Monday, October 23, 2006
Making Do on Mondays: Recipes for the Season
It's that time of year when I think we all appreciate being in the kitchen a little more than in the summer... I have been doing a lot of proccessing of my summer harvest from our garden, including tomatoes, butternut squash and more. When I get a chance I'll share with you some ideas of my own. For now, here are some basic recipes we all like to have around.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds: (When you're carving pumpkins, don't throw away the seeds!)How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds: (all recipes below from AllRecipes.com)
~Rinse pumpkin seeds under cold water and pick out the pulp and strings. (This is easiest just after you’ve removed the seeds from the pumpkin, before the pulp has dried.)
~Place the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet, stirring to coat. If you prefer, omit the oil and coat with non-stick cooking spray.
~Sprinkle with salt and bake at 325 degrees F until toasted, about 25 minutes, checking and stirring after 10 minutes.
~Let cool and store in an air-tight container.
Pumpkin Pie:ingredients:
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups pumpkin puree
directions:
~Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
~In a large bowl, combine eggs, egg yolk, white sugar and brown sugar.
~Add salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
~Gradually stir in milk and cream; Stir in pumpkin.
~Pour filling into pie shell.
Bake for ten minutes in preheated oven. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake for an additional 40 to 45 minutes, or until filling is set.
Hot Apple Cider (5 min. to make; 10 min. to cook; ready in 15 min. serves 6):ingredients:
6 cups apple cider
1/4 cup real maple syrup
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice berries
1 orange peel, cut into strips
1 lemon peel, cut into strips
Directions:
~Pour the apple cider and maple syrup into a large stainless steel saucepan.
~Place the cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, orange peel and lemon peel in the center of a washed square of cheesecloth; fold up the sides of the cheesecloth to enclose the bundle, then tie it up with a length of kitchen string. Drop the spice bundle into the cider mixture.
~Place the saucepan over moderate heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cider is very hot but not boiling.
~Remove the cider from the heat. Discard the spice bundle. Ladle the cider into big cups or mugs, adding a fresh cinnamon stick to each serving if desired.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes:ingredients:
6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup maple syrup
directions:
~Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, 20 to 30 minutes. With an electric mixer on low, blend potatoes, slowly adding milk, about 1/2 a cup at a time. Use more or less to achieve desired texture. Add butter and maple syrup, to taste. Blend until smooth. Serve warm.
I have just made Pumpkin Cheesecake for my mother-in-law's birthday. It was wonderful, though I was expecting it to be disastrous as I'd only made cheesecake once in my life before. I was pleasantly surprised. Ellie also loves this dish and has a great marbled pumpkin cheesecake recipe which we'll put here. What I love about cheesecake is that with all the cream cheeses and sour cream in it, it ends up being more of a high-protein dessert; not just a bunch of sugar and flour.
Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake:ingredients:
3/4 cup crushed gingersnap cookies
3/4 cup graham cracker or Nilla Wafer crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
directions:
In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla just until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture. Blend 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the remaining mixture. Refrigerate while you do the next steps
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed gingersnap cookies and crumbs, pecans, and butter. Press into the bottom, and about 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake crust 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Set aside to cool.
Spread the pumpkin flavored batter into the crust, and drop the plain batter by spoonfuls onto the top. Swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect.
Bake 55 minutes in the preheated oven, or until filling is set. Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Allow to cool before removing pan rim. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
~Sia, Vancouver, WA
Labels: yummies
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