[the clean plate club]

I was driven by my autumnal pumpkin cravings to finally register on C&Z. Please humor me and submit your tastiest pumpkin and lesser known squash recipes and ideas.

[Rainey]

I absolutely love pumpkin and winter squash. This recipe is one of my newer pumpkin treats. My family loves it.

I'll look forward to seeing what other contributions you get. Are you sharing any yourself?

Pumpkin Financier

• 1 cup butter
• 1 ¼ cup almond flour
• 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 ½ cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoon light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 cup egg whites, (8 large eggs)
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• ½ teaspoon orange zest, firmly packed
• 1 to 2 drops orange oil
• lemon curd

Preheat the oven to 350?. Prepare a 10" round cake pan with nonstick spray and a parchment paper liner.

Melt the butter over medium heat. Cook until the solids separate and begin to brown to a dark golden color, 7-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to let cool but don't chill it. It needs to be liquid.

Sift together the dry ingredients. Pour into the mixer bowl. Add the eggs and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add the pumpkin and stir to combiine. Add the melted butter being sure to scrape in all the browned milk solids. Mix at a low speed to combine. The batter will be very runny. Now raise speed to high and mix for 3 more minutes until the batter resembles mayonnaise.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate for even browning and bake 15 more minutes. When the center no longer jiggles and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean the cake is done. There may be some cracking in the surface.

Cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes then turn onto the rack and remove the parchment paper. Let cool completely.

Before serving, slice cake horizontally into two halves. Spread bottom half with lemon curd. Replace top layer and sprinkle on sifted confectioners sugar.


Notes:
• Almond flour is available at Whole Foods but if you don't have it, it can be made by pulsing sliced almonds in a food processor or blender until it is very fine. Watch the almonds carefully as you grind them so you don't turn them into almond butter.

• Trader Joe's has a great, tart lemon curd.

Source: Sherry Yard, The Secrets of Baking but my contribution is splitting it and filling it with lemon curd.

Servings: 10
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God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

[the clean plate club]

Does anyone have recipes for fresh pumpkin seeds? Ground, they make soups and sauces unbelievably creamy, and make frequent appearances in (real) Mexican cooking. Honestly, it's hard to believe there isn't cream in pumpkin seed sauces.

I love simple, nonsense ways to make dinner, and Sally Schneider is good at that. Many of her recipes are all about improvisation: she gives you a base, and you can take off from there, depending on what produce is available.

So here's a recipe for Roasted Pumpkin and Garlic Soup that I just found, and will be trying out tonight. In North Carolina, much of the year is sultry summer, with fall, spring and winter condensed into three months, so I'm determined to make the most of what crisp weather and low humidity we have right now.

I'll let you know how it goes.

2 lbs. sugar pumpkin or winter squash, such as acorn, butternut or kabocha.

½ tsp. olive oil

1 head garlic

2 cups unsalted homemade or canned low-sodium broth (homemade isn't that much work, and soooo much better)

3 tbsp. heavy cream or creme fraiche

3/4 kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 to 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley or basil


Preheat oven to 350.

Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the sees. Brush the cut sides with oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Sprinkle 2 tbsp water onto the pan. Pull the loose papery skin off the garlic, keeping the head intact, and wrap it in a sheet of foil. Place the baking sheet and the foil packet in the oven and bake for 40 min., or until the squash is puree-tender and the garlic gives when the package is pressed. Set aside until cool enough to handle, about 20 min.

With a spoon, scoop the flesh out of the pumpkin into the bowl of a food processor. Separate the garlic cloves and squeeze the soft pulp into the work bowl. Process the mixture into a fine puree. With the motor running, drizzle in the chicken broth and process until smooth.

Transfer the soup to a medium heavy saucepan set over moderate heat and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Whisk in the cream, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir in lemon juice to taste. Simmer for 1 min. and serve. Scatter herbs over each bowl.

You can vary this recipe by adding curry powder, garam masala, ground cumin, ground coriander, sweet paprika, and so on. (I think a little bit of cinnamon would be interesting)

-- Sally Schneider, "A New Way to Cook"

[the clean plate club]

I forgot to tell you -- that soup serves four as it's written. I'm sure you can double it and freeze a batch.

[happenstance]

Oooh, that fiancier looks so tasty! so does the soup for that matter.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy squash/pumpkins is simply to peel and slice, drizzle with a fair amount of olive oil, kosher salt and fresh ground peppper, and then stick into a REALLY hot over (450F or 500F) until it is carmelized, soft, and ready to eat.

It is reallllly good that way.
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Maureen in Oakland

Sharing her home with Rimsky the cat, Cody the partner, and 9 happy hens.

:>

[Rainey]

Mmmmm! happenstance, I couldn't agree more! I have all kinds of pumpkin recipes and just finished making pumpkin fudge (interesting, not bad) but the flavor of the charred sugars in a roasted winter squash are earthy and incomparable.
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God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

[Erin]

Pumpkin Fudge? Let's hear it!
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"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[Rainey]

Pumpkin Fudge

• 3 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoon light Karo syrup
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup chopped nuts

Butter or grease one 8x8 inch pan.

In a 3 quart saucepan, mix together sugar, milk, corn syrup, pumpkin and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling. Do not stir.

When mixture registers 232 degrees F (110 degrees C) on candy thermometer, or forms a soft ball when dropped into cold water, remove pan from heat. Stir in pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, butter and nuts. Cool to lukewarm (110 degrees F or 43 degrees C on candy thermometer).

Beat mixture until it is very thick and loses some of its gloss. Quickly pour into a greased eight-inch pan. When firm cut into 36 squares.

Makes 36 pieces

I'd love to have your opinion, Erin. I'm experimenting with it to see if I'll send it in another swap. So far, I think chocolate fudge is so definitive that anything lacking chocolate seems lacking by comparison. So I thought the flavor needs deepening. I think if I make it again I'll use dark syrup and add a drop of orange oil or substitute maple extract for the vanilla. Is there such a thing as a natural maple extract?
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God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

[Erin]

I have a friend coming over tonight who is allergic to chocolate, so I think I will whip this up and let you know tomorrow. How wonderful, I even have the ingredients! I have never heard of natural maple extract but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Maybe ask one of our resident Canadians, I seem to remember David being a fan of Maple candies and having a relative that gave him some wonderful extracts a while back.
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"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[Sarape]

On Saturday, the PBS show "Test Kitchen" made a pumpkin cheese cake. You'd likely find the recipe they used on the PBS web site.

You can just slice up the pumpkin into wedges and bake in the oven and then add pepper and cinnamon.
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' She says, 'I am the glamorous type.' I said, 'So what?'

[Monica]

I always thought whole pumpkins were just good for carving and roasting the seeds. I've used canned puree a few times, but I bet fresh is just so much better.

Any advice on other squash for beginners? I stood in front of the Whole Foods display for ten minutes and walked away without any. I remember hating 'spaghetti' squash as a kid. What should I start with? Butternut? Buttercup? Acorn?

[Sarape]

Spaghetti squash is easy and tastes as good as any of the other squashes. Bake and slice and add anything to make it look and taste like real spaghetti. It is one of my favorites. I recommend slicing length-wise in half and wrapping in tin foil before baking.
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' She says, 'I am the glamorous type.' I said, 'So what?'

[Rainey]

Monica- The truth is that canned pumpkin is probably just as good as home roasted with a lot less hassle. If you decide to try roasting your own be sure to start with a variety that's best suited to eating. The big, odd shaped ones used for carving are not as fleshy or flavorful. Look for small spherical ones or compact ones with very round "waists" and flattened tops and bottoms. Words to look for in the names are "sugar", "cheese" or "cheesebox" and "pie".

As far as other winter squash, I think they're all delicious and only have different flavors. I like Dumpling, Kabochka, Acorn, Hubbard, and Butternut but there are lots of others whose names I'm probably forgetting. I'm not crazy about Spaghetti squashes myself. Another that is beautiful but doesn't work for me is a Turk's Head.

Here's a site that will help you ID many varieties: http://whatscookingamerica.net/squash.htm This one has good photos of cutting open and cleaning a winter squash: http://www.hormel.com/templates/template.asp?catitemid=120&id=830

To roast them, most people suggest putting them, cut side down, in a greased roasting pan. Some even suggest adding an inch of water to the pan to steam them. I, personally, like to roast them cut side up and baste them occasionally with a butter & maple syrup glaze. I like the roasty, charred surface flesh the best. It helps to remove just the tiniest piece of the curved bottom to allow them to sit flat and stable in the roasting pan and on the plate.

I'm having a roasted acorn squash for lunch today. ...just like happenstance described.
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God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

[David]

Hmmm, pure maple extract! I can't say I've ever run across it but I suspect it would be out there somewhere, will check around.

Erin should repost her wonderful butternut squash soup recipe here as well!
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Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

[Monica]

Sarape, I'll have to try spaghetti squash again; after all, my tastes have matured and I now eat lima beans, mustard, and many other things I hated as a child. Thanks for all the other ideas and links, Rainey. I do like foods carmelized or even charred a bit, so I think cut side up will be my first choice. With maple too, must be heavenly! David, look for Pure Maple Cream, it's the best! The brand I have is Brown Family Farm (brownfamilyfarmmaple.com), and I can eat it off the spoon... Stonewall Kitchen makes some too that I haven't tried. Not sure what's available in your area, but it'd be a good topping on bread and baked goods besides sweetening/glazing veggies.