Delicata Squash Pie

Since the very early days of this blog, I've asserted that if you're going to make a "pumpkin" pie from scratch with purée from a fresh vegetable, you should make it with squash, not pumpkin. Not only is the flavor generally better-- sweeter and more potent-- the consistency is much preferable-- less watery and less stringy than a pie pumpkin. My favorite squash to use is delicata. The long tubular gourd that's striped dark green and cream, indicates its taste via its name, which means "sweet". Delicatas can be harder to find than butternut or acorn squash (unless you live in Vermont, where they seem to be everywhere), but the quest is well worth it for the resulting pie.

This recipe, which I first made for a Burlington, Vermont "Seamonster Potluck" in 2006, was one of the four from Nothing in the House selected by King Arthur Flour to appear in their fall issue of Sift, alongside my article on the anthropology of pie. It's fitting, particularly as I'm not sure I'd had a delicata until I moved to Burlington, where my friend Andrea cut thin coins of them, topped them with masked celeriac, roasted them, and called it a "delicata cookie"-- one of my favorite savory treats to this day.

Here's the recipe that appeared in Sift, adapted from my original. King Arthur's lovely cream swirl didn't quite work out for me, so instead I whipped some extra cream just slightly, and drizzled it atop the baked and cooled pie.



Delicata Squash Pie

Ingredients
Nothing in the House pie crust, halved
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk or cream
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, beaten
3 medium (1 3/4 pounds before cooking) delicata squash
Additional evaporated milk or cream, for swirling

Directions
1. Prepare half of Nothing in the House pie crust as per the directions, reserving the leftover egg for an egg wash. Chill dough at least one hour before rolling and fitting into a greased and floured 9-inch pie pan. Let chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Halve the squash lengthwise, and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Bake, cut side down, in a 9 x 13-inch pan with 1/2 inch of water in the bottom. After 30-40 minutes, press the squash with your finger; when it's soft, it's done. Remove from the oven, and when cool enough to handle, scoop out 2 cups of the flesh. Purée until smooth. Increase the oven's temperature to 425 F.

3. For the filling: Combine the evaporated milk or cream, sugars, spices, salt, and eggs. Add to the squash and blend until smooth with a hand mixer or immersion blender. Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell. Add a swirl of cream or evaporated milk on top, or sprinkle with cinnamon for decoration, if desired (you could also drizzle with cream and/or sprinkle with cinnamon post-baking).

4. Placed the pie on a baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes at 425°F. Reduce the temperature to 350 F and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes, until the pie is mostly set, and a 1-2 inch circle in the center still wobbles a bit when you nudge the pan. Remove the pie from the oven and cool it completely before slicing. Sprinkle with cinnamon and/or drizzle with whipped cream, if desired.

Related recipes:
Drunken Pumpkin Bourbon Pie with Mascarpone Cream
Pumpkin & Chai Spice Nut Butter Pie
Pumpkin Ginger Cheesecake Pie

Peach & Raspberry Pie Biscuits with Lemon-Ginger Glaze

The 1828 Webster dictionary defines biscuits as "a composition of flour and butter, made and baked in private families". Though they've historically been found in home kitchens across the country in varying styles, biscuits are especially a known southern staple. According to Food Timeline and the Southern Foodways Alliance, they've been part of the daily southern meal since the mid-1700s. In some rural communities, particularly in the mountains, biscuits were associated with class, however. Professor and southern food historian Elizabeth Englehardt says that in those communities, cornbread stood in as a cheaper, quicker, and less labor intensive alternative for biscuits.



When I moved to the south, my consumption and production of biscuits probably tripled, but personally, biscuits have always had some northern ties too. Don't tell my southern friends, but my go-to biscuit recipe is actually called "Yankee Biscuits" and I got them from a New England community cookbooks via my friend Clara in Maine. True to regional taste, it contains sugar, but I leave it out unless it's for a sweet biscuit or cobbler top.

While living in Vermont and just getting in to pie baking, I was introduced to the magic of King Arthur Flour. I especially took advantage of their diversity of flours when my friends and I embarked on a month-long "eat local challenge," where as an experiment, we were limited to consuming items from the state of Vermont or within a 100-radius of where we lived.



A few weeks ago, King Arthur sent me a bag of their self-rising flour and some other goodies (including a $25 gift card-- see below) as part of their Better Biscuits Campaign. While their recipe for self-rising biscuits still bears yankee origins, it's produces fluffy, flaky golden biscuits-- all the stuff that can transcend regional differences.

I adapted theirs and Joy the Baker's recipes for these sweet Peach and Raspberry Pie Biscuits with Lemon-Ginger Glaze. They're suitable for breakfast or dessert and could easily accommodate some ice cream or whipped cream, shortcake style.

Peach & Raspberry Pie Biscuits with Lemon-Ginger Glaze
Adapted from King Arthur Flour and Joy the Baker

Ingredients
For the filling:
2 ripe peaches, sliced thin
1-1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla (I used bourbon barrel-aged vanilla)

For the biscuits:
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Self-Rising Flour
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
2/3 cup cold buttermilk

For the glaze:
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
2-2 1/2 Tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch salt

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine filling ingredients: sliced peaches, raspberries, melted butter, ginger, brown sugar, and vanilla, and stir with a wooden spoon. Set aside.

3. For the biscuits, place flour in a medium bowl and whisk in the sugar. Cut in butter cubes with a knife and fork until mixtures the texture of cornmeal and peas. You want to work this as little as possible so the butter chunks remain cold.

4. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in buttermilk. Stir the mixture together with a wooden spoon until it is moist but holds together.

5. On a clean, floured (use all-purpose flour) surface, pat biscuit dough into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick and about the width and length of a piece of paper (8.5x11). You may opt to use a well-floured rolling pin for this instead of your hands. Spoon the filling over half of the biscuit dough, then fold the bare side over top (this will get a little messy). Press the edges and pat into a 6x8 inch rectangle.

6. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into a dozen squares. Transfer them to the prepared baking sheet, using a spatula. Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown and puffed.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by whisking together the confectioner's sugar, milk, ginger, and salt.

8. Once biscuits are done, remove from oven and let cool at least 7-10 minutes. Drizzle with glaze and enjoy! Biscuits are best served slightly warm and eaten within 2 days of baking. They also freeze and reheat well.

I've pretty much shied away from giveaways for the entire life of this blog, but this one is a pretty sweet deal for bakers from what I consider the best widely available flour mill and baker's resource in the country. King Arthur Flour has generously offered a $25 gift card to their online store, where you can purchase their flours and other baking essentials. To enter, you can either leave a comment below or on Instagram, 1. follow @thehousepie 2. like this photo and 3. tag a friend who would also benefit from some fine baking supplies. We'll give this giveaway thing a shot.

Related recipes:
Apple-Raspberry Pandowdy
Peach-Blackberry Cobbler
Peach Blackberry Pie
Peach-Sorghum Pandowdy with Cornmeal Biscuits
Quince Biscuit Pie

The Anthropology of Pie in Sift Magazine

Earlier this year, I was given the dream assignment of writing "The Anthropology of Pie" for the fall issue of King Arthur Flour's baking magazine Sift. As I could write chapters on the subject (and maybe some day I will), I decided to zoom in on historical moments where pie has displayed its economy, ingenuity, and scrappiness to reinvent itself in contexts both urban and rural; commercial and domestic; individual, and communal.

Sift also included four of my pie recipes (three original, one adapted from the excellent First Prize Pies by Allison Kave), all of which first appeared on the blog: Cranberry Chocolate Chess Pie, Passion Fruit Meringue Pie with Macadamia Crust, Delicata Squash Pie (from the early days!), and Bourbon Ginger Pecan Pie.

Thank you to the kind folks at King Arthur flour, especially editor Susan Reid, photographer Mark Weinberg, and stylist Erin McDowell for making my pies and words look so good. Sift is available online and in many book and grocery stores around the country.

Photos via King Arthur Flour