Sogni di Sicilia

I got up, got ready, poured coffee, then cooked and baked all day, save for a run to Decò and the ortofrutta, to get ingredients for my last-minute idea to make an apple pie. That idea turned out disastrous, but the "pumpkin" pie is a reasonable facsimile of what it should be. I ended up using parchment paper to create a pie pan; it worked better for the butternut squash pie than for the apple. Mental note to bring a pie pan here! My oven mitt wrecked the nice top on this pie Flat, burnt on top, undercooked filling I roasted some vegetables, and decided to skip the yam chips, because I've been in the kitchen for 10 hours and it's almost time for dinner! ****** We got to Elena's and saw Fina and Giovanna there; they had to do the three-time refusal to join us for Thanksgiving dinner before finally saying yes! My contributions were hot when we arrived, but timing them for 8:00 pm and eating at 10 pm meant that I did a round or two of nuking. We ate in Nonno's ol...

Elena loves the American Thanksgiving holiday. She's already put in an order with the butcher for a turkey. Ovens here do not have the cavernous openings of US ovens, so turkey is not a popular dish. Maybe also because it's funny tasting and makes you sleepy and gassy? That's what I'd say. I've been commissioned to make pumpkin pie. Also here: - No canned pumpkin or fresh pie pumpkins - No sweetened condensed or evaporated milk - No pie pans I've combed the interwebs to discover there's a huge fan club for homemade butternut squash puree vs canned pumpkin, and people are choosing it over fresh pie pumpkin. Hmmm I'm skeptical. But I've been making a long slow go of it, with some in the oven as I write. There are recipes without sweetened condensed milk, and I've converted a round cake pan into a slanted pie pan ala aluminum foil. I'm also preparing a bread stuffing (which won't be stuffed), and a rice-mushroom-chestnut dressing that I'...