Having a characteristic lack of par-tay invitations to see
off 2012, I instead decided to content myself with baking. I rarely get to do
it and New Year’s Eve, being such a long night, seems like the right night to
tackle a large-scale bake-a-thon in my teeny-tiny kitchen. That, and I am in
need of lunches for the remainder of the week.
Tonight’s menu? Pumpkin pasties. (That’s PAH-sties, not PAY-sties.
Get yer mind out of the gutter.)
While puttering around the kitchen in pre-baking activity, I
vividly considered attempting to round up the usual suspects for New Year’s Day
sledding. It would be joyous! It would be whimsical! It would likely involve
cookie sheets and boxes in lieu of sleds. And afterwards the usual suspects
could come back to my apartment for such hot drinks as coffee, tea, cocoa and
Butterbeer. But… these plans are wrapped in doubt seeing as the usual suspects
will likely be nursing hangovers tomorrow and might not find the prospect of 20
degree weather and sunny (more like overcast) skies inviting. And I’m
missing some phone numbers. Yes, I
thought, I have complete faith in this
plan.
Nevertheless, I had tonight’s coziness of baking, cat and
movie to look forward to, followed by a fluffy warm bed and an undetermined
number of hours of sleep. Yes. Tonight will be comfortable.
Movie. Hm. Tonight’s comfort apparently hinged on just the
right movie to have in the background. I usually cook to Tim Burton; I find his
macabre sweetness buoys my confidence over the stove. Yet tonight called for
something different. However, I am limited in this to-be-determined movie
because of my limited collection of DVDs. I am therefore confined to what
Netflix has deemed appropriate for instant streaming. And, “appropriate” is
rather ironic because The Producers played in the background while I mixed and
stuffed and crimped and baked until golden brown my pumpkin PAH-sties. Yes, an
irreverent musical and some Nathan Lane love was just what I needed. I think I’ll
follow it up with The Birdcage.
Musicals and baking go well together. Here, try it yourself:
- The Producers, on the nearby TVV.
- 2 cups canned pumpkin puree (not the pie filling, just the gourd)
- A few (2 maybe?) cups chopped butternut squash, steamed until it’s the kind of soft you like.
- 1 small-to-medium onion, chopped however finely you think onions ought be chopped.
- 1 garlic clove, crushed. Or, if you’d like to follow my lead: 1 ½ tsp pre-chopped garlic. That’s the stuff in the jar. I mean, really, who has time to peel garlic?
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. I like the pre-shredded variety on this one too.
- However many sunflower seeds you feel inspired to add. If I’m forced to measure, I suppose it’s a couple tablespoons. I like nuts.
- 2 tsp (or so) of ground sage. Don’t be stingy on this one. It’s the sage that gives these puppies their unique flavor.
- 1 ½ tblsp (or so) sour cream. Or, if like me, you don’t have sour cream, I think any kind of milk product would do. First go around I added heavy cream ‘cause that’s just what I had.
- 1 egg, for painting the tops of the PAH-sties with after they are folded. If you are so inclined. I admit to skipping this step.
- 1-2 boxes premade pie crust, each roll of dough cut like a pizza into 4 wedges.
Step 2: Mix all
of your ingredients. No specific order necessary.
Step 3: Take your
pie dough wedges and fill with about 2 tblsp of pumpkin filling, more or less to
one side of the dough. Fold over. This is the part where my
well-intended, symmetrical PAH-sties go awry. But that’s ok. They are still
tasty. Just seal the edges down however you can. You will note in the below photo that I did not get my edges sealed down.
Step 4: Put them
on a baking sheet and cook for about 30-40 minutes. We’re going for golden brown
here, but mine come out tawny.
They come out just begging to be wrapped in waxed paper and
tied up with string:
Oh yeah, Happy New Year and hullo 201213. We'll see tomorrow if sledding works out.
