Realistic Cooking Ideas

Can you believe it is a few weeks until Thanksgiving? It is always fun to try new recipes to determine what makes it to the finals! It is my version of a food tryout for the Thanksgiving menu! This recipe is similar to my Pumpkin Pie made with Fresh Pumpkin Puree except I had a few extra bananas and decided to add them for a different twist. You can top it with whipped cream or make a meringue. Tyler Florence has directions on how long to cook the pie before adding the meringue. I do not really like the extra step so I will stick with the whipped cream out of a can. But I would consider it for Thanksgiving for a more elegant presentation. Greg thought the bananas made it lighter in taste and a nice change from a traditional pumpkin pie. I am not sure if I can now go back to a pumpkin pie without adding bananas. I prefer my pumpkin pie cold but it was also good warm. But I thought the flavors were more prominent once chilled.

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
½ tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
3 eggs, slightly beaten or egg beaters
1 cup light cream

Pie Crust:
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust (I use Pillsbury but I am sure the bakers will make your own crust.)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl mix together your dry ingredients. Then stir in your wet ingredients. I like to use whisk to blend in the pumpkin and bananas. Pour into unbaked pie crust. I like to place aluminum foil or a pie shield around the crust edge since it tends to burn. I remove it once the pie is done baking. Place your pie on a cookie sheet to make it easier to place in the oven and to retrieve it. Bake at 400 degrees for 40- to 50-minutes or until tip of knife comes out clean.