Fond Memories of Fall, Pumpkin Spice Bread....Tracking My Jarsdale Pumpkin From Farm To Table.

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My friend Cronica Domus' new post reminded me of this adventure when I first came to live on the lake.  It also reminded me of Lucy, my Sous Chef who loved to go to the farm.

Are we there yet???

The beautiful Jardale pumpkin which my friends at the pumpkin farm gave me a few days ago is now pumpkin pie and Pumpkin Spice Bread!  I can't believe I did it but I roasted the pumpkin yesterday, strained it, drained it and froze it for a later use, just like my friend Patti Londre recommended.  All in all, I got 4 Cups of pumpkin flesh, 2 1/2 for the pie and 11/2 Cups for the bread.  A meaguer yield for a lot of work.  I did follow their advice and mixed the pie filling before I froze it;  that way I won't have much to do before I serve it on Thanksgiving.

The pumpkin bread was a cinch and a welcomed addition to my afternoon tea.  By the way, it gets better and better every day that goes by.

Before it went in the oven---look at the beautiful orange color!

and the contrast with the blue- gray of the skin

After they came out of the oven

After mashing...look at the water in the bottom!

the end result just after it came out of the oven

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (210g) flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup (200 g) sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (1/4 L) pumpkin purée*

1/2 cup (1 dL) vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 cup (1 dL) chopped walnuts or almonds*



* To make pumpkin purée, cut a pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, lie face down on a foil or Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Drain on top of a colander for a couple of hours. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use.



Procedure

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda.

2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts.

3 Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack.

*This time I used almonds

Makes one loaf. Can easily double the recipe.

Halloween Of Times Gone By...For Adults Only

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I am sure most of you have not seen this post as it was one of my first when I started this blog.  I will be celebrating Halloween this year, not exactly in this fashion, but greeting kids at the door and later going up to a neighbor's house who also knows how to celebrate it in style.  For those of you who, like me, have doorbells to answer, here's a recipe for an easy, hearty and enjoyable dinner.  Some of us aren't kids anymore and we just can't survive on candy!



Halloween has always been, after Christmas, my most favorite holiday to entertain.  In years past, I did a lot of entertaining and prided myself in setting a beautiful table.  I think I thought of myself as the next Carolyne Roehm, my hero.

 I don't know how I packed so much stuff in my apartment.  There were plates and glasses and tablecloths and flower arrangements hidden all over the place!  I had quite a large archive in my brain of where everything was.  Now, as I unpack in a much larger house, I wonder how I ever did it. I don't entertain like that anymore, just don't have the stamina, or the money, for that matter.  Maybe now that I live with my daughter, the artist, I will get a second wind, but for the time being, here are some of the memories:

For the pumpkin, I usually called a kid, a nephew, a niece, a neighbor, anybody to carve the pumpkin.  Then I started to build from that. On that particular year, I was gaga over my black candles, and I was debuting my new china in orange tones I had literally carried from Gien, France.  Some raffia ribbons, lots of goodies from Marshall's, some old silver, and orange and black M&Ms  in little Halloween clay pots and poof! magic!

The menu was French (my idea of being quirky), and every year I invited only 8 people.  Small, intimate, sit down and easy to cook for. No costumes or funny drinks!  But yes, place cards, and  menu cards staggered around the table.  Champagne with cocktails for those who liked it and a good French wine with the main course.  In those days, with the dollar almost at par with the euro, it was affordable to do so.  Nowadays, it's prohibitive and a little ostentatious, if not politically incorrect!

HALLOWEEN 1998

Creme de Potiron

(Creamy Butternut Squash Soup)

Breast of Duck with Corn Cake

And Spinach Puree

Munster Avec Confiture d' Eglantine

Warm Chocolate Tart Jean Georges

That year I had gone to Alsace and come back loaded with confiture d'eglantine, a jam typical and only found in Alsace..  I really can't describe or translate eglantine, nobody, for that matter, can!.  It;s a small red fruit, not terribly sweet, loaded in vitamin C.  The taste is very hard to descibe, the only thing I can compare it to is guava...same color, but a totally different fuit.  At the hotel where we stayed, they served it with the cheese course which, in that region HAD to be Munster.  Here is a clip of eglantine confiture, in French but easy to follow.

Another year, 2002, I had just come back from Normandy and Brittany so Halloween was spent "in Normandy"

HALLOWEEN 2002

Terrine de Coquilles Saint-Jacques

Sauce Pernod

Soupe au Marrons

Creme Fraiche

Cailles Aux Figues Fraiches et Au Miel 

Puree de Poireaux

Tarte Chaude aux Pommes

Have fun this Halloween, and remember...

Pumpkin Queso Fundido

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This past weekend we hightailed it to Lake Toxaway, North Carolina where my son's in laws have a lake house.  We couldn't have picked a better time of the year. Although the leaves were a bit past their prime,  the weather was perfect, warm enough during the day to be able to go out on the lake and chilly at night for a big fire.  On Friday night my daughter in law surprised us with this delicious hors d'oeuvre.  Both grownups and little kids lapped it up... perfect  for Halloween parties and Thanksgiving.

Dinner followed with Shish-kebabs on the grill and mashed potatoes with chives.  The whole menu was incredible.  I am so pleased to see her so enthusiastic and adventurous in the kitchen and so confident now that her recipes are proving to be real winners.  She'll be a force to reckon with very soon.

One of the things I like the best about this recipe is the texture it develops while it cooks.  As the pumpkin bakes in the oven the flesh mixes with the cheese, thickens it and gives it a slight pumpkin flavor.  

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 1 2-to-3-pound sugar pumpkin
• 8 ounces dried chorizo, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper (remove seeds for less heat), chopped
• 1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella or Oaxaca cheese
• 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
• Chopped fresh cilantro, for topping
• Tortilla chips, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Slice off the top 1 1/2 inches of the pumpkin and discard. Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp.

2. Heat the chorizo in a medium pot over medium-high heat until the fat begins to render, about 5 minutes. Add the jalapeno, green chiles, cumin and cayenne and cook, stirring, until the jalapeno softens, about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until the flour is slightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the cheeses. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cheese melts and the mixture is creamy, about 3 more minutes.

3. Place the pumpkin in a small baking dish and fill the pumpkin with the cheese mixture. Add 1 inch of boiling water to the baking dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake until the pumpkin is tender, about 1 hour, 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the cheese is golden and bubbly, 20 to 25 more minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.


Photograph Lindaraxa
Recipe Food Network Magazine

Pumpkin Fritters In the Age of Innocence

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If you have never tasted pumpkin fritters, you are not ready to die and go to heaven.  You must try them, you have nothing to loose..its not as if you are investing in caviar or filet mignon.  Next time you purchase butternut squash, buy a little extra, roast it and save a little.  Great for cocktails, or side dishes.... like little fried balls of squash puree.  To die for!


In Spanish we call them Frituras de Calabaza and they are usually made from a type of pumpkin-like squash that is round in shape and varies in size.  This squash is popular in the Caribbean as well as Central and South America. It is also commonly called a West Indian Pumpkin.  You can find them already cut in  most Latin markets for they are quite hard to get into.  The closest thing to the flavor and texture of calabaza in this country is Butternut Squash and that is what my mother used when we first came to the States.

Pumpkin fritters remind me of a dinner I attended about 10 years ago. The host and hostess, both wonderful people but a bit showy, just didn't know the phrase enough is enough. I had been warned by friends who had previously dined at their home, but I also had been told they had a cook who made the best pumpkin fritters on earth. When I was a little girl, we used to have a cook who made them and I hadn't had them in a long time. They were my favorite.

Sure enough,  cocktails went on for two hours.  Two  uniformed servers in white jackets and black bow ties passed one hors d'oeuvre after another and I paced myself,  anxiously waiting for the fabled pumpkin fritters.  Finally, there they were, the stars of the show and the beginning of my Waterloo.  Tray after silver tray of pumpkin fritters came out to ooohs! and ahhs! and I did not let one pass untouched.  My mother, sitting across from me in the living room,  kept giving me the evil eye..you know, the one that says, "You are making a pig of yourself. " But to no avail...I must have had a good dozen and dinner was yet to come.

Around ten o clock we were ushered into the dining room where a  table for 24 was dressed in Victorian splendor with plenty of silver accoutrements to make Queen Victoria blush.

These people came from another century. It was like having dinner in the Age of Innocence.   As soon as we sat down, three servers this time, serving a la russe, came out of the kitchen with the first course.   Keep in mind now, I was seated to the right of the hostess with  a Catholic priest in between.  Very Garcia Marquez meets the Thorn Birds. 

We started with a luscious crab cocktail  that was out of this world.  Large chunks of crab so fresh that they must have been caught just that afternoon.  Cream of squash soup followed,  devoured like it was the Last Supper, for anything squash is high on my list.  On to the main course of beef tenderloin with roasted potatoes and a vegetable mousse.  I think there were another two side dishes being passed around but by this time I was catatonic and hyperventilating and definitely in my own cocoon.  The priest, thank heavens, was having a lively chat with the hostess and the person across from him.  If he had tried to engage me,  no doubt he would have been met with glassy eyes and dead silence.

At some point, I started doing what I used to do when I was a child,  hiding bits in my napkin and hoping to excuse myself to the ladies room to dispose of them.  I kept looking at my hostess and noticed she would serve herself a bird's portion of each dish and kept talking and drinking with not a single morsel going into her mouth.  No wonder she looked so fresh; but by the time I caught on, I was a dead duck.

The dessert was the crowning glory, a cart rolled in with cakes, flans, cookies...don't ask me what else; but I noticed a couple of my favorites somewhere in the mix.  I must have dived into one of these too but I was so close to passing out that I kept trying to catch my mother's evil eye in case I made a fool of myself.   This time she wouldn't even look my way..oh boy, was I in trouble.

I won't go into what happened when I got home...I will leave that to your imagination.  Let's just say that for a long time the mere mention of pumpkin fritters sent me into convulsions and I avoided them like the plague.

Definitely a night to remember!

I haven't had pumpkin fritters since that night almost ten years ago.

I think its time.

If I could only trust myself to eat but a few...


Serves 12


Ingredients


1 1/2 pounds calabaza or butternut squash

2 tbsp butter

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups self rising flour

cooking oil


Directions

1.Peel calabaza, cut into chunks and boil in a large pot of water until tender.

2.Drain water and mash calabaza then drain again.

3.Mix 1 1/2 cups of mashed calabaza together with butter, egg and sugar.

4.Sift flour with nutmeg and cinnamon and add to calabaza mixture.

5.Mix well and drop spoonfuls into heated oil such as a deep fryer. Oil should be enough to cover fritters.

6.Cook until both sides are lightly browned and serve hot. Makes 12 Fritters.

An Elegant Fall Menu For The Ladies Who Lunch...Apple Fall With Maple Cream

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One of the best transit systems in this country is in New York City.  I can't tell you a lot about the subway, since I refuse to ride it since 9/11,  but the buses are terrific, my favorite the M1- 4 along  5th Avenue heading south with the Madison Avenue one northbound.  I used to take both these buses to work every day when I lived in the city and it was a great start to my day.  Of course, you are riding along two of the chicest avenues in the world and the view of Central Park in the morning is second only to the action in the avenue. 

On the last day of my visit last month,   I was returning home on Madison Avenue around 4 o'clock when someone hopped on the bus that made me giggle.  A tall  40 -something young lady, dreadfully thin, with beatifully styled long blond hair , perfectly groomed,  dressed to the hilt, Hermes bag, unbukled of course,  a sytlish camel suit with silk blouse and pearls, a gold Cartier tank watch and very chic Manolo Blanik shoes.  The minute she sat down, she pulled her Smythson diary out of her bag and made some notes.  Well, well, well...nobody dresses like that in New York, at that hour of the day, unless you are, of course,one of the Ladies Who Lunch!  I'm not going to even venture a guess as to where she had just recently lunched for the possibilities are endless, but it goes to show you the kind of people who ride the bus in NYC



Nan Kempner, Pat Buckley and Betsy Bloomingdale



In case I haven't mentioned it before, Ladies Who Lunch is a phrase to describe "slim, well-off, old-money, well-dressed women who meet for lunch socially, normally during the working week. Typically, the women involved are married and non-working. Normally the lunch is in a restaurant, perhaps in a department store during shopping. Sometimes there is the pretext of raising money for charity." (Wikipedia)  That was before the Reagan years.  Since then, these ladies, some of whom employ full time chefs in their households, sometimes meet at home for an elegant lunch, no pretext of charity necessary.

The phrase was popularized by Elaine Stritch in the play Company by Stephen Sondheim. Take a look!

This dessert is from Anne Bass' chef and appears in the book R.S.V.P by Nan Kempner, a hostess par excellence, clothes horse and Chairman Emeritus of the Ladies Who Lunch.  Everytime I passed Mortimer's, their  favorite restaurant now defunct,  there she was in her corner table by the window.  Mrs. Kempner passed away a few years ago.  Nobody has been able to take her place.  Other members of the club in those days were Mrs. Alfred (Betsy) Bloomingdale, Nancy Reagan's best friend, Mrs. William (Pat) Buckley, Mrs. Oscar (Annette) de la Renta, and Princess Marie Chantal of Greece, chairman in training of the young set.

A Fall Lunch 

Curried Pumpkin And Leek Flans

Roasted Chicken Thighs With Breadcrumbs and Mushrooms

Yellow Rice Pilaf With Raisins And Almonds

Green Salad

Apple Fall with Maple Cream
(recipe follows)

Apple Fall With Maple Cream

The secret to this cake is the salted butter, something which is seldom used in baking

Serves 8

1 stick plus 3 TB salted butter

11 Tb sugar

3 large Mutsu apples

1 1/2 C all purpose flour

2C whole milk

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Confectioners suggar for dusting

Maple Cream

1/4 cup maple sugar

1 pint heavy cream

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375

Grease a 9 inch springform pan with 2 TB butter & dust with 2 Tb sugar.  Peel and core 2 apples and slice very thin. Layer apple sclices in concentric circles until bottom of the pan is covered.  Sprinkle the apple slices with 1 Tb sugar and dot with 1 Tb butter.  Place the pan in the oven and bake for 30 mins or until the apples are tender.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

Sift the flour together with 6 Tb sugar in a large mixing bowl.  In a cup whisk together the milk and eggs.  Make a well in center of the dry ingredients and pour milk mixture, whisking constantly, until thoroughly combined.

In a small saucepan, melt remaining 1/2 C butter with the vanilla in low heat.  Gradually combine with the batter, whisking constantly to combine.

Peel and core the remaining apple and slice very thin.  Pour the batter over the cooked apple slices and arrange the fresh-cut apple slices on top.  Sprinkle with the remaining 2 TB sugar and bake for 1 hour or until cake is puffed., golden and crusty around the edges.  Remove from oven and cool over wire rack for 15-20 minutes.

Make the maple cream while cake cools.  Using a whisk add the maple sugar to cream and beat briskly until soft peaks form.

Invert cake into a serving platter, dust with confectioners sugar and serve warm with the maple cream.


Wine: A robust California Chardonnay or French Burgundy can be served throughout the meal, but not too dry because of the curried flans


All Photos except #2 are by Quentin Bacon  in the book R.S.V.P. by Nan Kempner, unfortunately out of print

Photo #2 Google

Curried Pumpkin and Leek Flans

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This makes for a beautiful first course or as a side to the main dish.  I usually serve them on a silver platter with the sauce on the side and pass them around.  Everyone can pour a little over their flans.

You can use any type of cooking pumpkin or squash, preferably butternut squash.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 small cooking pumpkin, about 2 pounds

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 leeks, including 1-inch of green, carefully rinsed and cut into 1/2-inch dice

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon curry powder

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Boiling water, as needed

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley, plus extra for garnish


Directions
Preheat oven to 375*F (190*C). Lightly oil a baking sheet. Cut the pumpkin in half through the stem end and place, cut side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until easily pierced with a knife, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Leave the oven set at 375*F (190*C). Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and fibers and discard. Spoon the flesh into a blender. Puree until smooth.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft and begin to fall apart, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a bowl, whisk together the whole eggs and egg yolks, 1 cup of the cream, the sugar, curry powder, salt and pepper to taste. Add three-fourths of the pumpkin puree and all the leeks and stir well.

Butter six 2/3 cup (5 ounce) ramekins or flan molds. Place in a large baking pan and divide the flan mixture evenly among the prepared molds. Pour boiling water into the baking pan to reach halfway up the sides of the molds. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil. Bake until the custards are firm in the center and browned on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

While the flans are baking, combine the chicken stock, the remaining pumpkin puree and the remaining 1/2 cup cream in a saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil gently until reduced by half, 5 to 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove the flans from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each mold and invert onto individual plates. Ladle the sauce around the custards. Garnish with the parsley and serve.

Serves 6.

Recipe adapted from Joanne Weir
Photo by Penina

Pumpkin Flan With Pumpkin Seed Praline

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Through the years, I've come to the realization that if you love pumpkin there is no law that says you must wait 'til Thanksgiving. Things like pumpkin pie, pumpkin flan or pumpkin soup are too good to get thrown into the shuffle of a family holiday.  I much prefer to serve them for a weekend family dinner or dinner party with friends where I can sit down and truly enjoy them.  Later on, I will show you how to integrate this dessert into a fantastic autumn dinner party.

Flans somehow intimidate new cooks.  The idea of the water bath (bain marie) sends people into a tizzy when in reality there is nothing to it.  Get yourself a pair of kitchen gloves, lay the dish in the pan and then fill it with boiling water.  Open the oven door and carefully slide in.  That's it!  Although this recipe calls for a souffle mold, I have always made my flans in an aluminum tube pan.  I find it works best for me but I will leave it up to you.  If you decide to use a tube pan and you have the energy, whip some cream and add it to the center.  A little dash of bourbon won't hurt!

Printable Recipe

yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

active time: 1 hr

total time: 7 3/4 hr


Ingredients

2 cups sugar

1 cup whole milk

2 (5-oz) cans evaporated milk (1 1/3 cups)

5 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

15-oz can solid-pack pumpkin (1 3/4 cups)

2 tablespoons bourbon

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg


Accompaniment:  pumpkin-seed praline*


Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Heat a 2-quart soufflé dish or round ceramic casserole in middle of oven.

Cook 1 cup sugar in a dry 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring slowly with a fork, until melted and pale golden. Cook caramel without stirring, swirling pan, until deep golden, about 5 minutes. Quickly and carefully remove hot dish from oven and immediately pour caramel into dish, tilting it to cover bottom and sides. (Leave oven on.) Keep tilting as caramel cools and thickens enough to stay in place.

Scald whole milk with evaporated milk in a saucepan and remove from heat. Beat eggs and remaining cup sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in salt, pumpkin, bourbon, and spices. Pour milk mixture through a sieve into a bowl and beat into pumpkin mixture in a slow stream until combined well.

Pour custard over caramel in dish and set in a water bath of 1 inch hot water. Put pan in middle of oven and lower temperature to 350°F. Bake until golden brown on top and a knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 1/4 hours, possibly longer. Remove dish from water bath and transfer to a rack to cool. Chill flan, covered, until cold, at least 6 hours.

To unmold flan, run a thin knife around flan to loosen from sides of dish. Wiggle dish from side to side and, when flan moves freely in dish, invert a large serving platter with a lip over dish. Holding dish and platter securely together, quickly invert and turn out flan onto platter. Caramel will pour out over and around it. Cut flan into wedges and serve with caramel spooned over and with shards of praline.

PRALINE

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of water

1 cup hulled (green) pumpkin seeds, toasted

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Lightly oil a sheet of tin foil and set oven baking sheet.

Cook sugar, water, and a pinch of salt in a deep 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring slowly with a metal fork, until melted and pale golden. Cook caramel without stirring, swirling pan, until deep golden. Immediately stir in pumpkin seeds and quickly pour onto foil, spreading into a thin sheet before it hardens. (If caramel hardens and is difficult to spread, put in a 400°F oven until warm enough to spread, 1 to 2 minutes.)

Cool praline on baking sheet on a rack until completely hardened, then break into large pieces.

Cook's Note:  Make the day before.  *You can make the praline or skip it.  The flan will be just as good on it's own although the addition of the praline will take it over the top! Pumpkin seeds can be found at Whole Foods or at certain health food stores.

Recipe adapted from Gourmet 1999

Pumpkin Pear Soup With Coriander

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Once you discover a good recipe, stick with it.  Sure, you don't want to serve it to the same people all the time, but use it as a benchmark and only substitute when you must.  I see so many new cooks, particularly the young ones, always trying something new and never sticking with a recipe they like for long.   Don't make that mistake.  You don't need a million recipes to be a good cook.  Make and perfect a few good ones and soon enough, cooking will be a breeze.  If you are entertaining, this is not the time to try something new. Stick to the old tried and true and only experiment with  family or close friends. 

This fabulous soup is one I used to make when I entertained in Florida and it always got rave reviews.  It was my star soup of the Fall and I loved to serve it in small pumpkin shells for my Halloween dinner parties.   Somehow I forgot all about it when I moved until I found it under some papers a couple of days ago. I feel as if I've had found a relic!

The combination of the pear and the coriander seed together with the pumpkin gives it an exquisite taste.  No one will be able to guess what it is! Use coriander seed instead of powder  In this case it will make a difference.

Tell me, do you have a favorite soup for the Fall?

Printable Recipe 

yield:  8 servings

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 45 min

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 scallions, finely chopped

3 large shallots, finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 lb fresh sugar pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 lb yellow-fleshed potatoes such as Yukon Gold, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock or 2 cups chicken broth mixed with 2 cups water

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons ground coriander seeds

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

Freshly ground mixed or black peppercorns

1 ripe Bartlett pear

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Garnish:

finely chopped fresh cilantro and fresh chives


Directions

Heat oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook scallions, shallots, and onion, stirring, until softened but not browned. Add pumpkin, potatoes, stock, sugar, coriander, salt, and pepper to taste, then simmer, covered, until pumpkin is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

While soup is simmering, peel and core pear and cut into 1-inch pieces. Stir pear into soup and remove from heat. Cool 10 minutes and pureé in a blender in batches, transferring to a bowl (use caution when blending hot liquids).

Return to pan and add butter. Reheat over moderate heat, stirring, until butter is melted. Season with salt and pepper and, if desired, thin soup with water to desired consistency.


Cooks' note: •Soup may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

Thanksgiving...The Classic Pumpkin Pie

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Now that Halloween is over, we can start worrying about Thanksgiving.  Even if you have a relatively small family, the problem is always the same...the venue and the participants!  When my children were little, it was great, we went to my mother's and that was the end of that.  Now that some of them are married and have families of their own or live far away, it is always a hassle.  The one thing that is for certain, as far as I'm concerned, is the menu.   That is what I like the most about this holiday...no surprises on that front, except for a few variations, from time to time. And  no choices, except when it comes to the pies...

 I am always surprised at how many people, faced with the choice of apple, pumpkin or pecan pie, will more often than not choose the apple pie.  Why?? You can have apple all year long, pecan as well, but pumpkin! To me, pumpkin pie, next  to the turkey, is the essence of Thanksgiving. 

The poor pies never get the respect and attention they deserve.  Let's face it, we are so stuffed and comatose after the meal that nobody wants to hear about pie.  The whole thing is a cardiac arrest waiting to happen. Think about it...it's all carbs, except for the little pieces of turkey that are the excuse for everything else. I, for one, could do without the turkey and just concentrate on the side dishes and dessert.  I usually do!

 This time, I am giving the pies the respect they deserve.  They are first on the lineup so you'll have plenty of time to think about them.  By the way,  no apple pie in this lineup... that's for another day!

The perfect pie begins with the perfect crust—one that is tender and flaky. Cutting the butter into the flour mixture is a key step. The butter must be cold and hard; if it warms up and softens, the flour will absorb it, become sticky and yield a dense, tough crust. I recommend mixing the ingredients in a food processor. It allows you to work quickly so the butter doesn't have a chance to soften. And by running the machine in short pulses, the processor won't heat up and melt the butter.

This year I have tons of fresh pumpkin puree waiting in the freezer.  As a matter of fact, I already have the pie filling also frozen and ready to go.  That way one of the desserts is out of the way and now all I have to decide is whether to bake pecan OR chocolate pecan pie for a second dessert.  What a dilemma!


Ingredients:

For the dough:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. salt

3 tsp. sugar

12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter,

cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 1/2 to 6 Tbs. ice water

1 egg, lightly beaten

For the filling:

2 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (from about 1 1/2 cans, each 15 oz.) or fresh 

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

3 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup milk

1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbs. brandy

Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving


Directions:

To make the dough, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt and sugar and pulse to blend. Add the butter and process in short pulses until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 3 Tbs. of the ice water and pulse twice. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water, 1 tsp. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Cut off one-third of the dough and shape into a disk. Shape the remaining two-thirds of the dough into a disk. Wrap the disks separately with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven. Place a cookie sheet on the rack. Preheat to 400°F.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. Place the large dough disk between 2 sheets of lightly floured waxed paper and roll out into a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Brush off the excess flour. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch Emile Henry deep-dish pie dish and fit the dough into the dish. Trim the edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold under the excess dough and, using your thumb, decoratively flute the edges. Using a fork, gently poke holes in several places on the bottom of the crust.

Place the small dough disk between the same 2 sheets of waxed paper, flouring the paper if needed, and roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a 1 1/2-inch leaf cutter, cut out about 32 small leaves. Using the back of a paring knife, score leaf veins on each cutout. Brush the edges of the pie crust with the beaten egg, then arrange the leaves on the edges. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 15 minutes.

Line the pie crust with parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill with pie weights. Place the pie dish on the preheated cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights and bake until the crust is light golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.

Meanwhile, make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves and whisk until smooth. Add the eggs and egg yolks and whisk until combined. Add the cream, milk, vanilla and brandy and whisk until smooth. Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust.

Place the pie dish on the preheated cookie sheet. Bake until the filling is set, about 1 hour and 15 minutes, covering the edges of the crust with foil if they get too brown. Transfer the pie dish to the wire rack and let the pie cool completely, about 4 hours, before serving. Accompany each slice with a dollop of whipped cream.

Serves 8 to 10.



Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

Tracking my Jardale Pumpkin From Farm To Table - Pumpkin Spice Bread With Walnuts

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The beautiful Jardale pumpkin which my friends at the pumpkin farm gave me a few days ago is now pumpkin pie and Pumpkin Spice Bread!  I can't believe I did it but I roasted the pumpkin yesterday, strained it, drained it and froze it for a later use, just like my friend Patti Londre recommended.  All in all, I got 4 Cups of pumpkin flesh, 2 1/2 for the pie and 11/2 Cups for the bread.  I did follow their advice and mixed the pie filling before I froze it, that way I won't have much to do before I serve it on Thanksgiving.

The pumpkin bread was a cinch and a welcomed addition to my afternoon tea.  By the way, it gets better and better everyday that goes by.

Before it went in the oven---look at the beautiful orange color!

and the contrast with the blue- gray of the skin

After they came out of the oven

After mashing...look at the water in the bottom!

the end result just after it came out of the oven

cooling on the window sill

just couldn't wait to try!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (210g) flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup (200 g) sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (1/4 L) pumpkin purée*

1/2 cup (1 dL) vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 cup (1 dL) chopped walnuts or almonds*



* To make pumpkin purée, cut a pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, lie face down on a foil or Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Drain on top of a colander for a couple of hours. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use.



Procedure

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda.

2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts.

3 Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack.

*This time I used almonds

Makes one loaf. Can easily double the recipe.

Guest Post...The Great Canned Pumpkin Shortage...Worth The Whisk's Patti Londre to the Rescue!

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I have been hearing about a shortage of Libby's canned pumpkin puree, the one we use for our most cherished dishes at this time of the year.  Mon Dieu, what is the world coming to!

The shortage this year is a result of less-than-ideal weather conditions around Morton, Illinois where a high percentage of the canning pumpkins sold nationwide are grown.  One of Illinois newspapers The State Journal-Register, surveyed local grocery managers and was told most stores have canned pumpkin in stock now, but there is uncertainty about whether supplies will last.

Illinois is the nation’s No. 1 pumpkin-producing state. Of the state’s 13,679 acres of pumpkins, 9,749 of those acres are harvested for processing. Most of the processing is done at Libby’s in Morton and Seneca Foods in Princeville

If you cook with canned pumpkin as most of us will be doing this month and next, particularly for Thanksgiving,  you might want to buy it now (Plan A) or you might want to take a look at my friend Patti Londre's excellent food blog, Worth the Whisk for a quick and easy recipe on how to make it from scratch (Plan B).  As far as I am concerned, I plan to keep Plan B close at hand for an emergency.   There is no Thanksgiving worth attending that does not have at least one variation of pumpkin pie, my favorite and my ultimate reason for cooking the whole meal!

Canned Pumpkin Shortage? Simple Steps to Make Fresh Pumpkin Puree by Patti Londre of Worth The Whisk


Hello from Los Angeles! If you’ve just heard about the national shortage of Libby’s canned pumpkin, you aren’t alone. About a month ago, I noticed my local store had no small cans of pumpkin. A week later, still none. Then my husband showed me a newspaper article about a real shortage. Another week later, a friend circulated an email about it but by then, I had three “sugar pumpkins” to make my own supply.

Ya gotta luv the internet. My pumpkins came with a website. Which is how I discovered I’ve been making pumpkin puree the hard way all these years. Here is the easy way, below. My three punkins made 9 cups of puree.

What to make with it? Try this Light Pumpkin Custard for starters.

1. Rinse off the pumpkins, plop them on a baking sheet, roast at 350 degrees F. for 90 minutes or until tender.

2. Let cool for a while.

3. Slice in half, scoop out seeds and pulp (seed making post upcoming).

4. Peel off the rind. It’s like working with a large, super ripe avocado, so using my fingers helped not lose chunks of rind in the mash.

5. Put the meat onto a cookie sheet and mash with potato masher.

6. Scoop into freezer bags in one-cup portions.* Store up to six months in the freezer.

For additional photos on these preparation steps, CLICK HERE.


Lindaraxa's Note  Before I pack it away, I put the puree in a colander to drain the excess water.  Just set it over a pot and let it sit there for a couple of hours.  I also proceed to make the pie filling and freeze.  This is what they do at the pumpkin farm!

Wild Mushroom and Pumpkin Risotto

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The unfortunate thing about risottos is that if you' re the only cook in the house and have no outside help i.e. a maid, you can only serve them when you know your guest very well. You can prep up all the way to the cooking of the rice but once this starts, you have to devote a half hour and lots of patience to turn out a good risotto. When I serve them for company, I usually try to invite a good friend of mine who is also a good risotto maker and we alternate in and out of the kitchen. But how many of us have such a friend? In any event, don't ever try to serve risotto for more than six people, as most pans are only big enough for six healthy servings. Get all your sauteing out of the way, bring the stock to a rolling boil and the rest is a lot of arm work. But when you are finished, you will have one of the most delightful dishes on earth! I also suggest serving it as a lunch dish as it is deceptively filling and tough to digest at night. A simple salad, some bread sticks and a Sauvignon Blanc is all you need as accompaniments. I like a fruit based dessert, no crust, such as the Peche Melba or better yet, Caramelized Baked Apples if they are in season.

Serves 6


Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound fresh pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice (1 1/3 cups)
2 medium white onions, finely diced
3/4 cup dry Riesling or white wine
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh chanterelles
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and roughly chopped

7 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth

7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups arborio rice (about 11 ounces)
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions

Heat the oil in a nonreactive medium saucepan. Add the pumpkin and half of the onions and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until the pumpkin is just tender, about 7 minutes. Stir in the wine, nutmeg, white pepper and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

In a food processor, puree the pumpkin mixture until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl.

To the same pan, add 2 TB butter and saute the shiitake and the chanterelles. 3-5 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring the Vegetable Stock for Risotto to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce the heat to low and keep the stock hot.

In a nonreactive medium saucepan, heat 2 1/2 tablespoons of the butter until it begins to sizzle. Add the rice and the remaining onions and cook over moderately high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the onions are translucent, about 7 minutes. Immediately stir in 1 cup of the hot stock and cook, stirring constantly, until all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat to moderate and gradually add 3 more cups of the hot stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring and cooking until each cup is almost absorbed before adding the next, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the pumpkin puree. Continue adding the remaining 3 cups stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring and cooking as above, until the rice is tender, about 10 minutes longer. The risotto will be quite loose. Stir in the parsley and the remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons butter.

Spoon the risotto into 6 warmed soup plates and sprinkle the Parmesan on top. Arrange the mushrooms on top. Serve immediately.