"The Pumpkin Cookbook" - Roasted Corn Pumpkin Chowder - Halloween!

Date I made this recipe:  October 31, 2017 – Halloween!

The Pumpkin Cookbook – 139 Recipes Celebrating the Versatility of Pumpkin and Other Winter Squash by DeeDee Stovel

Published by Storey

ISBN: 978-1-61212-833-7; copyright 2005,2017

Purchased at Bibelot Shops – St. Paul

Recipe:  Roasted Corn Pumpkin Chowder – p. 54

Well, it’s that time of year again which is to say it is fall and also Halloween.  I am not fond of either of these two “events.”

Fall is the season of dead things which is to say my allergies just go into overdrive.  It is also the calm before the storm of winter, and it has been gray in these parts now for oh, I don’t know—forever?  Okay, not really.  Let’s say for the past three weeks if not longer.  It’s also been cold which is why Halloween is no fun.  Did you ever hear a kid beg to put a coat on over his/her costume?  No, you did not!

And then there’s pumpkin which I don’t loathe but it’s not something I cozy up to, either.  It’s okay.  The taste is neither here nor there unless you add some spices to it but I’m not exactly fond of pumpkin spice so there’s another problem I have to overcome every year.  Then there’s the smell problem which is to say that once upon a time, real pumpkin spice didn’t really smell but if it did, it was a lovely scent reminding us of mom’s baking and family Thanksgiving.  Once everybody and their mother (but not my mother) got their hands on it though, it is now everywhere and in everything.  Starbucks of course, pushes the hell out of pumpkin-spiced lattes (usually in July which is maddening), grocery stores start carrying pumpkin-spiced everything and of course, stores like Bed, Bath & Beyond (a store I love), choke me out with their fake pumpkin-spiced candles and doodads.  Migraines are not fun, and there’s a special place in hell reserved for companies that trigger one by spraying everything with “that crap.”

Still, whilst shopping a few months back at one of my favorite stores, Bibelot (fun gifts, cool stuff), I spied this book, The Pumpkin Cookbook.  I debated and debated and then finally thought, “Oh, all right then” and so I brought it home, marked my calendar to remind me to use it and proceeded to flag some recipes.

What I really liked about this book is not only the wide variety of chapters/recipes from which to choose, but also because pages 16 and 17 break out all the recipes by how you want to use your pumpkin, to wit: “Baked or Roasted Pumpkin;” “Steamed or Microwaved Pumpkin;” “Raw Pumpkin;” “Canned Unsweetened Pumpkin or Puree,” and “Pepitas” (Pumpkin Seeds).  I think this is a damned fine idea!  They don’t match the cooking method to the Table of Contents, but they do reference page numbers so that helps.

Here then, is the Table of Contents:

• Starters, Snack & Beverages
• Soups & Salads
• Side Dishes
• Main Courses
• Breads
• Pies
• Cookies
• Cakes
• Desserts & Delicacies

 Many of the sweet treats sounded fantastic, but I thought that was too easy and expected so I looked at the savory options.  In the running were:

• Black Bean (and Pumpkin) Dip – p. 22
• Holiday Pumpkin Dip – p. 23
• Roasted Ginger Pumpkin-Pear Soup – p. 40
• Italian Pumpkin Soup with Crushed Amaretti Cookies – p. 55
• Chicken-Pumpkin Tacos – p. 102
• Punkin’ [Sloppy] Joes – p. 130
• Spaghetti with Peppers, Onions, and Sausage (and Pumpkin) – p. 141
• Creamy Fusilli, Sausage and Pumpkin [Pasta] – p. 145

Any of these would have been fine although since I am such a fan of Sloppy Joes, I was leaning in that direction.  Then I handed the book off to Andy and asked him to choose something, thinking he would choose one of the recipes I flagged in advance.  Turned out he went “rogue” on me and selected something I hadn’t marked and that is how I came to make tonight’s dinner selection – Roasted Corn Pumpkin Chowder (p. 54).  I did not see that coming!

Since both of us are chowder fans, this one hit all the basic requirements:  corn, potatoes, a creamy broth, bacon (a nice addition) and even cheddar cheese.  The pumpkin was a nice addition, but pumpkin can be rather bland, and so it could have benefitted from more spice in the dish.  Aside from salt, the full recipe called for ½ teaspoon dried thyme and 1/8-1/4 teaspoon white pepper. Plan on using more.

As you might imagine, step one was to find a cooking pumpkin, carve it up which is to say, cut it into chunks, and roast it.  That was easy enough, but you’ll have to watch your cooking times.  The pumpkin was to roast for 35 minutes and then another 30 minutes once you add some, but not all, of the frozen corn.  After 65 minutes, my pumpkin was more than done and it was okay, but I ended up scrapping it off the rind and then pulsing it in a food processor instead of adding it in chunks to the broth.  No biggie.

I also found some “fresh” corn at Trader Joe’s and thought to myself “Wouldn’t this be better than frozen corn?  Of course, it would!”  Andy though, thought I should have used frozen and he was not wrong, but he picked a fine time to tell me which was while we were eating it!

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention that pumpkin does not appeal to a lot of people, primarily because of its appearance which is to say, “not pretty” and/or “completely unappetizing,” and/or “reminds me of baby [you know];” I’ll let you fill in the blanks on what “you know” is. This soup’s appearance is also “not pretty” but the flavor is good and if anything, suffers from not having enough.  That’s an easy remedy in my book.

This then, concludes Halloween, pumpkins and fake pumpkin spice, and hooray for that.  Meanwhile, I’ll have to brace myself before I go into Bed, Bath & Beyond because tis the season for fake evergreen.  Dear Lord, it just never ends, does it?

Roasted Corn Pumpkin Chowder – Serves 8

1 pound fresh pumpkin, seeds and fibers removed, cut into chunks

3 cups frozen corn

4 slices bacon

1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 red bell pepper, chopped

¾ pound (about 8 small) Yukon Gold potatoes

5 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1/8 – ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

1 cup half-and-half

1 cup grated cheese (for topping)

Heat oven to 400°F.  Grease a sheet pan with oil.  Rub the chunks of pumpkin with oil and bake for 35 minutes or until slightly tender.  Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.  Add 2 cups (out of 3) of the corn and cook 30 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the corn is lightly toasted and the pumpkin tender.  Cool.  Peel the pumpkin and cut into ½-inch cubes.  Ann’s Note [of caution]:  If making a half recipe, I suggest baking for 17 minutes or so (half the stated time) and then checking.  Do the same when you add the corn to the pumpkin i.e. no more than 15 minutes out of the 30 that is called for.  My pumpkin overbaked a bit which was fine but not what the author intended.  I also found a small baking pumpkin rather than a large jack-o-lantern (although do NOT use that for baking) and smaller pumpkins cook faster, or so it seemed!

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a Dutch oven until crispy.  Drain, crumbled, and set aside.  Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat and cook the onion in the fat for about 5 minutes, until it is wilted.  Add the bell peppers and continue cooking for 3 minutes.

Add the potatoes, broth, salt, thyme, and white pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Add the pumpkin to the soup, along with the roasted corn and the remaining frozen corn.  Continue cooking for another 10 minutes, until the pumpkin is quite soft.  Add the half-and-half and cook only until heated through.  Don’t let it boil.

Serve topped with the cheese and crumbled bacon.

"Pumpkin - Not Just for Halloween and Thanksgiving!" - Pumpkin and Beet Ravioli with Fresh Herb Butter - Halloween 2016

Date I made this recipe:  October 31, 2016 – Halloween!

Pumpkin – Not Just for Halloween and Thanksgiving! – 40 Mouthwatering Recipes by Joanna Farrow

Published by Octopussybooks, USA and the UK

ISBN:  978-1-84601-478-9; copyright 2005 (published in Great Britain by Hamlyn) and 2014 by Spruce

Purchased at Half-Priced Books

Recipe:  Pumpkin and Beet Ravioli with Fresh Herb Butter – p. 13

Well, it's time for my least favorite holiday, Halloween, and time, I suppose, to make something with pumpkin.  Sigh.

It's not that I don't like pumpkin per se, it's just that I hate the bastardization of pumpkin spice. 

Come this time of year, you'd be hard-pressed to avoid pumpkin.  There are pumpkin-spiced candles, pumpkin-spiced wreaths, and a ton of pumpkin-spiced food starting with coffee, natch, and ending with pumpkin beer. 

And if it was just the pumpkin itself (as in the gourd) and not the spices, that might be one thing, but as always, the smell of fake spice is so overpowering that I get a headache.  I like to avoid headaches.

I am happy to report though, that this recipe has nothing to do with (fake) pumpkin spice.  Nothing.  No need to brace thyself for an overdose of cinnamon or nutmeg (not my favorite although I'll deal with it in very low doses) or "other."  Nope.  Just clean, fresh, pumpkin, beets and a few herbs.

That said, it's time to play true confessions:  I didn't use a pumpkin.  I know, right?  In my defense, I looked for baking pumpkins and found them in several stores but they were all too big.  And sure, I can freeze pumpkin (I looked it up), but I have no need for frozen pumpkin and besides, it takes up valuable space for items I might need to freeze.  Not that I freeze anything, but it's the principle of the thing.

Instead, I substituted a tiny squash (name already forgotten) that was the perfect amount for this dish.  And it was orange, although not "orange" orange like a pumpkin but hey, am I a color analyst?  No. 

This recipe also calls for a small beet and I know there are beet haters out there who might not make this recipe because of it, but I bet you can get by with using more pumpkin or substituting another squash or another vegetable. 

So I have to tell you that my shopping excursion for the items for these recipes was rather hilarious.  I shopped at Seward Coop and bought one tiny squash, pulled one tiny beet (just the right size) from a bunch of beets, and then pulled one tiny scallion from a bunch of scallions because I didn't need any more than that.  The cashier didn't bat an eyelash until she got to the one, lone scallion.  Then she paused and frowned and I said "The scallions were $.99 a bunch and if you want to charge me for the full thing, that's fine.  I just didn't want to waste food." 

"Nope, it's fine.  I'm just trying to figure out how to do this."

So she worked her magic on the scale and charged me a whole, whopping $.05. 

In addition to the Great Pumpkin Swap of 2016, I also cheated on the pasta dough for the ravioli, something the recipe told me to make by hand but instead, I went out and bought. Because honestly folks, I just didn't want to spend the time making it, then chilling it for 30 minutes and worse (to me, anyway), rolling out the dough with the tool of the devil -  a rolling pin.  I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate rolling pins, but then again, I often avoid using them like the plague as I never seem to get the dough right.  I had the same problem when my grandmother had me and my cousin, Mary Pat, attempt to spread pizza dough onto a pizza pan – by hand, no less.  Epic fail.  "Oh. You mean the dough shouldn't be full of holes, grandma?"

Had my husband been home at the time – a/k/a "The Pie Guy" he would have nailed the sucker but he wasn't.  And since we don't have a pasta attachment for our Kitchen Aid, I

simply motored over to a former workplace of mine, Broder's Cucina Italiana, and bought four sheets of already made and already "rolled" pasta.  As I am wont to say "Why do for yourself when you can pay others to do for you?"

So unless you are a master a pasta making, I recommend you seek out other ready-made alternatives and if it isn't fresh pasta sheets, then use won-ton wrappers.

With the need to make the pasta dough out of the way, dinner was easily put together.

Except...well, let's just say I took liberties with the next set of instructions to "finely grate the pumpkin and the beet."  Oh come on folks, why grate anything when you can just finely chop it in a Cuisinart?  Grating makes one prone to cooking injuries i.e. scraped knuckles and fingers.  Using a Cuisinart is a relatively safe activity with the same result.  It's a no brainer!

And so I "finely grated" my veggies in my mini Cuisinart and then put everything into my regular-size Cuisinart to smooth it out, and then Andy and I set to work on filling my pre-made ravioli pasta squares – ta da!

The only thing left to do was to make the herb butter and that was pretty easy although I have to say that I am also not a huge fan of tarragon and so would leave it out were I to make this recipe again.  I'm not sure what I would substitute – sage, maybe? – but that's another story for another day.

And so this is how I made something with pumpkin only not pumpkin and something that did not contain the evil empire of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, and life was good.  I had a strong hankering to use goat cheese in some way but didn't although we did sprinkle some fresh Parmesan cheese on top for a little added zest.  It was Halloween after all, so why not throw caution to the wind?

This concludes my pumpkin submission for our 2016 Halloween observance.  Until next year.

By the way, if you are like me and prefer a more savory pumpkin dish, consider these recipes:  "Beef and Pumpkin Curry" - p. 28; Pumpkin, Ricotta, and Spinach Tart - p. 25, or even "Mashed Pumpkin and Potatoes with Garlic Creme Fraiche - p. 12."  These constituted this year's "also ran" recipe considerations.

Pumpkin and Beet Ravioli – serves 4

Prep time:  30 minutes, plus chilling

If you make your own pasta dough

2 ½ cups pasta flour, plus extra for dusting

2 large eggs

3 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼ teaspoon salt

For the filling

9 oz pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and finely grated

1 small raw beet (about 3 ox), peeled and finely grated

1 garlic clove, crushed

Beaten egg white, for glazing

½ oz bunch of fresh herbs (chives, parsley, tarragon)

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1 scallion, finely chopped

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon plus 2 teaspoons juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

If you make your own pasta: Place the flour on a work surface and make a well in the middle.  Break in the eggs, add the egg yolks, the oil, and salt.  Lightly whisk the eggs with a fork, gradually bringing in the flour, then use your fingers to mix into a soft dough, adding a tablespoon of cold water if the dough feels dry.  Once the dough is smooth and elastic, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Mix the grated pumpkin and beet with a little salt and pepper and the garlic until smooth.

Cut the pasta dough in half and roll each half on floured surface, each to a 13-inch square.  Brush one square with the egg white.  Place 25 teaspoons of the filling in five evenly spaced rows over the dough.  Lay the second sheet of dough on top, pressing between each mound of filling.  Use a sharp knife or pasty wheel to cut the ravioli into squares.

Discard any tough stalks from the herbs and chop finely.  Melt the butter in a small pan and add the herbs, scallion, lemon zest and juice, and salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil.  Drop the ravioli into the pan, bring back to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.  Ann's Note:  more like 7 minutes if you are using fresh pasta sheets.  Drain and arrange on warm plates.  Spoon over the herb butter and serve immediately.

"The Pumpkin Cookbook" - Pumpkin and Raisin Cheesecake for Thanksgiving

Date I made this recipe:  November 26, 2015 – Thanksgiving Day 2015

The Pumpkin Cookbook by Hamlyn (Publishing)

Published by:  Hamlyn (Publishing)

ISBN: 0-600-60383-0

Recipe:  Pumpkin and Raisin Cheesecake – p. 46

While I have never been a huge fan of pumpkin pie, my husband says he likes to have something of the pumpkin variety for dessert for Thanksgiving. Funny, I never took him for one of those "Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie" people but you learn something new every day.

Frankly, I am "over" this year's "pumpkin-goes-with-everything" craze that has been hitting grocery stores and coffee shops since – I swear – mid-August.  Starbucks led the way with promises of "pumpkin lattes, coming soon" while it was still quite warm and enjoyable outside and, it should be noted, SUMMER, and this just ticked me off.  And then one by one, other coffee shops followed suit and soon you couldn't step into a grocery store without someone wanting you to sample this simply divine pumpkin [fill in the blank) item, new for fall! 

I mean the ingredient was everywhere and in everything and given that it was, in fact, mid-August when this whole nonsense started, by the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I was practically belligerent when going into a grocery store:  "NO, I don't want your damned pumpkin 'whatchamacallit'!  Get thee gone, you pumpkin Satan!" 

I fully expected to hear warning calls over the stores' PA system:  "Attention shoppers.  There's a crazed woman in Aisle 3, muttering about pumpkin.  We repeat, there's a crazed woman in Aisle 3.  Please clear the area."

But like I said above, my hubby wanted something pumpkin for T-Day (so predictable) that I had to gird my loins and gear up to make something of the pumpkin variety.  And so I decided that this year, I was going to find a fresh baking pumpkin (at Trader Joe's) and make something that would just dazzle us and make our Thanksgiving Day complete.

That "something" was today's recipe for Pumpkin and Raisin Cheesecake, upon which we pinned our Thanksgiving Day hopes and dreams and I wish I didn't have to inform you that our dreams were dashed but they were.  Two problems:  1) the pumpkin flavor just didn't come through.  Call me spoiled, but I have never had a fresh pumpkin anything in my life and while I don't exactly love canned pumpkin, it works for me better than this.  And 2) missing from the Pumpkin and Raisin Cheesecake was anything resembling the "cheese" portion of our program.  This recipe does not use cream cheese and in my opinion, this is what killed it.  Instead, it used a pound of cottage cheese and some heavy cream and eggs and those ingredients did not produce the type of cheesecake we were used to. 

To add to our disappointment, our usual and customary turkey dinner takeouts, obtained from one of our favorite restaurants, did not come up to snuff.  And so there we were, sitting there all deflated by dinner and our pumpkin dessert and then to add to my angst, my Green Bay Packers lost their game against the Chicago Bears by four points after a valiant rally and I was all "Bah, Humbug" before we ever got to Black Friday, the unofficial start of Christmas. 

Although I would not make this particular recipe again, many in the book sounded really good like "Pumpkin and Root Vegetable Stew" and "Pumpkin Curry."   I have a feeling that pumpkin in a savory dish is better than a sweet dish but that could just be me. 

So.  Next year I think we're going to pass on doing the turkey takeout ("Let's all take a year off to course correct, shall we?") and if I simply must make something with pumpkin to satisfy my husband, I think I'll go back to using canned pumpkin.  I know, right?  I should be using fresh pumpkin like the Pilgrims (allegedly) but once bitten, twice shy.  We'll see how that goes.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, thankfully (or should that be "Thank"fully), we are now done with this pumpkin nonsense and are now fully into our "Fa La La La Latte" and our "Gingerbread Latte" and whatnot for the Christmas season.  And no doubt by January, Starbucks will start touting some awful concoction for spring and summer (Kale latte, anyone?) and I will commence grumbling once again.  It's what I do and I do it well.

Since I am posting this blog after the fact (what a busy couple of weeks), I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving repast and your very own pumpkin "whatchamacallit!"

(By the way, all was not a total loss as the cheesecake crust was delicious but then again, what's not to like about gingersnaps and liqueur-soaked raisins!)

Pumpkin and Raisin Cheesecake – makes one 8"/9" springform pan

1 cup raisins

3 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur (Grand Mariner)

6 ounces gingersnap cookies

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

1 pumpkin, about 14 ounces (Ann's Note:  check your grocery stories just after Halloween and make sure you buy a "sugar" pumpkin, suitable for cooking)

1 pound cottage cheese

2 eggs

½ cup heavy cream

1/3 cup superfine sugar

Finely grated zest and juice of ½ an orange

To serve:  lightly whipped and sweetened cream and caramelized orange zest slivers

Ann's Note:  If you buy the pumpkin early, peel, scoop out the seeds , cut into cubes and freeze until needed.

Put the raisins into a small bowl with the liqueur and leave to soak for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, lightly oil the sides of an 8-inch springform pan.  Put the cookies in a zip-top freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin.  Ann's Note:  or put them in a Cuisinart and pulse them until crumbled.  Transfer to a bowl and add the melted butter.  Stir until evenly mixed.  Turn the mixture into the pan and pack down onto the base and slightly up the sides.  Ann's Note:  I used a 9-inch pan in which case, I didn't have much to pack to the sides, oh well.

Scoop out the pumpkin seeds and fibers from the pumpkin, then cut it into large wedges.  Put the wedges in a steamer over a pan of gently simmering water and cook for 15-20 minutes until the flesh is tender.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Put the cottage cheese in a food processor and blend for about 1 minute until completely smooth.  Scoop the pumpkin flesh into the processor and blend until smooth.  Add the eggs, cream, sugar, and orange zest and juice and blend briefly until smooth.

Scatter the raisins over the cookie base, stirring any remaining liqueur into the cottage cheese mixture.  Ladle the mixture over the base.

Bake the cheesecake in a preheated oven at 350F for 40 minutes, until the center fees just firm to the touch.  Leave it to cool in the pan, then chill until you are ready to serve.  Serve with lightly whipped and sweetened cream topped with caramelized orange zest slivers.