I'm new to baking but I've gotten a lot of practice this fall - and still haven't made a dent in the more than a bushel of apples, and 10-plus pounds of Long Island cheese pumpkin I bought a month ago ($15 at a farm stand clearance!).A quick Google search and advice from a friend started me on a great apple pie recipe - though I'm not sure how it could taste bad with the amount of butter and sugar that's called for... At any rate, I tried leaving the skins on this time (since my apple sauce was much better with them). I'm happy with the result! Today's pie seems to taste more aromatic apple-y than previous ones and is largely dark red in the center, like pecan pie. Chewing on big pieces of skin wasn't a big deal, but I bet I wouldn't notice them at all if I cut each apple slice in two before baking.
I made bread from the cheese pumpkin before Thanksgiving and was happy with it (though I'm not sure it tasted any different than the canned stuff. This variety is supposedly the quintessential pie pumpkin and I was surprised that a fruit with such a dull, pink exterior could be so fluorescent orange on the inside. According to Wiki, it's actually a different species than "normal" pumpkins, Curcurbita pepo and maxima. Pumpkins, gourds, squash and zucchini are all just different varieties of a handful of species (the same way broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts are all just different varieties of the same species). Cheese pumpkins, specifically, belong to the species C. moschata (along with butternut squash). At any rate, I'll be turning some of this frozen pumpkin into pie soon.One way or another, I've got a few more prototypes to run through before I bring pies (and piles of apple butter!) to Christmas. Anyone have an easy gluten-free pie crust recipe?
The Long Island cheese pumpkin really does look like a pumpkin shaped butternut squash. I recently read in Cook's Illustrated magazine that Libby's brand pumpkin puree is actually a type of butternut squash.
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