Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is a wholly american festival and is not thought of at all in Britain. For a long time I'd no idea when it was but it is always on the 4th Thursday in November and in the USA it is the big family festival for which everybody returns home, like Christmas in Europe and Eid in Islamic countries.
It is to remember when the religous dissidents who left Plymouth in the Mayflower in 1620 to set up a farming colony in New England, (this was not the first colony but the most prestigous), sat down to celebrate their first year's harvest. They had been shown what to grow by local native americans and the feast traditionally consists of food native to America.
The meal is usually a variation on
Roast Turkey with Sage and Onion Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce
Mashed Potatoes
String Beans (Haricot Vert in french or French Beans in Britain)
Glazed Sweet Potatoes
Sweetcorn
followed by Pumpkin Pie.

PUMPKIN PIE

One recipe of shortcrust pastry  (see pies November 18th)
Use a recipe with added sugar and an egg

450 g/1lb prepared weight pumpkin flesh, cut into 1in/2.5 cm chunks (these days with home freezers this may be the flesh removed at Halloween to make lanterns)
3 large eggs
3 oz/75g soft dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground ginger
200ml milk

Pre-heat the oven to 180C
Grease a pie dish, rollout the pastry to line it and blind bake for 15mins with a tinfoil lining weighted with beans or chickpeas to keep the shape.

Meanwhile steam or bake the pumpkin to cook
Then blend the cooked pumpkin with the other ingredients and pour into the pastry shell and smooth level.
Bake for aprox 20mins until the pie is set but very slightly wobbly in the centre.

                                               

Serve with cream or ice-cream.