I have been working my way through a 1970s Thanksgiving menu from Southern Living: The Holiday Cookbook. The last part of the menu of course is dessert. Unlike the dessert part of the 1963 Thanksgiving menu, I did last year which consisted of mincemeat pie, hard sauce, and coffee, this one was just simply a pie called spicy squash pie.
I had high expectations for a pie called spicy squash pie but it simply was a pumpkin pie. Though there are a lot of spices used in said pie, the amounts are fairly tamed for the claim of the title. I think maybe playing around with the spices would be interesting to try to achieve that “spicy” claim of the title. For now, I am just calling it pumpkin pie.
This pie also does not use the can of evaporated milk that we all have come to know from the back of the Libby’s can of pumpkin. It instead uses scalded milk which makes it perfect if you ever forget evaporated milk at the store. This pie also has a less firm texture than the pies we are generally used to nowadays.
This is the conclusion of my second vintage Thanksgiving menu and as always it was fun to do. I can’t wait for next year to try another one!
Pumpkin Pie
A pumpkin pie recipe from Southern Living: The Holiday Cookbook.
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 can pumpkin
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 1/2 cup scalded milk
- 1 9 inch pie crust
- Optional: Pecan halves
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Place pie crust in a 9 inch pie pan and crimp the edges. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, salt, all the spices and pumpkin and mix thoroughly.
- Add the egg and milk and mix well and pour into the pie crust.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
- Decorate with pecan halves if desired.
NOTES:
- To scald milk is easy. It just means heating milk in a saucepan over medium/high heat to 180 degrees while stirring regularly. The main concern is not letting it boil or burn. If you do not have a thermometer to read the temperature don’t fret, basically just heat it until you start to see bubbles form along the sides. The whole process takes less than a five minutes. Then let it cool before adding it to the recipe.
Quaint Cooking 
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