I’d been looking for a good excuse to post an updated pumpkin pie recipe on Cooking On the Side. That first pumpkin pie I posted two Thanksgivings ago was great and all, the classic Libby’s version that I and millions around the country have enjoyed for years. But ever since that post I’ve been wanting to challenge myself to bake a pumpkin pie that was more from scratch – roast a pumpkin and make fresh purée, roll out my own pie crust. Well, I found my excuse to bake a new pie in the form of a sticker on a sugar pumpkin.

On the sticker was a pumpkin pie recipe that not only started with making your own pumpkin purée (no surprise there, it’s attached to a pumpkin) but it also called for a rather unusual custard ingredient: a cup of hot water. I researched a slew of other pumpkin pie recipes and not one called for water. And they all have two eggs, while this recipe on the pumpkin sticker only called for one. The closest relative I could find to this type of custard filling was a Chinese egg custard – in that dish, hot water or other liquid is mixed in to create a light, silky texture. I became very intrigued by this water approach.

I couldn’t leave well enough alone. For my pie, I decided to brew a cup of chai in lieu of the plain hot water the recipe called for. The notes of cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper and star anise in the tea complemented the pumpkin amazingly and enhanced the traditional pie spices. If you’re in the mood for an all-homemade twist on the classic, Chai Pumpkin Pie is definitely a great way to go.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2011. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/chai-pumpkin-pie/

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In my seventh grade home ec class, circa 1987, we churned out such memorable delicacies as turkey tetrazzini, purple cows (that would be a tall glass of Shasta grape soda with a scoop of vanilla ice cream dropped in) and hamburger macaroni. But my favorite of them all was chocolate pudding pie. It called for three ingredients: instant chocolate Jell-o pudding, a pre-made graham cracker crust and Cool Whip. I thought this was heaven.

In 2011, Chocolate Cream Pie with Cinnamon and Ancho Chile is way more my style.

I’m not so much of a food snob now that I’d necessarily run away from instant chocolate pudding…but homemade chocolate pudding slowly stirred on the stove with Scharffen Berger chocolate stops me in my tracks. Sure, I’ll bake pies with a store-bought pie crust every now and then…but a freshly baked graham cracker crust gently spiced with ancho chile powder and cinnamon is a thing of beauty. If a recipe insists on “frozen whipped topping” I’ll probably just go with it…but I’ll leave not a drop of vanilla-scented freshly whipped cream on my spoon.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2011. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/chocolate-cream-pie-with-cinnamon-ancho-chile/

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I can’t explain what possessed me to bake an enormous chocolate chip cookie in the bottom of a pie plate and then pile it high with hot fudge, mint chip ice cream, whipped cream, toasted almonds and chocolate shavings. I could try to convince you that I was motivated by it being Pi(e) Day, but seeing as 3.14 came and went a few days ago that reason wouldn’t really be valid. Or I could blame the green ice cream on St. Patrick’s Day coming up. These would only be excuses.

The truth is…I made this Ice Cream Cookie Pie because I knew it would be so good!

I freely admit it, I completely gave in to an wholly hedonistic desire on my part to make a cookie sundae. I’m borderline embarrassed about it, but I have a sneaky suspicion that there may be some others of you out there who think this would be a good idea too. In fact, I know there are – a few have been to my house this week to help eat this thing.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2011. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/ice-cream-cookie-pie/

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You’d have thought it was 1950 rather than 2010. It was a beautiful weekend morning. My husband and baby son were positioned on the couch watching football, my toddler daughter was outside in the backyard pretending with dolls in her playhouse and I was in the kitchen baking a French Apple Pie. As much as we try to be all hip and modern, sometimes traditional roles sneak up on us.

To be honest, I love mornings like that.

The next time you feel your inner June Cleaver demanding to emerge, you’ll find that pulling together this incredibly easy apple pie with its irresistible crumbly streusel topping will satisfy the urge. I went with all Granny Smith apples this time around and it was perfectly tart and sweet. It tastes like autumn.

I definitely don’t mind a little tradition every once in a while.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2010. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/french-apple-pie/

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I have to admit, whenever I hear the words “pecan pie” I immediately think of the line “But I would be proud to partake of your pecan piiiiiiiiie…” from that sweet museum scene in When Harry Met Sally, when Harry is gearing up to ask Sally out:

It’s hard to believe it’s been twenty years since that movie first came out! It’s still one of my all-time favorites. Anyhow, I digress…back to the pie.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/classic-pecan-pie/

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November is here! And that means holiday cooking and baking season has officially begun on Cooking On the Side. From Libby’s Pumpkin Pie (today’s recipe) to French’s Green Bean Casserole, many favorite holiday recipes originated from food packaging – which makes them perfect topics for this blog! So for the next few weeks I’ll be preparing familiar, traditional Thanksgiving recipes “from the side”.

For me, it’s just not Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie…

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© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/classic-pumpkin-pie-with-maple-cream/

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FINALLY, the temperature dipped below 75 degrees in San Diego. I can officially start autumn cooking!

At one time I had great intentions of becoming an avid pie baker. I even took a 3-hour pie-baking class…actually it was more of a pie-eating class, with generous “samples” of each of the six pies the teacher made. It was incredible! As much fun as she seemed to be having in rolling out the perfect flaky crust and weaving the most beautiful lattice, I realized that the eating part was where my true passion lay.

So it was without any guilt or reticence that I leveraged ready-made refrigerated crusts to help make prepping this scrumptious pie easy as…well, you know.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/classic-apple-pie/

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