VIGA held its Pumpkin Pie Taste-off this morning at the market, and a cold but salivating crowd gathered around before noon to snap up $1 half-slices of the many entrants.

I’m guessing there were 15± pies entered in either the “Trad” category or the “Pumpkin Dessert/non-traditional” category. All the recipes asked cooks to highlight the local ingredients used in the baking, and I was impressed to see not only pumpkin had been used.

For instance: I talked to Zilla Copper, who made that scumptious “Trad” entry (photo above) with the chrysanthemum cluster in the center. She got eggs from a neighbor, dairy and pumpkin from GreenMan Farm, and actually made creme fraiche and BUTTER from Hazel the Jersey Cow’s cream.

“It wasn’t too hard, actually,” she told me. “I made the butter in a blender. You whip the cream until it gets thick, then you add ice water and keep blending, oh, about 10 minutes, until the butter rises in lumps to the top. Then you have to press the butter to get the water out and to form it. I found the recipe in my old ‘Joy of Cooking.’”

By quarter to noon, there was quite a crowd of cold-looking folk standing around, waiting for the winners to be announced so they could pounce on the dollar half-slices. Proceeds will go to the PTSA’s “Local Food” program for Chautaugua Elementary’s cafeteria.

Lindsay Hart eyes the "Pumpkin Dessert" line-up; Nancy Foster-Moss wins for her "Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake"

The Winners?  Nancy Foster-Moss won the “Pumpkin Dessert/non-Traditional” category for her “Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake,” which I can tell you MYSELF was gooey-piggy-creamy-lush-scrumptious.

Shannon Seath Meyer holds her winning "trad" pumpkin pie and sports the Winner's Apron.

And the winner for a “Traditional Pumpkin Pie’ was Shannon Seath Meyer, who used her own homegrown “Sugar Pie” pumpkin in her recipe (given below the photos). Jasper Forrester, last year’s winner for her “Ricotta Pumpkin Pie,” presented the honorary Pie Winners’ Apron, autographed by each winner of years before. (For Jasper’s winning recipe, click here: )

Congrats to all, and good work, Lindsay Hart and Merrilee Runyan.

Recipe for Shannon’s Traditional Pumpkin Pie

To get Puree:  Cut a 6″ “Sugar Pie” pumpkin in half, scoop out seeds, put in a brownie pan with 1″ of water and roast in 400° oven for 40 minutes until pumpkin flesh is soft. Let cool, scoop out, blenderize to puree.

Combine all ingredients and cook on medium, stirring often to cook off some of the water and to concentrate flavors. Takes about 10 minutes. Then let cool while you—

Then add to the pumpkin mixture:

Pour into pre-baked shell and bake at 300° for 45 minutes+, until sides are set and you still have a wiggly puddle in the middle.