Pumpkin Pie Time

            My motto (one of them) has always been “it’s never too early to plan.” This is especially true for holidays, especially where food is involved. With Thanksgiving incredibly less than 3 weeks away, it seems like a good time to start planning the feast.

            We have two extra, uncarved, pumpkins left over from Halloween, and Laura and I decided we'll try to make them into pie filling. So far, we haven't found the time, but I'm hoping  that will change in the next couple of days. The plan is to clean and quarter the pumpkins, season them with cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg and cloves, and bake until soft. Then scrape the flesh, puree and proceed as usual. We'll see how it turns out.

            Just in case, I’d like to share once again, one of my family’s favorites, Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie. I found the recipe originally in a magazine in the very early 80’s, and made it for my first “adult” Thanksgiving. It was an instant hit. You can use “lite” cream cheese without hurting the results at all.
.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

Heat oven to 425°
2 Crusts for 9" deep dish pie

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 ½  cup firmly packed brown sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 can pumpkin (29oz.)

Whipped cream for garnish

.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Place on cookie sheet in preheated, hot oven.

.

Immediately lower temperature to 350°.

.

Bake 35 -45 minutes or until center is almost set.

Cool completely on wire rack. Serve topped with whipped cream