For years….YEARS…as in my whole life, I was under the assumption that pumpkin pie tasted like…well…pumpkins. As a child I scooped out my fair share of pumpkins to make jack-o-lanterns….the bitter sweet innards all goopy on my fingers. And toasted pumpkin seeds? Fuhgedaboudit. You can keep them.
So…when I was introduced to the concept of a pumpkin pie several decades ago…my brain instantly said ‘no way.’
Fastforward to tonight. I’m almost 42 and a friend dropped off a pumpkin pie for dessert. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I didn’t like pumpkin pie. So I told the truth–I’ve never eaten pumpkin pie.
Tonight I did.
Threw some whip cream on it. And I made that face like I knew something was going to taste nasty. And I took a bite.
Damn. This is good.
Took another bite.
Yup–still good.
What the hell?!? This doesn’t taste like pumpkin at all?!? This is a creamy spicy blend of yumminess.
I feel seriously betrayed. For reals. They should call this shit Harvest Spice Pie or something….
Had I been offered some Harvest Spice Pie as a kid, I might have given it a shot. But Pumpkin…ewww.
And now I’m sad. I mean happy and sad. Happy because I know now how wonderful Pumpkin pie is (I still think it should be called Harvest Spice Pie or something)….but I’m sad when I think of all the wonderful cooks in my family who made pumpkin pies that I passed on.
Given its yumminess, I can see now why my parents didn’t enforce the ‘you need to at least try a bite before you say you don’t like something’ rule with pumpkin pie. I’m pretty sure they wanted it for themselves.
Now if you’ll excuse me…I may have to go get another slice.
You know…just to make sure I still like it.
-A.T.
Todd Skaggs Writes 