Jell-O No Bake Pumpkin Style Pie

We decided to have a low key Thanksgiving in 2008. Didn't want to travel, none of the families were doing anything, and we weren't interested in cooking much. So, we did a sort of traditional Thanksgiving meal. When I say "Sort of", I mean that most of the main ingredients were traditional, but prepared in quick and easy ways.



We had turkey burgers and sweet potato french fries. And then for dessert, we had this Jell-O No Bake Pumpkin Style Pie. As if the No Bake part wasn't different enough, it's just a pumpkin "style" pie... as in "this isn't really a pumpkin pie but it's close enough for your lazy ass".



Still, this was a great dessert. Jell-O does pumpkin pudding stuff pretty well (the Cheesecake cups were a little weird but okay). The pie itself was pretty easy to make even if the crust didn't come out quite the way the instructions indicated.

there didn't seem to be enough crust in the mix to actually coat the dish entirely and still be thick enough to provide support for the pumpkin mix. And then there was the problem of shaping the upper part of the crust, as you can see from the picture. Thus, when slices were cut from the pie and placed on plates, it tended to fall apart. It all tasted good even if the appearance left much to be desired.

Pumpkin Pie flavored Gourmet Candy Corn

Okay, first of all "Gourmet Candy Corn" is like saying "High Class Hillbilly"... it just can't happen. Candy Corn is one of the lowest forms of cheap candy and cheap candy is one of the lowest forms of food. Typically, I can eat 2 or 3 pieces of candy corn at a time before I decide that I've had plenty. It's just colorful sugar and I have better things to eat.

Still, I had to try the candy corn that claimed to have "pumpkin pie" flavor. Guess what! It tasted just like candy corn. There was maybe a hint of some sort of spice to it, but it wasn't something you'd just casually notice. Put these in a bowl for guests and a) they probably wouldn't notice any difference between these and regular candy corn and b) they probably wouldn't stay very long if you offered them a dish of candy corn.

What's really sad is that I had just eaten a pumpkin cookie and I was afraid that I might skew the tatse test and think they tasted more pumpkiny than they actually did. Nope. The candy corn taste overpowered the pumpkin flavor residue already inhabiting my mouth and left nothing but the tatse of candy corn.

I'll give it another shot with a totally unbiased tongue, devoid of any residual flavoring, but I'm not expecting much.

UPDATE 9/18/09: gave it a second shot. Could actually taste more pumpkin spice... but it's still candy corn

TastyKake Pumpkin Pie

So, I've heard the praises of TastyKakes. Some pies from up north that people just rave about. I mean, some of the comments just make these things sound like food that angels would make for Jesus. So, I had to try one. Fortunately, eBay has become quite a useful tool in finding all manner of pumpkin crap that I can't find locally.

I found a guy selling some who promised that they were fresh from the store and mailed right away. I got 4 pies that were already past their fresh date. Still, I don't think that accounts for the bizarre taste of the TastyKake.

The crust was pretty good, nice and flaky... pretty good pastry. The pumpkin filling was just weird though. It had a strange texture and a slightly lemony flavor. Maybe the freshness came into play, I don't know, but the lemon thing just threw me off completely. Maybe I'll order direct from the company this year and give it a second chance.