And the Winner is….

Sorry I’m a little behind in posting the winner, it’s been a rough week, but more on that next blog post. The winner is…not me, or Anderson, who made it in for Thanksgiving. We were skunked by a seven-year-old, who won this year’s Annual Cutthroat Tunno Pumpkin Pie Competition. He even fluted the crust!

It was my great-nephew Alessandro, who took the kids trophy last year. He got the most first place votes. My great-nephew Nate came in second (that’s him on the phone) and my nephew Chris came in third.

Alessandro has learned everything he knows from my nephew Patrick, a fabulous cook himself. I’ve seen photos of this child at three or four standing on a step-stool so he could reach the stove top to stir. Patrick learned quite a bit about cooking from living in Italy for several years and is the author of A Guide to Italy, Cultural Insights and Tips to Maximize your Trip. (Yes, that’s what’s called a plug and you should buy it if you or a friend are planning a trip to Italy. It’s very helpful.)

And every year I learn more than I ever wanted to about pumpkin pie.

1. When you’re tasting seven pies, one after another, the sugar can get to be too much, so less sugar is better. You don’t need 3/4 of a cup of sugar in one pie even if Libby’s says you do. I just changed my Prize Winning Pumpkin Pie recipe to 1/2 cup and it should be great. Please try it and let me know.
2. I now have what I consider the perfect combo of liquid ingredients: evaporated milk, cream and half and half.
3. Leave out the cloves. They make the pie gritty. If you must use cloves, then try clove extract (which I didn’t even know existed until I Googled it just now). Or get out a mortar and pestle and make sure your ground cloves are a powder, or your pie will be gritty. I cannot abide grit in anything I eat. It stops me cold.
4. Whipped cream makes every pumpkin pie better. Vanilla ice cream works incredibly well too.
5. Repeatedly going back to make sure your vote was correct and actually eating the pie is a very bad idea, especially after consuming your weight in turkey and all the side dishes. Next year, I’m bringing a spit cup like the professional tasters do. No offense family pie bakers.
6. There is a new recipe from Libby’s using sweetened condensed milk, which was also very good, but again, a little too sweet.
7. My family learned the art of competition from my mom who used to try to bribe my nephews with dollar bills to say her pie was the best. I think, once again, she would be proud to know that the contest.

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