Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 49

I have been meaning to make a pumpkin pie for the past few years but have always been too busy with Christmas prep to even think about it when Thanksgiving came around, however this year I was determined to give it a go (especially considering I did actually taste some last year at my neighbours’ and it was very tasty). So armed with a recipe taken from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook I set about a day of pie making (I was also knocking up a chicken and tarragon pie from my leftover slow-cooking efforts). I really didn’t think much to the pastry at all and ended up ditching it in favour of my second lot of pastry as I just couldn’t work with it at all, but once I switched I had the tin lined in no time ready for the pumpkin mixture. I left it in slightly longer than specified because it had just a little bit too much wobble for my liking. Once it was out and cooled I sprinkled the top with a mixture of icing sugar and cinnamon. When it came to pudding time I was glad to see that it cut well and there was no sign of a soggy bottom – Mary Berry would be pleased! The filling was set nicely and the spices really cut through the flavour of the pumpkin. 

 

My other new recipe of the week was Cantonese-Style Sweet & Sour Pork from Ching's Chinese Food in Minutes, a dish that I kept coming back to look at but never got around to making – probably because I’m not a massive fan of deep fried food. I think the batter might not have been thick enough as it didn’t coat the pork as I would have liked, and consequently did not quite have the crispy coating when cooked, it may have been because I used a large egg and the ratio to corn flour was not quite right. Regardless of that the pork was still very tender and the sweet and sour sauce was nice, and thick enough to coat the vegetables and pork well. I served it with plain rice which soaked up all the juices nicely, I think I’ll do this again in future and try and get the batter right as I’m sure it would be a lot better with a nice crispy coating on the pork.

Recipe Count: 160
New Target: 156