BONE APPETIT!

Three days till Halloween and counting. And eating...or at least preparing for it.

My plans for this eery, batty, bone-rattling, gruesome, chilling, haunting (gasp for air) weekend include Rotten Teeth (see yesterday's recipe), Flesh'n'Blood (blood-curdling drink), pumpkin pie, Phantom Sausages, Haunting biscuits and lots of decorations.

What do you say to a creamy pumpkin pie? Are you ready to tackle this challenge? If you are, please, please, send us a photo of your great effort at the kitchen.

PUMPKING PIE RECIPE
ingredients:

  1. 450 g/1lb prepared weight pumpkin flesh, cut into 1in/2.5 cm chunks

  2. 2 large eggs plus 1 yolk (use the white for another dish)

  3. 3 oz/75g soft dark brown sugar

  4. 1 tsp ground cinnamon

  5. ½ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

  6. ½ tsp ground allspice

  7. ½ tsp ground cloves

  8. ½ tsp ground ginger

  9. 10 fl oz/275 ml double cream

method
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

  2. Use a shop bought sweet crust pastry case, about 9 inch/23 cm diameter and 1½ inches/4 cm deep.

  3. To make the filling, steam the pumpkin then place in a coarse sieve and press lightly to extract any excess water.

  4. Then lightly whisk the eggs and extra yolk together in a large bowl.

  5. Place the sugar, spices and the cream in a pan, bring to simmering point, giving it a whisk to mix everything together. Then pour it over the eggs and whisk it again briefly.

  6. Now add the pumpkin pureé, still whisking to combine everything thoroughly.

  7. Pour the filling into your pastry case and bake for 35-40 minutes, by which time it will puff up round the edges but still feel slightly wobbly in the centre.

  8. Remove the pie from the oven and place the tin on a wire cooling rack. Serve chilled (stored loosely covered in foil in the fridge) with some equally chilled créme fraïche, but warm or at room temperature would be fine.

Now to finish with a bewitching note, here I present you a Halloween joke that's sure to make your friends drop their jaw.

Do you know what happened to the boy and girl vampires?
They loved... in vein.

HAVE A DREADFULLY GOOD HALLOWEEN.

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