Pumpkin (Pie) Party!

So let's travel back in time a bit to a week before Halloween, when Sister Heart and her roomies came over for a pumpkin carving party! When Sister Heart and I initially discussed this, she said "We can carve pumpkins and bake pumpkin things!"
"Like what?" says I, "I have never baked with pumpkin."
"Erm, I don't know," she says, "Pumpkin... pumpkin?"

I don't think you can get more pumpkin pumpkin than pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkin puree. Having never even tasted pumpkin pie before, not to mention never having baked with pumpkin, and my constant reminder to you all that I am kind of scared of baking, I was somewhat apprehensive, but this turned out AMAZING. Even after being stuffed from eating chili and minestrone, we managed to fit large slices of this pie (and heaping spoonfuls of fresh whipped cream) into that second belly that we all have that is reserved for dessert.

Note: The pumpkin purée does take about an hour and a half to prepare, so I just did this earlier in the day and then refrigerated the purée until we baked the pie after dinner. It made a bit more than I needed, so my pie was almost over flowing, but it was delicious anyway. I also used store bought pie dough (I feel no shame) but I would encourage you to use your own homemade variety, if you are so inclined. I bet you could easily get away with subsituting canned pumpkin in this pie as well.



Pumpkin Pie
from The Joy of Cooking with slight mods.
1 9" pie

1 unbaked pie dough (I used Pillsbury)
2 large eggs
2 cups cooked pumpkin purée (see recipe below)
1 1/2 heavy cream or evaporated milk (I used a can of evaporated milk and the rest in cream)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt

1) Position rack in center of the oven. Preheat to 425ºF.
2) Building up a fluted rim, line a 9-inch pie pan with the pie dough.
3) In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk thoroughly.
4) Warm the pie dough in the oven until hot to the touch, leaving the filling at room temperature. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the crust and bake 35 -45 minutes, until firm. Cool complete on a rac. Pie can be refridgerated up to 1 day. Serve cold or at room temperature with fresh whipped cream.

Pumpkin Purée
from The Joy of Cooking
a little over 2 cups

1 small sugar pumpkin, ~ 3lbs

1) Preheat oven to 325ºF.
2) Wash and split the pumpkin into quarters with a cleaver or heavy knife. Cut out steam and scrape out stringy pulp and seeds. Cut each quarter down into 4-inch pieces.
3) Place pumpkin rind side down on an oiled cookie sheet and cover tightly with foil. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours until very soft.
4) Remove from oven and allow to cool until cool enough to handle. Scrape flesh free of the rind and purée in a food processor.
**Note: If the purée seems too loose and wet, you can allow it to strain through a cheesecloth for 30 -60 minutes. I didn't need to do this.

Challah

And I'm back! With what the nerd and me can only term a "flurry of blows." Meaning I will probably follow my usual M.O. of posting many tasty recipes all in a row and then going off into hiding.

But what a recipe to come back into action with! Yes, ladies and gentleman, I, the professed "non-baker" have, in fact, baked bread. Not just any bread, but the delicious challah bread of Jewish fame. My cousin asked me to bring a challah to their break fast post-Yom Kippur, and not knowing where to buy a challah in my new neighborhood, decided to bake one.

Yes, I'm a little crazy. Please don't call the men in the white coats. Unless they are professional chefs, come to whisk me away to a glorious fantasy cooking land. Then please. Give them my number, even.

But believe it or not, I did bake a challah and it didn't suck! In fact, my family was very much impressed an my mother was totally shocked. "I would never bake a challah," she said, "Good for you."

Not that it's hard or rocket science. Well, baking is a bit like rocket science to me. I am very interested in rocket science, but the math/physics of it are completely beyond me. Same with baking. No matter what I read or watch about baking, I am still in the dark about how adding eggs HERE instead of HERE will make something tough or runny or fluffy. Or how too much liquid/flour/mojo can make something rise or fall or have a "nice crumb."

So when I misread The New Best Recipe's directions and began to add an extra quarter cup of flour, even though the dough didn't need it, so I then began to add tablespoons of water to get it to stick together again, I was fearful. I was also afraid that our yeast was not going to be fast rising enough, as the date on it was from July. However! I Persevered. And baked a very challah-looking and tasting-challah. I think the crust was a little tough (perhaps due to the extra flour/water mishap?) and the first bout of rising didn't result in much, er, rising, but when I left it out the next day, it just about tripled in size.

I did all the work the night before, then fridged it overnight, and took it out the next morning to rise some more and come to room temperature. I did this, knowing I was coming home early from work. I'm not sure if you are really supposed to leave it out for a WHOLE day, but according to Smitten Kitchen, if you fridge it you should leave it out for 5 hours to come to room temp so I did.

It was tasty! I made mine in a round shape for the Jewish New Year and we ate it with honey. Mmm.

Challah
Makes 1 large loaf
from The New Best Recipe with mods.

3-3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (I think I actually used regular all-purpose and it came out fine)
1 envelope instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, plus 1 egg seperated (reserve white for eggwash)
4 TBS unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup plus 1 TBS water, room temp

1) In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix together the 2 eggs, egg yolk, melted butter (cooled!!), and 1/2 cup water. Add the flour mixture; using the dough hook, knead at low speed until a ball of dough forms, about 4-5 min *adding the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 TBS at a time if necessary*
2) In a small bowl, whisk th egg white together with remaining 1 TBS water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
3) Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large owl, turning the dough to coat it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Gently press the dough to deflate it, cover again and let rise until doubled in size again, about 1 hour.
4) Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 2 pieces, one roughly half the size of the other. Divide the large one into three pieces. Roll each piece into a 16" rope, about 1 inch in diameter. Line the ropes up side by side and braid them together, pinching the ends of the braid to seal. Twist into a circle and pinch the two ends together. Repeat this process with the smaller piece of dough, with ropes of dough about 1/2 inch in diameter. Place the smaller braid circle on top of the larger one. Then loosely drape the loaf with plastic wrap and either:
a) (For baking today) ...let rise in a warm place for 30 -45 min, un til increased in size by about a third.
b) (For baking tomorrow) ...refrigerate overnight! The next day, take the dough out about 5 hours before baking and let come to room temperature and rise (mine doubled in size! though it didn't rise much during the first rising periods)
5) Adjust oven rack to middle-lower position and pre-heat to 375ºF. Remove plastic wrap from dough and brush with the remaining eggwash.
6) Bake the loaf for 30 -4 0 minutes or until an instant read thermometer inserted in thes ide of the loaf reads 190º. Allow loaf to cool completely over a wire rack before slicing and devouring!

Chocolate Walnut-Date Balls

I know this is a little late, since Passover ended on Saturday, but I brought these to the family seder and they went over pretty well! They were much richer than I expected.
I spotted the recipe in the Washington Post and, inspired by my dear friend over at My Achy Bakey Heart who has been baking up a ball storm, I decided to try them out.

However, I first didn't get the right kind of dates, then I didn't get ENOUGH dates, so I supplemented with dried apricots, which was actually pretty good as well. I've attempted to adjust the amounts of ingredients according to the standard package of dates I was able to find in the store. If you find your mixture is too dry, add more dates. Too sticky? Add more nuts. I'm sure you could do this with any kind of nut/dried fruit combination you'd like.

Chocolate Walnut Date/Apricot Balls
from Vered Guttman and the Washington Post with mods.
Makes about 18 balls

6 - 8 oz dark (semisweet or bittersweet) chocolate chips
8 oz package of whole, pitted dates or apricots
2/3 cup walnut halves (toasted, if desired)

1) Place the dates/apricots in a food processor and pulse until fine. Transfer to a small mixing bowl.
2) Place walnuts in food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Reserve a tablespoon of some of the more powdery nuts. Transfer the rest to the bowl with the fruit. Press nuts and fruit together, until thoroughly incorporated.
3) Line a baking sheet with parchement paper. Pinch off pieces of the walnut/fruitmixture and roll into 1 inch balls. Place on baking sheet.
4) Fill a medium saucepan with about 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil. Place a double boiler or a stainless steel mixing bowl over top of the pot so that it fits snuggly, without touching the water. Add chocolate chips to double boiler and melt until smooth, stirring frequently. Turn off the heat.
5) Working one at a time, drop the balls into the chocolate and coat with chocolate (I found rolling them around with a spoon helped). Once thorougly coated, transfer back to the parchement lines baking sheet. Sprinkle with reserved nuts. Allow to set completely (about 2 hours at room temperature*). Store in an airtight container.

*I am sure you could also transfer these to the refridgerator to set. But it was easy enough for me to just leave them out.

Peppermint Bark

After tasting some commercial peppermint bark, we decided to make our own! Last year's attempt was delicious but hardly as pretty. When we poured the hot white chocolate onto the warm dark chocolate, it all started melting together and came out more of a swirly milk chocolate color. This year, we theorized that if we let the dark chocolate totally set (with the help of our freezer) then quickly spread the white chocolate across the top before it could all melt together, we might create the beautiful layered effect one finds in the store-bought variety.

All would have gone smoothly, if we hadn't thought it was a good idea to add cream to the white chocolate. Apparently we don't deal with chocolate enough, but I immediately realized what was happening (thanks to Alton Brown's "Good Eats") that the chocolate was "seizing" and then promptly began "separating" (it looks pretty gross). In a panic, I turned to The Joy of Cooking which told me, if this happened, to add "1/2 teaspoon of vegetable shortening per oz of chocolate." So we lowered the temperature and began spooning in the shortening until it returned (sort of) to the proper texture. I don't think this was actually the right solution. According to Alton Brown, we probably should have added more liquid (which I also should have warmed first.) Needless to say, I will not include these instructions in the recipe because it just complicated things. Honest. In the end, it all tasted fine.

The process is really quite easy if you don't screw up like we did. And it is SO delicious and decadent. We put in a teaspoon of peppermint extract, but I am going to recommend less because it is quite potent. I can't wait to try this with other flavors... orange perhaps?

Happy Holidays!

Peppermint Bark
10/10!

11 oz bag of dark, bittersweet chocolate chips (make sure cocoa butter is a main ingredient)
11 oz bag of white chocolate chips (make sure cocoa butter is a main ingredient)
3/4 tsp peppermint extract
2 candy canes, crushed into roughly sprinkle size bits

1) In a double boiler, melt the bittersweet chocolate until smooth. Stir in peppermint extract. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Pour out hot chocolate onto wax paper and spread out until about a 1/16 of an inch thickness. Immediately place in freezer for about 1 hr or until fully hard and set.
2) In a clean double boiler, melt the white chocolate until creamy (it will be thicker and harder to work with than the dark chocolate). Remove dark chocolate from freezer. Pour white chocolate onto dark and quickly spread until evenly coated. Sprinkle candy cane over the top. Return to freezer for at least 30 minutes or until set. Remove and break apart into 1 inch pieces. Store in airtight container (we store ours in the fridge).

Eight Nights of Lights, Three Nights of Brisket

Brisket Ragu?

Sorry for the delay in posting. I would make excuses but there really is no point, is there? I merely hope that I haven't discouraged any readers with the large gaps between my posts. Come back! So many tasty things!

Hannukah was this past week and in honor of such, I made brisket for maybe the second time, in my slow cooker. Delicious! I made twice as much because I knew we would be busy, so we'd have leftovers to play with. So, one night of traditional brisket, one night of bbq brisket sandwiches, and one night of, er, a brisket ragu?

So basically, I prepped the brisket the night before, fridged it, then plopped it in the slow cooker before work and came back to deliciousness. There was no burning down of the house, which made me especially happy.

This was good. Not quite the same as my Nana's, but good.

Brisket
from William Sonoma Food Made Fast: Slow Cooker with mods.
(did anyone else note the irony in a food made fast cookbook... for the slow cooker?)
Serves 2 (for three nights!)
8/10

1 lb beef brisket, trimmed of fat
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper
3/4 cup beef broth
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (potent!)
2 TBS sugar
1 TBS tomato paste

1) On a large plate mix flour, salt and pepper, to taste. Coat brisket in flour misture, shaking off excess, reserving leftover flower. In large heavy bottomed pan, warm oil over high heat. Add brisket, fat side down and cook until browned, about 7 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 7 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer to slow cooker basin (or a seperate dish).
2) Pour off all but 1 TBS of fat from pan and return to med-heat. Add onions, garlic, red pepper and sauté until onions begin to caramelize. Add reserved flour and stir until incorporated. Add broth and vinegar and raise to a boil to deglaze pan. Add sugar and tomato paste and stir until blended. Pour mixture over brisket. Cover with foil and refridgerate overnight.
3) In the morning, remove foil and return slow cooker basin to mechanism (or put brisket in slow cooker). Cook on high heat for 3 -4 hours or low heat for 6 -8 hours. Brisket should be very tender when pierced with fork. Transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Slice thinly across the grain. Serve with natural gravy from the slow cooker.


BBQ Brisket Sandwiches
Serves 2

2 hamburger buns or sandwich rolls
4-6 slices of brisket (see recipe above)
1/4 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce or blend of sauces (we used Dinosaur BBQ sauce and Original Hunts BBQ sauce)
any other toppings you like (coleslaw, onions, cheese, etc)

1) Toast hamburger buns to a lovely golden brown.
2) Place brisket in a microwave safe dish. Cover completely in BBQ sauce. Cook in microwave for 2 minutes on high. Remove and stir sauce, testing brisket for tenderness. Heat for an additional 2 minutes or until the brisket is tender and hot.
3) Place 2-3 slices of brisket on each bun and a generous amount of sauce and toppings as desired!


Brisket "Ragu"
Serves 2

Brisket leftovers, chopped (hopefully about 1/2 -1 cup
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp italian seasonings (or as much as you'd like)
1 cup of your favorite tomato sauce (we're currently in love with Classico Caramelized Onion and Roasted Garlic)

1) Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Add onions and peppers and sauté until tender.
2) Add tomatoes, garlic, and seasonings, cooking until tomatoes soften.
3) Add tomato sauce and brisket. Continue to cook until heated through and the brisket is tender. Serve over pasta!