Has anyone tried...............

[berlyn]

the pumpkin pie & pie crust recipe in the Idlehour Cookbook??

My friend who I got Big Bertha from was telling me she's never tasted a pumkin pie as good as her MIL. I noticed from the original Idlehour cookbook given to me, there is a check by the recipe. Long story short, I'd like to "attempt" to make this for them.
As said in previous post I am NOT a baker.
Should I try to do pie crust and pie??
Any hints or tricks?? Do I need a rolling pin and pastry masher thingy??? HELP me out here folks!!
My friends are vegans and I finally found something they could enjoy that is cooked authentic Chambers style.

Thanks, berlyn

[lowracer]

My wife made pumpkin pie in the Chambers. It was awesome, from the flaky crust to the scrumptious filling, to the delicate dollop of real homemade whipped cream on top.

Couldn't have been better even if she'd found some way to get some bacon into the recipe.

Go for it!

[kimvsmith]

You will need a rolling pin or something that you can use as a rolling pin. (A botle of wine with straight sides might suffice.)

Other than that, I think you can do it with basic kitchen equipment and a pie pan. (If your crust recipe requires cutting shortening into flour with a pastry cutter, go hunting for another recipe that doesn't. There are dozens of pie crust recipes on the internet, some of them very simple.)

[berlyn]

But has anyone used the Chambers Idlehour recipe for pie crust and/or pumkin pie??? This is the recipe the original owner of Big Bertha used. I would like to duplicate it.

[tux_sf]

Berlyn-
I just made pies today--for tomorrow, of course. I didn't really use the pumpkin pie recipe in the [i]Idle Hour Cookbook[/i] (I used the recipe on the Libbey's pumpkin can, with some variations). However, the [i]Idle Hour[/i] recipe is basically the same, with Libbeys using white sugar instead of brown, evaporated milk instead of milk & cream, etc. So I think the Idle Hour recipe would work fine except I think it needs more spice. I'd either use 2 to 3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon & nutmeg OR use 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of cloves & a few grates of fresh nutmeg. I cooked mine according to the directions in the [i]Idle Hour Cookbook[/i] & the CWTGO part worked just fine.

The pie crust recipe in the cookbook looks fine too, if a bit brief. Crust is harder than the filling in this case, but it isn't all that hard. You might want to look in a general cookbook like [i]Joy of Cooking[/i] or [i]Fannie Farmer[/i] just to read the instructions for making crust before you make it.

Pumpkin pie is one of the easiest to prepare, I think, so don't be afraid!

--Danny

[kathie1k]

You can cut in the shortening with a dinner fork, use crisco. and use ice water. the colder you keep it and the less you handle it the better crust. always make crust in a hurry and make meringue when you have plenty of time.

After I roll out my crust I dust my hands with flour and the top surface of the crust dust lightly fold it in half and then you can easily lift it over the pan on a center line and unfold it gently. Let it ease down into the bottom of the pan so it makes contact. how you finish the top edge is a matter of choice if you want it to look like the ones from the store you can use the tines of a dinner fork to make lines and trim off extra. I like a high flute on a pumpkin pie.

Go for it nothing is better than pumpkin pie

Kathie k

[berlyn]

I "caught" 2 pie crust recipes in the Idlehour Cookbook, one with the pumkin pie recipe and a basic the pie crust recipe. They are two different recipes. Wondering which one I should try???

[tux_sf]

Berlyn-

I'd go with the one in the thermobaker section (p. 74). It is the simpler one & you really don't need the sugar & baking powder in the other one.

Kathie k gave some good pointers. When you cut in the shortening you just want it to be combined & in big crumbs (with butter crusts they usually say 'pea-sized' crumbs, but shortening gets a bit finer--think of the way crumb topping looks on a pie or cake).

C'mon. . .GO FOR IT!

--Danny

[berlyn]

Danny and Asfan,
I have a B model and no thermabaker. So that is not an option.
I'll have to do it in the oven. [img]graemlins/cry_smile.gif[/img]

[tux_sf]

Berlyn-

The recipe will work fine in your oven. It is actually a generic crust recipe.

Are you working from the 1958 edition of the cookbook, or the one for the B from 1940? The recipe I was talking about in the 1958 book is the same one included with the pumpkin pie recipe for the B in the 1940 book (confusing enough?!).

--Danny

<font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">[ November 23, 2006 11:41 PM: Message edited by: tux_sf ]</font>