This year's Thanksgiving pumkin pie was ambitious for two reasons: using real local pumpkin for the filling, and making the crust gluten-free.
Of the two twists, the first was easier and more successful. I simply split the sugar pumpkin in half with a cleaver, gutted it with a knife and spoon, and turned the halves dome-side up in a baking pan with a half inch of water. Then I baked them til soft, and scooped out the brilliant orange flesh for mixing in the food processor with the usual ingredients.
The crust warranted a test run, and could have used two. The first try involved only two ingredients: gluten-free ginger snap cookies and butter. It came out a little too sweet and too oily; and the exposed edge burnt. Despite all that, it was pretty yummy. The second try cut some of the butter and added tapioca flour. It performed well as a crust, but didn't taste as complementary with the filling. On number 3 - and there's bound to be one - I think we'll just dial back the tapioca flour, and maybe add some crushed almonds.
