Pumpkin Pie

If you've been dreaming of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, wake up and smell the sweet potatoes. Or the pecans. Poor weather during the growing season and twice the normal rain during the harvest has resulted in a shortage of canned pumpkin on grocery store shelves this holiday season, warn the producers of Libby's, one of the best-known names in pumpkin. "Our calculations indicate that we may deplete our inventory of canned Libby's pumpkin as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday," said Paul Bakus, vice president and general manager for Nestle Baking, Libby's parent company.

I'm not sure why this happened, but here is Jimmy Fallon wearing a Ray Rice jersey while eating pumpkin pie on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” I suspect a few of you will be doing the exact same thing on Thanksgiving. [ via Ravens.com ]

Brenda Walker of Knoxville, Tenn., was looking for a recipe for pumpkin pie with orange zest as one of the ingredients. She lost the original recipe from many years ago and has had no luck duplicating it. Gladys Wilt of Lothian sent in a recipe from the Libby's Home-Baked Goodness cookbook for a Sour-Cream-Orange-Pumpkin Pie. While this is probably not the exact recipe that Walker was searching for, it does have orange zest and is definitely worth her...

We're rounding up some Thanksgiving options that fall in between preparing it yourself and dining out -- you know, like having it catered. Look for that next Tuesday. On Friday night, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. the Whole Foods in Mt. Washington is doing one of those Thanksgiving tasting things where they let you cmoe in and taste free-range turkey, pumpkin pie and a bunch of side dishes. I do love that corn pudding, I want to say, but I own a small bit of stock in the company.

Bet you didn't know that pumpkin from a can and the pumpkin you carve for Halloween are the same thing. And, did you also know that pumpkin is a vegetable that's part of the squash family? This recipe calls for canned pumpkin, but it could made with fresh. Start with a 2 pound pumpkin and have an adult cut it in half. Scrape out the seeds. Put both halves, cut side down, on a baking sheet. Pierce the shell a few times with a fork and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until it's very soft and the shell begins to cave in. Remove from the oven and let the pumpkin cool completely.

Pumpkin pie is so much a part of Thanksgiving that when a 17th-century town in Connecticut couldn't get the molasses for its pies in time, it postponed the holiday. If you're a traditionalist at all (and when is traditional food more important than Thanksgiving?), you have to end the festive meal with a pumpkin pie.Unfortunately we've all been faced with so many indifferent pumpkin pies, it's hard to work up much enthusiasm for them -- especially after a rich and heavy dinner.Fear of baking has sent many a shopper scurrying to the frozen food section of the supermarket.

Thanksgiving raises some of life's deeper questions.How do you know the bird isn't overcooking? How much should the pie filling be stirred? White or dark meat? Baked or mashed?Don't be stressed. As a group of 5-year-olds is learning, those facing such daunting decisions today are quite lucky. It means they can probably read well enough to cook.Friendship Valley Elementary kindergarten classes in Westminster spent this week preparing a menu for a Thanksgiving feast and cooking. Yesterday, after reading " `Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving," they dressed as pilgrims and Indians and enjoyed their supper at 9 a.m. (They attend morning kindergarten)

I'm not sure why this happened, but here is Jimmy Fallon wearing a Ray Rice jersey while eating pumpkin pie on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” I suspect a few of you will be doing the exact same thing on Thanksgiving. [ via Ravens.com ]

Desserts are a basic part of this holiday season, but who has time to bake? This shortcut makes any store-bought pumpkin pie good enough for company, a church supper or Thanksgiving itself.Shortcut Pie1 store-bought pumpkin pie, prepared according to package direction1 cup pecan pieces1 tablespoon minced crystallized ginger3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar4 tablespoons butter meltedPreheat the oven broiler. Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. Spread evenly over the top of the pie and broil about seven inches from the source of heat for about two minutes, watching carefully until the topping is golden and the sugar is dissolved.

Due to technical difficulties, results of the weekly SunSpot.net survey do not appear in the Live! section today. Here are the results: Last week's question: What is your favorite fall food? 8.7 percent: candied apples (4 votes) 21.7 percent: chili (10) 8.7 percent: lasagna (4) 52.2 percent: pumpkin pie (24) 2.2 percent: squash soup (1) 6.5 percent: sweet potatoes (3) 46 total votes See page 5 of Live! to take part in this week's online survey.

As I write this, Thanksgiving is only hours away, and I still have no idea what I am serving. There will be a turkey, of course. And potatoes and vegetables and stuffing and gravy. But exactly what form these basic elements will take is still under discussion with my daughter, who believes she was cruelly separated at birth from Ina Garten. I call it "Thanksgiving in the time of the Food Network: All bets are off. " These cooking shows — which are to college students what soap operas were to us when we were in school — have produced a generation of confident young cooks who don't think you have to have years of practice under your belt before you prepare your first truffle.

On the Monday before Thanksgiving, smiling women dished out generous helpings of turkey, green beans and sweet potatoes inside the East Baltimore Development Inc. Community Resource Center, as little boys circled the crowded room with trays of lemon cake and pumpkin pie. Hundreds of people - some dressed in their Sunday best, others in work clothes - squeezed to fit at the dozens of tables covered with yellow plastic tablecloths. Neighbors greeted each other with hugs. Old friends shouted above the live jazz music to catch up on grandchildren.

Avoid the stress, the mess, the "I don't know what happened, I followed the recipe!" dilemma and the cleanup, but still get your turkey fix at these Baltimore restaurants open on Thanksgiving Day. Alizee We're curious to find out what the chefs have in store for their buffet, served 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Usual fare is a mix of contemporary Asian and French cuisine, so the possibilities have our heads spinning. If you go: : Alizee is at 4 W. University Parkway. Call 410-235-8200.

Avoid the stress, the mess, the "I don't know what happened, I followed the recipe!" dilemma and the cleanup, but still get your turkey fix at these Baltimore restaurants open on Thanksgiving Day. Alizee We're curious to find out what the chefs have in store for their buffet, served 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Usual fare is a mix of contemporary Asian and French cuisine, so the possibilities have our heads spinning. If you go: Alizee is at 4 W. University Parkway. Call 410-235-8200.

If you've been dreaming of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, wake up and smell the sweet potatoes. Or the pecans. Poor weather during the growing season and twice the normal rain during the harvest has resulted in a shortage of canned pumpkin on grocery store shelves this holiday season, warn the producers of Libby's, one of the best-known names in pumpkin. "Our calculations indicate that we may deplete our inventory of canned Libby's pumpkin as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday," said Paul Bakus, vice president and general manager for Nestle Baking, Libby's parent company.

Jed Weeks follows the rhythms of the beer calendar. The 24-year-old who lives in Mount Vernon knows that as the seasons change, so do the offerings of craft brewers. These days brewers are rolling out their Oktoberfest beers, traditionally Marzen lagers, slightly sweet and nutty. Its annual autumnal release has been the inspiration of Oktoberfest celebrations from Germany, which started reveling in Munich on Saturday, to the Oct. 10 gathering of Maryland brewers at the Timonium Fairgrounds.

Holiday brunch class -- Learn how to make inventive holiday-inspired brunch dishes at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 27 at Donna's of Columbia, 5850 Waterloo Road. $45. There is a 48-hour cancellation policy. Call 410-659-5248, ext. 112. Three courses of carols --The a cappella quartet Joyous Voices will perform holiday carols while a three-course dinner is served from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Nov. 27 at the Elkridge Furnace Inn, 5745 Furnace Ave., Elkridge. $50 (inclusive of service, tax and soft drinks). Reservations are required; call 410-379-9336.

In the thick of a gray morning just days ago, fat snowflakes began to fall on the city, dusting the bricks like powdered sugar and swirling in the air like confetti. Office workers ran to their windows. People hurrying along on the sidewalk stopped in their tracks. And moments later, as suddenly as it appeared, the life-sized snow globe settled. Workers turned back to their desks and city streets were just streets. A holiday weekend is just like that. You've got to make sure to look for the magic.