I've been hungry for pumpkin pie for a month or more, so this past weekend, I finally baked one to quell my craving.
If you are making pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner, consider this recipe. It is delicious. Maybe one of the best pumpkin pies I have ever eaten. What makes it so delicious? How about some eggnog in place of the usual evaporated milk. Give it a try, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Spiced Eggnog Pumpkin Pie
1 9" pie shell
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 1/4 cups eggnog
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Mix all the ingredients together and beat until smooth. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 45-50 minutes longer or until done. Let cool. Keep refrigerated. Enjoy!
Notes:
*I just used a basic shortening pie crust, but I grated some nutmeg into the flour to give it an extra boost of flavor and to tie in with the eggnog theme.
*I also used half brown sugar and half white, because I always do that with pumpkin pies.
*Since it was on sale at the grocery store, I used Southern Comfort Spiced Vanilla Eggnog.
*And, I did not eat the whole thing myself. I shared.
It's been cold here in Colorado this week. Really cold. So, accordingly, I've been doing lots of cold weather things such as snuggling under warm blankets, watching Christmas movies, drinking lots of hot tea, and baking.
A couple of mornings ago I made some delicious cheddar-pumpkin muffins for breakfast. I found this recipe in a cookbook called Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. They aren't your typical muffins, they have more of a biscuit consistency, but their slight sweetness, countered with a kick from some pepper make them worth trying.
Pumpkin-Cheddar Muffins
1 cup pumpkin
3 Tbsp sour cream
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted & cooled
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 oz grated cheddar cheese
Whisk pumpkin and sour cream. Add eggs and butter. Whisk until combined. Add dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in 3/4 of the cheese. Divide among muffin cups. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min. Let sit for 10 min before removing from tin. Serve warm. Makes 12 muffins.
Last weekend I headed to Wyoming to visit my aunt and uncle on their ranch. I had been invited because Tony DeSare was doing a concert in their town on Friday night.
If you don't know who Tony DeSare is, it's time you met. He is an amazing pianist and singer who puts on an entertaining show. He's really good at crooning the old standards, but he also covers some newer songs and original works as well. Here are a couple of videos.
This one just makes me happy.
And this is just nice.
And this one makes me go WOW!
There are a lot more videos of him on YouTube. Check him out. Buy his cds and go to his concerts. He deserves to be a lot more famous than he is.
Saturday we drove to Devils Tower. I had never been there before, so it was an experience for me. The day was beautiful, and I took A LOT of pictures. Here are some of the better ones.
We stopped so I could take a picture when we were getting close.
Some Native Americans consider Devils Tower and the area around it to be sacred. They hang strips of cloth and feathers in the trees to form a type of prayer bundle.
I knew Devils Tower was big, but I didn't realize how big until I was standing at the base of it.
I thought this bright green moss stuff was neat. It almost looked like fluorescent paint had been spilled on the rocks.
There is a trail around the base of the tower and the views from it are impressive.
See the rabbit?
Hello.
There were several people climbing the tower while we were there. You can see a man in a red jacket a little to the right of the middle of this picture.
There he is again.
There are two guys at the top in this photo waiting for their friend in the red jacket to finish climbing.
Two interesting facts I learned are that the top of Devils Tower is about the size of a football field, and it is dome shaped.
After we finished the first trail, we walked along another one called the Red Beds trail that makes a wider circle around the tower. It was lovely, but steep at times.
The dirt really was red around there.
I almost stepped on this little snake. I took his picture instead. He was only about the size of a pencil.
This squirrel wanted his picture taken, too.
I like this rock formation. I think the right hand side looks like a face.
Do you see it?
I so glad I got to experience Devils Tower. Many thanks again to my aunt and uncle for taking me to see it.
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