by Nina Messersmith
There are four long wooden tables aligned with hundreds of plates. The four tables represent each house at HOL. Students have the option of indulging in roast beef, chickens, pork chops, lamb chops, steak, potatoes, mac and cheese, bread puddings, peas, carrots, gravy, and tons and tons of yummy desserts, some of which include ice cream, pies, pumpkin pasties, treacle tarts, trifles, pudding, apples, cauldron cakes, chocolate frogs, and the list goes on and on.
Once everyone is stuffed to the brim, the plates magically vanish into thin air (House Elf power!) and everyone is sent to their dorms to sleep off their bellyaches and get ready for classes the next day. So for my first recipe I would like to make one of my most favorite desserts - Pumpkin Pasties!
Pumpkin Pasties
Ingredients:
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 lb. canned pumpkin
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 t. allspice
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (1 can)
9 oz. pie crust pastry
Directions:
1. Lets start with making the filling. In a large bowl, mix the eggs and sugar. Stir in pumpkin, salt and spices. Add evaporated milk and mix well.
2. Pour the mix into a casserole dish that has been sprayed with Pam or buttered.
3. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
4. After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for another 45 minutes.
5. Take out of the oven and cool on a wire rack.
6. Next we need to make the pastry cup. Roll out pie crust (I like mine thin) and cut into circles. Sometimes I use the rim of a cup to cut nice circles into the crust.
7. Put a spoonful of the pumpkin mixture into the center of the pie crust.
8. Fold over the crust into a half-circle and crimp (or pinch) the edges together to firmly close the pie crust.
9. Cut three small holes into the top of the pastry (this is used to vent the pastry) and then place pastries onto a non-stick cooking sheet.
10. Finally, bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes (or until the crust is a light gold brown color). Enjoy!