it's that good.
And this is our smoker, smoking away on the turkey, a 20 lb. beast that we barely squeezed into the tiny barrel. Trust me, I had words with the lady when I picked it up yesterday at the Santa Monica Farmers Market (I'd ordered a 16 lb. one). Luckily it fit, otherwise our smoked turkey would have come in two pieces.

My dad's made smoked turkey for Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember, it's the only way I can eat turkey today (and my mom and sister have promised to post pics from their T-Day smoking extravaganza as well). We brine ours, using Alton Brown's recipe which is crazy easy and really good. So not only is it moist due to smoking and brining, but it's got a nice sweetness to it as well. Anyway, when I married Noah I made him take over the smoking duties for our Thanksgivings down in LA. He's pretty darn good at it, too.

And did I mention we've both been up since 5:20 am working on the turkey, starting the Almost No Knead Bread, and, of course, putting up this post. We'll try and check in throughout the day, so y'all can see what we're up to.

Thanksgiving Greetings from Cincinnati

We are gathered together in Cincinnati to enjoy a family Thanksgiving. Andres has come from Switzerland, Debra from New York State, the Kissels of Cincinnati and the Kushners (Amanda's family) from Cleveland. Here are some pictures from the morning preparations to show how we are getting ready for the holiday. Larry, aka The Pieman of Cinci, outdid himself this year as you will notice in the pictures. The chocolate cake (recipe to follow) is absolutely to die for and there are two kinds of pumpkin pie, a killer apple pie with little apple pie babies, and mince meat pie as well. There is also a picture of the Stupid Swiss cutting up the onions wearing the famous "onion goggles". Hope you are all enjoying a wonderful holiday... send pictures so we can all share.

Guilt Free Pumpkin Pie

I'm a Weight Watcher and holidays scare me, but I've found a great way to beat the calorie blues for this Thanksgiving. Hungry Girl, cookbook and website, has lots of options for the holidays. Here's one I've tries that really passes the muster. So Thank you Hungry Girl, all credit goes to you for making Thanksgiving a sweet thing...

No one loves pumpkin as much as Hungry Girl does -- the fat orange fruit (yes, it's technically a fruit 'cuz it has seeds!) and HG have been BFFs forever. So it was inevitable that a fantastic pumpkin pie swap would come from the HG kitchen. Well, here it is. Grab a can of pumpkin and your trusty box of Fiber One, and get busy! We present to you HG's Too-Good-To-Deny Pumpkin Pie...


Photos from Hungry Girl

Ingredients:

For Crust
2 cups Fiber One bran cereal (original)
1/4 cup light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown); melted & mixed with 1 oz. water
3 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, granulated
1 tsp. cinnamon

For Filling
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
One 12-oz. can evaporated fat-free milk
3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, granulated
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters)
1/4 cup sugar-free maple syrup
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
Optional Topping: Fat Free Reddi-wip

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Combine crumbs with all other crust ingredients. Stir until mixed well. In an oven-safe 9-inch pie dish sprayed lightly with nonstick spray, evenly distribute mixture, using your hands or a flat utensil to firmly press and form the crust. Press it into the edges and up along the sides of the dish. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the filling. Mix well. Pour mixture into pie crust. (Filling may be taller than the crust -- trust us, this is okay!) Bake pie in the oven for 45 minutes, and then remove it and allow to cool. Chill in the fridge for several hours (for best results, chill overnight). Cut into 8 slices, and if you like, top with Reddi-wip before serving! MAKES 8 SERVINGS


Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 133
Fat: 3g
Sodium: 236mg
Carbs: 28g
Fiber: 9g
Sugars: 8g
Protein: 6g

POINTS® value 2*