By The call came on Tuesday. I know because I was at the kitchen table working on a Biology worksheet when Jamal called Mama's phone — he was back at school in Scotlandville — and I watched her face transform in real time. That slow opening of expression from composed to undone with joy. She said, "Baby. Oh baby." She was crying before she hung up.
Jamal Robinson had been offered a full football scholarship to Southern University in Baton Rouge. Full ride: tuition, housing, books, everything. He had worked toward this since he was nine years old in a pee-wee league uniform. He had lifted weights and run drills and watched film and made sacrifices I only partially witnessed. And now it was real in the way only the actual thing can be real, after all the hoping.
Daddy came home at five-thirty and Mama met him at the door. I watched from the hallway. He stood completely still for a moment when she told him and then he sat down on the steps inside the door and put his face in his hands. Not from sadness. From the overwhelming weight of something good you have worked very hard for arriving all at once. Mama sat next to him on the steps and put her arm around him and they stayed like that for a while.
I called MawMaw Shirley and she made a sound that was somewhere between a shout and a prayer. She said, "I am going to make the biggest pot of gumbo this weekend that my kitchen has ever seen." She did exactly that.
That weekend we celebrated properly: MawMaw's large-format seafood and chicken gumbo, filé powder, potato salad on the side the way Baton Rouge people do it, French bread from a real bakery. Jamal sat at the head of the table for the first time in his life, which MawMaw decreed was appropriate for the occasion. He looked slightly embarrassed and entirely happy. I made him a sweet potato pie as my own private contribution. He ate half of it and said it was almost as good as MawMaw's. Almost is very high praise in this family.
The pie I brought to Jamal’s scholarship celebration was my own private contribution — something I could claim as mine in a meal that was otherwise all MawMaw’s. A butternut squash pie is close kin to a sweet potato pie: same warmth, same depth, same silky custard filling that feels like it belongs at exactly this kind of table. If you’re looking for the recipe I used that weekend — the one Jamal said was “almost as good” as MawMaw’s, which in our family is the highest praise you can earn — this is it.
Butternut Squash Pie
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie crust
- 2 cups butternut squash puree (from about 1 medium squash, roasted and mashed)
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 350°F. If using a store-bought crust, allow it to come to room temperature while you prepare the filling.
- Prepare the squash. Halve the butternut squash, scoop out the seeds, brush with oil, and roast cut-side down on a baking sheet at 400°F for 40–45 minutes until very tender. Scoop out the flesh and mash or blend smooth. Measure out 2 cups.
- Mix the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the butternut squash puree, brown sugar, beaten eggs, evaporated milk, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth and fully combined.
- Add the spices. Whisk in the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and salt. Taste and adjust spices if desired — the filling should be fragrant and lightly sweet.
- Fill the crust. Pour the filling into the unbaked pie crust, smoothing the top with a spatula. Do not overfill — leave about 1/4 inch of space at the rim.
- Bake. Place the pie on the center rack of the preheated 350°F oven and bake for 50–55 minutes, until the center is just set (it should jiggle only slightly when nudged). If the crust edges begin to brown too quickly, cover them loosely with foil or a pie shield.
- Cool before slicing. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing. The filling will firm up as it cools. Serve at room temperature or chilled, topped with whipped cream if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 46g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 220mg