Student Chef Spotlight: Simone Dunye (5th Grader)

Simone is a typical active eleven year old girl -- creative, chatty and loves to spend time in the kitchen. Today we talk to her about baking, one of her favorite rainy day activities.

Simone, why do you like to cook?
I like to cook because it's fun. I first started cooking when I was around seven years old. I used to help my mom make pancakes. I guess I prefer baking to cooking. It is more interesting. I don't bake that often but I would like to do more. My favorite things to bake are pies: pot pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie, things like that. 

I think everyone should learn to cook and bake. It is fun and easy and after a while, if you know the ingredients really well, you can cook without having to use recipes. You will know it by heart and if you know it by heart, then you can do it all the time.

What are you going to make today? 

I am going to make pumpkin pie. This is the second time I've made it but I'm not nervous because it is easy and I'm not scared. The directions to make pumpkin pie are simple.

Are there any tricks to making this that we should know about?

Not really. You just have to measure the ingredients really carefully.

How old should a kid be before they try to cook this?
A kid should be about nine years old before trying to cook this. You do have to know about measurements and a little kid might mess up and add too much salt or sugar.

One last really important question. When is the pie ready to eat?
You can't eat pumpkin pie right away. You should let it cool and then eat it.

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Simone's Pumpkin Pie
(Makes one 9" pie)

1 unbaked 9" deep dish pie crust
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree
1 can evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a small bowl. In a separate large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the sugar/spice mixture and the pumpkin puree. Beat until well mixed. Gradually stir in the evaporated milk. Pour the mixture into the pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until set, about 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Set out a rack to cool completely (about 2 hours). Serve immediately or refrigerate until chilled.