I'm looking for recipes using real pumpkins.  The farm shops are full of them at the moment but all the recipes I can find use tinned pumpkin.  Including one recipe for pumpkin soup where you hollow out small pumpkins to serve the soup in, but still use tinned pumpkin!

Glad to hear you want to use fresh pumpkin, there really isn't anything like it.  To use fresh pumpkin you have to boil it like a potatoe.  Take out the seeds and pulp(strings), cut into chunks, peel, boil in salted water, then run through a blender.  You can take the seeds, dry them, and spread them on a pan and roast them, salted or unsalted.  I googled this, but for an "all american cookbook" try The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, all serious american cooking started with Fanny.(and I know that there is a reason Brits laugh when they here the name, but there you have it)    ::)  ;D 

www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1937,150176-231202,00.html

FRESH PUMPKIN PIE:
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. fresh pumpkin
2 lg. eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. hot milk
Your favorite pie crust

In large bowl, blend sugar, spices and salt. Combine with fresh pumpkin. Add beaten eggs. Mix well. Add hot milk.
Pour into your favorite pie crust. Bake in preheated hot oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees to bake filling about 25 minutes. Filling is set when knife placed in center of pie comes out clean. Makes a very large pumpkin pie. Enjoy!

just baking at this moment!

I think I can smell it, I'm on my way    ;D

I think I can smell it, I'm on my way    ;D


Anytime.

Took longer to cook than the recipe said which might have been my silly cooker cooling off so much when I opened the door to put the pie in  ::)  Or perhaps I should have drained the pumpkin more.  Anyways I cooked so it didn't still have liquid on the top  ;D

Well 3 out of 4 in this house thought it tasted nice.  The other one is a picky eater who denies it!

Anytime.

Took longer to cook than the recipe said which might have been my silly cooker cooling off so much when I opened the door to put the pie in  ::)  Or perhaps I should have drained the pumpkin more.  Anyways I cooked so it didn't still have liquid on the top  ;D

Well 3 out of 4 in this house thought it tasted nice.  The other one is a picky eater who denies it!


Sig is 58 years old and still won't eat pumpkin pie, never even tasted one  "Why would anyone put a pumpkin in a pie?"  ::)  Cooking it from fresh pumpkin is trickier than canned.  Try it a couple more times, the smell alone may make her change her mind.

Try it a couple more times, the smell alone may make her change her mind.


The pie was cooking as the children came in from school.  Elizabeth walks in and says "what's in the oven, it smells lovely?".  When I told her it was pumpkin pie she replied "Well, you needn't think I'm eating that!"  She did at least try a little piece, with her face screwed up convinced it was going to be dreadful.  ::) My boy, James, had seconds

If you would like to try a classic New England autumn desert try Indian Pudding.  It is an old fashioned desert that I find it outrageously good.  Serve with a whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla or hard sauce,  hard sauce is the old fashioned way but can be too rich for some people.  There are variations to the menu, some people like a ginger instead of cinnamon.

INGREDIENTS
4 1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup dark molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
Scald 3 1/2 cups of milk in top of double boiler over direct heat. Remove milk from heat.
Mix cornmeal with remaining 1 cup of milk, and stir this mixture into the scalding milk, stirring constantly. Place the milk mixture into the top of the double boiler and cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
Stir butter, molasses, salt, sugar and cinnamon into the mixture. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
Bake in the preheated 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) oven for 1 1/2 hours.



Hard Sauce

1/2 cup soft butter
1 1/2 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract OR 2 tablespoons rum or brandy

PREPARATION:
Cream butter with confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla extract or rum or brandy.
Hard sauce recipe serves 8.

I know this is late, but I just saw this recipe today... Sounds good


Orange-Pumpkin Pudding

From Clemson University Cooperative Extension

Ingredients

    * 4 slices whole-wheat bread
    * 1/2 cup milk
    * 1/2 cup orange juice
    * 1/4 cup apple juice concentrate
    * 2 eggs
    * 1 banana, sliced
    * 2 teaspoons cinnamon
    * 1 cup cooked pumpkin
    * Dash of salt

Directions

Dice bread slices and crumble them in a blender.
Place the crumbs in square baking dish.
Blend together milk, orange juice and apple juice concentrate. Add eggs, banana slices, cinnamon, pumpkin and salt and blend again.
Add the mixture to the bread crumbs. Stir together.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes. Serve slightly warm.
Makes 8 servings.

^ Not too late, we are still in the middle of pumpkin season  :)