First, I have to admit that I have limited personal experience with pumpkin pie. I never cared for it until recently....I guess my tastes are changing as I get older. My daughter wanted to see how a pumpkin goes from field to pie, so this was our foray, as far as baking one. I followed the directions as written, but doubling the spices per other reviews. The end result is kind of bland. Not bad, just bland. I will increase the honey by 1/2 cup (total 1 1/2 cups) and add another 1/2 tsp. ginger (total 1 1/2 tsp.) and add another full tsp. cinnamon (total 2 tsp.) next time. I also added 1 tsp. Watkins Pumpkin Pie Spice and will keep that. Also, my crust was really bland, though that is not the fault of this recipe and my score does not reflect that. I will add a dash of sugar to my crust next time. We'll see how the next one comes out, taste-wise. Texture- and "set"-wise, it turned out great. I think this is a good starting point, and just have to adjust sweetness and spice to suit my personal tastes. Oh....I pureed my cooked pumpkin with my hand mixer, and that made the puree really nice and smooth. I think it takes a little more blending than simply mashing to get a nice, velvety texture.

Reviewed On: Nov. 9, 2009

This was fantastic. I made it for an end-of-summer cookout, and everyone loved it. I followed the directions exactly, except subbing cilantro for the basil (a friend is allergic to basil, poor guy) and while the cilantro was good, I can imagine that the basil will make it fabulous (I love basil). Next time I might try using ketchup for the tomato sauce; I personally thought that a little sweetness would have added something....or maybe a dash of Worcestershire or even some brown sugar. The cayenne amount was just right for me, but my husband likes SPICY, so he could've taken more heat. A dash of Tabasco, maybe? The Chipotle Tabasco is really good, that might be worth a try sometime too. Anyway, this one rated 5 stars the first time I tried it; I'm very excited to add my own personal touches and see how it comes out. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!

Reviewed On: Sep. 8, 2009

I made this using some recommedations from other reviewers: using 1/4 c. EVOO and 1/4 c. butter; increasing garlic to 5 cloves; adding a bit of flour to thicken. Otherwise, I followed the directions exactly. I thought the results were very bland, unfortunately. I wonder if adding a splash of white wine would help? I will try again. Thanks!

Reviewed On: Mar. 5, 2009