Notes about Recipes in this book

• The best pumpkin pie

  • ashallen on November 23, 2019

    This is an excellent pumpkin pie that I've made many times. I've had pumpkin pies with a range of flavors - some are "brighter" and kind of fruity and others are darker-flavored with spices and brown sugar. This is one of the latter ones, which I love - in fact, I often add a teaspoon of molasses to the custard to bump up the dark flavors a bit more (particularly if I'm using light brown vs. dark brown sugar). The custard's rich and very smooth. Sometimes I replace a few tablespoons of heavy cream with whole milk to dial back the richness a bit. The crust specified in the recipe is a bit fiddly, but you can probably use any crust you like for partial blind-baking. The filling has also baked well in individual custard cups without a crust - I've used a water bath when making them which worked well. Also, I once forgot to add the milk to the custard (though I did remember the cream), and the pie still turned out OK!! [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine.]

• The best buttermilk waffles

  • ashallen on November 06, 2019

    Good waffles! I think these seemed a bit heavy when made in a Belgian-style waffle maker and might seem lighter as a thinner-style waffle - need to try them again to confirm. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/ Magazine.]