1 ¾ c. pumpkin puree, canned or fresh

¾ c. sugar [millennial note: or sucralose substitute; I swear by
                     Sweetzfree (click here to order online), which has
                        virtually no chemical after-tang]

½ t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

½ t. ginger

2 eggs

1 cup cream [DO NOT SUBSTITUTE! EVEN HALF-AND-HALF WON’T DO!]

½ c. FULL-FAT (“regular”) milk

Unbaked, unpricked  9" pie crust (bottom only)

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Turn pumpkin into aluminum [millennial note: any NOT non-stick will do, e.g. stainless steel or copper] and stir over direct heat for 10 minutes or until somewhat dry and slightly caramelized [millennial note; do NOT skimp this step! The dryer the better], stirring frequently. Remove from heat but keep hot.

Mix thoroughly together the sugar, salt, and spices; stir into the hot pumpkin. Beat smooth.

Pour immediately into unpricked pastry-lined pie pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and only an inch circle in the center of filling remains liquid. Cool on cake rack before cutting.

[Spikey-specific note: If you have access to a wood or charcoal grill (NOT gas!) try roasting your raw pumpkin. The resulting puree does NOT taste aggressively “smoky,” there’s just a subtle DEPTH to it that will have everyone asking for your “secret ingredient” J  ]