Did you know that at the first original Thanksgiving feasts in the colonies of the new world, none of what we call traditional thanksgiving foods were served? So how is this known? It's known because these foods simply weren't available to them with one exception. That would be squash, including pumpkins. You see pumpkins are native to North America
So do you suppose that they had pumpkin pie back then? Well they might have made something close, being that this day of thanks was a very important celebration to them. In fact some food researchers suggest that early colonists would fill pumpkins with cream & honey and bake them. The honey was used because sugar was very expensive and reserved for use in tea, if it too was available.
Nutmeg was available but only to the very wealthy, as it was the Dutch who controlled the small group of islands where nutmeg was gathered. In fact nutmeg was so expensive that unscrupulous colonists in Connecticut would actually spend the time that it took to carve fake nutmeg pods out of wood for sale to unknowing traders. This is how the Connecticut got its nickname “the nutmeg state”.
Pumpkin pie purists will tell you that only the best pumpkin pie recipes require you to cook down and puree fresh pumpkins. The problem here though, is that pumpkin pie is a holiday dish and there are just so many cooking chores to be none on the days leading up to the big day. So the truth, is that canned pumpkin pie filling will suffice, just as long as it's a high quality canned filling.
Renowned Southern chef Paula Deen advises to try mixing 8 ounces of cream cheese into your pumpkin pie recipes. She also advises not to substitute margarine for butter. Hey! This is a special treat and if you're worried about calories or cholesterol, simply don't go back for seconds.
