Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie, Niagara Falls

I could barely keep my eyes open as a strong gust of water almost blew me away. I had gotten as close as I could to the waterfall, and was now drenched. I had been there only for a minute, but it seemed as if a strong storm had appeared and left as quickly as a tornado. It wasn't the 1600's, when the first non-native Americans, French explorers, first experienced the Falls. The feeling must have been similar, though.

The Maid of the Mist

The small boat that took me past one set of falls to the next zigzagged in and out of the blue marble countertop like a turkey gravy server. As a result, one could feel a soft moist spray throughout most of the voyage, one that has been taken since 1846.

Thunder crashed down in the form of water, leaving a cloud of what appeared to be white debris dust that rose above it, and could be seen from miles away. As I became nearer to this force that gathered strength as it pushed past long jagged rock cliffs that resembled black phantoms hidden beneath the river, the rumbling sound was almost more beautiful than the impressive view, when it cleansed the soul, and left room for nothing else but its contemplation.
A rainbow stretched its glassy colors across the view, much like the bridge nearby. It was a frequent and daily sight in this place, which surely must have fairies, leprechauns, and pots of gold.

 History of Pumpion Pie (that's how it used to be spelled) and Thanksgiving
The first written cooked pumpkin pie recipe was a French recipe recorded in the 1600's. At the time, its dose of vitamin C saved the pilgrims from scurvy. At first, sweet pumpkin recipes were baked inside the gourd, and milk, honey, and spices were added within it as well. Even though a recipe for the pie existed, it might not have been baked in a crust in the New World, or have been a Thanksgiving staple, until the beginning of the 1800's.
It is now eaten for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas in the United States and Canada.

Harvest decoration at a Niagara winery

Niagara Falls at night

Recipe from Libby's Pumpkin Pie Can

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can Libby's pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all ingredients, except for the pie crust and the whipped cream, in a bowl. Pour into the unbaked pie crust shell. If you desire, you can take an additional amount of pie crust and cut out miniature leaves to place on the edge and in the center for a decoration. Place in oven for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional hour. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Then serve with whipped cream.

References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maid_of_the_Mist
http://www.niagarafallsheritage.ca/heritage/show.asp?id=252761
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PieHistory/PumpkinPie.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_pie

Chocolate Chip Cookies in New York State in the Fall

Jackolantern chocolate chip cookie made with Wilton cookie cutter

In New York State, you can travel through Ichabod Crane's Sleepy Hollow town (http://www.visitsleepyhollow.com/things-to-do/visit-irving-landmarks) as you follow the road through the landscapes sprinkled with colorful fall foliage in October. 

After following side roads such as I9 west, you can go through Saugerties to the Catskill Mountains, where trees shine metalically, like glow-in-the-dark puzzle pieces, as the sunlight strikes their backs. Locals who declare having arrived for the Woodstock concert in the 1970's, now run restaurants and other small businesses in that small town in the state park.

Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in New York

Colorful barns and silos on the road, near Niagara

Further north, vines curl around Seneca and Keuka Lakes, as red and orange tree flags pop up every so often. As you near Niagara, barns and silos loom ahead, one after another, until you reach the powerful River, and waterfalls. 

Recipe:

Alton Brown's Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/the-chewy-recipe/index.html

Follow the recipe to make the dough, and get a small scoop ready. You can only do half of the scoop, for a regular-sized cookie, or you can do the full scoop, the way his recipe indicates in ounces, to make a larger one.

 Make sure you line your cookie sheets with parchment paper to ensure better shaped cookies. Either avoid using darker pans, or make sure you reduce the baking temperature by 25 degrees if you do use them.

Your cookies will turn out chewy and have a round shape if you use the scoop!

To make the jack'o'lantern, use a Wilton cookie cutter. Place some dough on the cookie sheet, making sure the dough shape is larger than the cutter. Push the cutter into the dough, and remove the dough left around the cutter. You can bake with the cutter still on the dough. This large cookie takes at least 15 minutes longer usually, to bake. Once you take it out of the oven, let it rest for three minutes. Then remove the cutter inmediately, using a knife to run it along the interior edges to make the cookie come out. It will come out in pieces, which you can either paste together with frosting, or just set together on the plate.

References

http://www.recipegirl.com/2012/05/14/new-york-times-chocolate-chip-cookies/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headless_Horseman_(Legend_of_Sleepy_Hollow)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Irving