You know I love pumpkins and squash. My favorite pumpkin for baking and pumpkin butter is the winter luxury pumpkin. It makes a very mild pumpkin pie similar to old fashioned squash pie. Winter luxury pumpkins don't last long--so you basically grow, process and freeze. These pumpkins can't compare to anything you find in the grocery store. When processed, they are great for low fat cooking. Pumpkin butter from these is out of this world. I use Queensland's Blue for pumpkin pie. They have a little more depth to their flavor. They are an Australian pumpkin that will last a long time in your cellar. I still have some in my basement--which is warmer than a typical cellar would be. Now if you want beauty--plant the musquee de provence. It looks like a cinderella pumpkin and is absolutely beautiful. You can cook with it--but I don't. It just doesn't compare to the pumpkins above. My favorite squash is the Potimarron. It's a French squash that has an unbelievable taste. I often wonder what it would taste like if made into pumpkin pie. We usually just eat it straight from the oven. These last a long time. Tori

No idea if interchangeable, but pretty sure about differences. Canned pumpkin is just that... pureed pumpkin and probably some kinda preservative. Pumpkin pie filling gives you a jump-start on a pie... spices, sugar, etc.

LOL! I don't think it'll ever be "over". More like Cajun food. Everybody had to try it, and some in the worst and most inappropriate ways, then it settled down into "blackened" being a standard part of the American cooking vocabulary with no real ties anymore to Cajun cuisine, or Caribbean, or anywhere it might have originated. Or maybe it's like birthday party magicians. Now that home cooks are making foams, maltodextrine sands, those oil spheres I can't remember the name of, and using liquid nitrogen--and they make home anti-griddles and blast chillers but those are still way expensive in a way nitrogen is not-- it's no big deal or source of wonder. We know about the mirror in the cage and pocket in the hat. OTOH, people still pay good money to see the best magicians because they're showmen rather than just tricksters. The chef whose pie this is sounds like a showman to me. :)

Dave, I haven't tried that particular recipe yet, but I do know that Lars has experience as a pastry chef and so I'm not surprised at all that it was good, although somewhat unusual with the cottage cheese. I'm glad it turned out well. Annie